The Sphinx of Giza is a theriant statue of Egypt, located in front of the great pyramids of the Giza plateau.
The Sphinx of Giza is a theriant statue of Egypt, located in front of the great pyramids of the Giza plateau.
Made around 2500 BC, the Sphinx of Giza is the largest monolithic monumental sculpture in the world. It measures 20,22 meters in height for 14 meters in width and 73,5 meters in length. Its mass would be about 20,000 tons. The original natural promontory in which the Sphinx is carved is in limestone.
The sculpture represents a recumbent sphinx, it was long attributed to Khephren, a pharaoh of the IVth dynasty of the Old Kingdom. But it could actually represent his father Cheops. Archaeologists and historians think that the Sphinx had a role of guardian of the site and of the solar temple built next to the pyramid of Cheops.
Concerning the fall of its nose, the legend tells that it would be a missed cannon shot from a soldier of Bonapart during the Egyptian campaign. But since 1980, the German historian Ulrich Haarmann revealed that the face was damaged in 1378 by Mohammed Sa’im al-Dahr who wanted to destroy the statue, which he considered a pagan idol, by focusing on the nose and ears. He was hanged for vandalism. A theory that seems to be true because the archaeological study of the archaeologist Mark Lehner shows very clear traces of destruction by tool. A more plausible theory than the accidental destruction of the nose by some stubborn coated Gallic.
Cleopatra makes a bet with Caesar that her people are still capable of great achievements. She orders Edifis to build a sumptuous palace for Caesar.
