Who broke the nose of the Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx in Giza is one of Egypt’s symbols. The nose of the figure, or rather, its absence, is the center of attention of historians and archaeologists. When did he disappear, and why?
Who are the sphinxes?
The sphinx is an important character in Asian, Greek, and Egyptian mythology, which usually has a lion’s body and a man’s head. In ancient Egypt, the sphinx was considered a spiritual guardian and was most often depicted as a man wearing a pharaoh’s headdress, as in the case of the Great Sphinx.
The creature is often found in temples and tombstones. For example, on the Alley of the Sphinxes in Luxor, there is a wide road about 2.7 km long, on both sides of which there are 1,200 sculptures on high pedestals. In 2021, it was opened after many years of restoration.
The Great Sphinx: description
The Great Sphinx is one of the most significant monuments in the world, with a height of 20 m and a length of 73 m. Historians agree that the Great Sphinx was built for Pharaoh Khafri between 2603 and 2578 BC. There are references to Khafre’s father, Pharaoh Khufu, who built the pyramid of Cheops. After that, Humphrey built his slightly smaller pyramid and an elaborate complex with a large sphinx.
Remnants of red, yellow, and blue pigments indicate that the monument was once brightly painted. It was originally cut out of the rock, but today, its original shape has been restored due to limestone.
Why does the Great Sphinx have no nose
There are many versions. According to the most popular, the nose was beaten off by cannonballs fired by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army. Allegedly, the emperor was in Giza during one of the battles in 1798.
However, the statue’s nose was missing long before Napoleon was born. The sphinx’s illustrations, made in the 1600s, show that the figure has already been mutilated.
The 15th-century Arab historian al-Maqrizi described the story differently. According to his notes, in 1378, the fanatical Arab Saim al-Dahr noticed that local peasants were sacrificing to the sphinx for a good harvest and mutilated the monument as a sign of iconoclasm. After that, the locals believed heaven was taking revenge for this act of vandalism by covering the Giza plateau with sand. Some also thought that the punishment from above was the Alexandrian Crusade of 1365.
American archaeologist Mark Lehner also examined the Giza sphinx and concluded that the nose was intentionally broken with tools sometime between the III and X centuries AD. When discussing the figure, it is clear that rods or chisels were driven into the nose area. The nose was probably chipped off with the help of these tools. But why?
However, there is a much more prosaic version. According to her, the stone has been exposed to constant winds for thousands of years. If the nose consisted of softer rock than the rest of the head, it could gradually crumble.
