The mysteries surrounding the Egyptian sphinx statue

In Greek, "Sphinx" means "The strangler", so in their conception, the sphinx represents the dangerous and cruel force. Contrary to the Greek viewpoint, the Egyptian sphinx has a male head, symbolizing strength and wisdom, often placed at the entrance of temples, pyramids as keepers. door.

The massive statue has existed for thousands of years but it seems that the controversy surrounding it has not come to an end.

After gaining power in France and propagating in Europe, Napoleon began to look to African territory. The French army began to land on the coast of Alexandria and headed straight for Cairo in the summer of 1798. But the harshness of the weather, along with the friendly welcome of the indigenous inhabitants became a real challenge for the French soldiers. Some screamed for a return, some entertained by excursions to the monument of the Sphinx, one of the mysterious wonders of Egypt, at that time almost buried deep in the thick sand. .

These soldiers were accused of beating the nose of the Sphinx. Some historians believe that they used this sacred symbol as a…. the episodes shot. But studies by Frederick Lewis Norden show that the nose disappeared about 50 years before Napoleon's army arrived. It may even disappear from a few centuries ago.

The absence of the nose is just one of the tricky puzzles surrounding this great statue. The head of the Sphinx, dressed in traditional hairstyles, reached over 20 meters above the ground, lying quietly on her body, depicted as a lion with a length of nearly 60 meters. The Sphinx, along with the Pyramid and numerous other tombs are located in the grounds of the City of the Dead - a great building erected by the Pharaoh Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure in the period from in 2560 to 2450 BC.

While Monalisa's smile spent so much effort by many researchers in countless debates, the austere and endearing face of the sphinx seemed to be The little thing that is most discussed among the mysteries surrounding this statue. Most Egyptian historians agree that the face with the closest features to Pharaoh Khafre 's face - is understandable because it was started during the reign of this king.

However, rumors surrounding this statue seem to have never been answered correctly. More precisely, since the excavation with the massive scale of Emile Baraize beginning in 1926, it seems that this statue has more questions than answers.

Between the feet of the Sphinx is the tomb of King Thutmose IV, who ruled Egypt from 1400 to 1390 BC. On the tombstone, the story of the young Thutmose was engraved, who fell asleep under the great shadow of the sphinx. In the dream, the sphinx appeared in the form of the sun god - Horus, asking Thutmose to do all he could to protect himself from the devastation of sun, wind and sand. In return, the Sphinx promised to give Thutmose the right to rule Egypt. Both sides agree with this agreement, and this future king became the first to initiate an overhaul for the statue.

But the result of this remodeling has also gradually eroded over the years. The harsh climate of the desert has gradually distorted the face of the statue, making it an expression of threat, a vague fear from the afterlife. In fact, the Arabs who named this statue were Abu-hol.

The mystery of the Sphinx has attracted a lot of attention, at the same time posing innumerable assumptions about the supernatural power of this statue. One of them is the road to the legendary city of Atlantis. In fact, rumors about this relationship began to rise up since Pluto began writing about an utopian society. Around the beginning of the 20th century, American psychic Edgar Allan Cayce said that he had seen a room inside the Sphinx, the secret place of Atlantis. He also predicted that this room would be found in 1998.

Historians and archaeologists continue to debate the life of the Sphinx. Many historians believe that it was born in the reign of Khafre (about 2500 BC). In 1996, a group of archaeologists and geologists, based on the status of the statue, along with an estimate of the level of destruction of the wind, sand and rain, gave the number of 4,000 years old, ahead of time. Khafre king for a long time.

The difference in the architectural style of the Sphinx compared to the surrounding structures, the disproportionate in terms of the ratio of head and body, also raises a lot of questions for researchers. If their assumptions were correct, there must have been an extremely technologically developed society that existed at the time, but also disappeared completely without leaving any trace. .

Zahi Hawass, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Supreme Council on ancient monuments, on the other hand, asserts that these hypotheses are completely unfounded. There are no relics in the City area of ​​the dead born before ancient Egypt, and seismic studies do not show any mysterious cave or room inside or buried. deep under the statue. For Hawass and the official archaeologists, the most difficult puzzle about this statue, is just how to protect it from the devastation of time.

Beside…

In Greek mythology, the Sphinx once appeared as a person who blocked the travelers with many dangerous puzzles. One of those questions is: Which animal has 4 legs, 2 legs, and then 3 legs?

Oedipus, the king of Thebes had the correct answer: Man. First they crawled on all fours, walked on two legs, and finally had to fight sticks (the third leg) when they were old. This answer forced Master to commit suicide.