THE GREAT SPHINX : "GUARDIAN OF MYSTERIES"
(By Subbaram Danda)
The Great Sphinx is the most ancient colossal statue of a lion with the head of a pharaoh (Egyptian king) crouching heroically in the Giza plateau on the west bank of the Nile near modern Cairo in Egypt. Behind it in the vicinity are the three famous time-honoured pyramids, where the mummified bodies of pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Mankaure had been laid to rest. The sphinx looks to the east to face the rising sun every day and “lines-up” with the middle pyramid of Khafre.
Visitors to the pyramids, thousands every day, make it a point to go near the gigantic open-air six-storey tall sphinx for a close look. Its face is eerily enigmatic with a conspicuously missing nose and deeply eroded eyes. Its smile is intriguing. Its head-dress strains to reflect the profundity of the Egyptian royalty. A beard hanging from the chin and a hooded cobra resting on the forehead, both originally sculpted, have fallen off. Its paws are outstretched and its tail wraps around the right hind paw. Clearly visible all over the body are the tell-tale marks left behind by the onslaught of the elements over the millennia. The statue casts a mystifying spell on the people.
The Great Sphinx (close-up of face)
The sphinx is the largest ancient statue in the world – 66 feet in height, 240 feet in length and 20 feet in width. The paws themselves are 50 feet long. Archaeologists and connoisseurs of art describe it as a “monumental sculpture” in view of its “grand, noble and elevated nature” and “timeless character.” It is regarded as “the stunning icon of the Egyptian civilization.”
While the exact age of the sphinx has been in the realm of conjecture, it is generally believed to be 4,500 years old. It was carved from an outgrowth of the limestone bedrock presumably on the orders of Pharaoh Khafre in the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom. (The ancient Egyptian history is divided into three periods – old, middle and new kingdoms.) Some researchers, however, argue that the pattern of erosion suffered by the sphinx indicates that it was carved more than 12,000 years ago! But, the authorities do not attach much credence to this view.
From Herodotus to Barack Obama
Egyptians proudly say that the sphinx has gazed over the march of the armies of many monarchs, including Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. It has watched Napoleon and his men pass by. It has seen the British troops head for German Field Marshal Rommel in World War II. It has evoked awe and wonder in the high and the mighty ranging from ancient Greek historian Herodotus to the present US President Barack Obama.
Stories and legends abound on various aspects of the sphinx. How its nose has broken off is interesting. It is said that Napoleon’s men shot off the nose while target practicing. But this was scientifically disproved. Similarly, it is attributed to the handiwork of the Turks. At any rate, it has been established that the nose was “deliberately pried off with chisels.”
In ancient times the entire statue was painted. The face and body were in fierce red. Yellow and blue stripes highlighted the head-dress. It served as the divinity of the inhabitants of the surrounding region.
No clear proof
Though it is largely believed that Pharaoh Khafre was behind the creation of the sphinx, some argue that it was actually built by his father Khufu, whose pyramid is known as the Great Pyramid. More recently, there has been speculation that the statue was built by Khafre’s elder brother Pharaoh Djedefre. Some Egyptians even hold the view that it was erected by Gods themselves! Strangely, as of now, there is no inscription or any solid proof to indicate who really built it and whose face it represents.
Larger view from the side
Why was the sphinx sculpted? Despite studies by many for long, no convincing explanation is available. Local people trust that it was conceived to be a guardian of the pyramids. In ancient Egypt lion was considered a powerful symbol of strength and courage.
For all its glory, the sphinx remained buried for scores of centuries in sand up to the neck. The first restoration took place in 1400 BC. How this came about is fascinating. A young prince, who fell asleep under the head of the statue, dreamed of the sphinx promising to make him a pharaoh of Egypt, if he cleared all the sand around, though he was not in line to become a king. He did it and it was this prince who later became Pharaoh Tutmose IV of the New Kingdom. To commemorate this event Tutmose IV installed a granite slab called the “Dream Stele” between the paws of the sphinx, inscribing on it the entire anecdote. Engulfed by sand again and again and constantly exposed to forces of natural elements, its restoration and conservation have been a major job of the Egyptian authorities.
Secret tunnels and chambers?
Are there hidden tunnels and secret chambers under the sphinx? If so, what are they for? What do they contain? These are the questions that have been engaging the attention of archeologists throughout the world for generations.
Some experts point to certain geological and seismic surveys conducted in the last decade that “found several unexplored tunnels and cavities in the bedrock beneath the sphinx, including a large rectangular chamber.” This is in line with the predictions of an American psychic Edgar Cayce several decades ago that there is a “Hall of Records” beneath the sphinx, in which the survivors of a far earlier highly advanced ancient civilization had “concealed chronicles of their lost land and the true history of the human race.” This implies that the sphinx had existed far earlier than reckoned at present. However, Egyptian authorities reportedly dismiss these “claims” as “hallucinations.” What the surveys have shown are “anomalies” in the bedrock structure, which cannot be interpreted as passages or chambers, they point out.
Visitors to the Great Sphinx go home with the utmost satisfaction of having seen the “most massive surviving statue of the ancient world.” But several unanswered questions linger in their minds – What was the real purpose of the sphinx? Who actually got it sculpted and when? Does it hold any startling secrets under its paws? Only time can unravel these mysteries.
Sept. 03, 2011 (1,070 words)
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