The great Sphinx in Giza has reached our time without a nose. The Sphinx was erected 4,500 years ago with the face of Pharaoh Hefren, to whom, among other things, the second largest pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Hefren, is dedicated. But how did it happen that the Great Sphinx has no nose? Many stories have been invented to answer this question.
Did Napoleon show off?
The massive interest of Europeans in the antiquities of Egypt began with the campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte. She laid the foundation for modern Egyptology. The great commander entered the country of sands and secrets in 1798 to fight the Ottoman and British empires. The result was a failure, but the French managed to get many ancient Egyptian artifacts out of Egypt, which is why a special department for Egyptian antiquities appeared in the Louvre.
In Egypt itself, the French created a research institute, and after a couple of decades, the French explorer Jean-Francois Champollion became the founder of modern Egyptology, deciphering Egyptian characters on the Rosetta stone.
Napoleon was interested in opening institutions for the study of the history of Egypt, he also influenced the development of the Louvre, one of the largest museums in the world. Could he shoot the cannons in Sphinx and the pyramids with this attitude to antiquities, as shown in the Ridley Scott film? Doubtful. Moreover, this is not true.
Napoleon Before the Sphinx, Jean-Leon Jerome, 1886
Evidence of Sphinx’s lack of nose is many centuries older than Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign. The drawings of European travelers of the 18th century often featured Sphinx with a nose, but the authors of these drawings did not seek to portray Sphinx realistically. The only worthy example was left by Danish researcher Frederick Norden, drawing a realistic image of the Sphinx in 1737 (Napoleon was born in 1769).
Comparison of Frederick Norden's drawing and contemporary Sphinx photography
Who beat off Sphinx's nose, if not Napoleon?
In many ancient texts of Greco-Roman authors, there is no evidence of the Sphinx, which is strange. Perhaps the great pyramids in those days overshadowed the impressions of the less magnificent buildings, or the Sphinx basked in a ton of sand, so he was not noticed. Only in the 1st century AD Pliny the Elder in Natural History mentions Sphinx as a tourist attraction that was freed from sand. But he did not mention the lack of a nose.
In the 4th century, St. Emperor Theodosius banned pagan cults, and the violent Christianization of Egypt began. Christians closed Egyptian temples, destroyed statues, recaptured bas-reliefs and frescoes, and used steles to build churches and monasteries. A few centuries later, Christians were replaced by Muslims who similarly treated the ancient Egyptian heritage.
For example, below is a photograph of the Temple of Isis in Phil. The temple was transformed into a Christian church in the 5th century. Christians recaptured the right hand of the goddess Isis, on the spot of the head made a Coptic cross.
However, Sphinx was lucky because he is located on the edge of the desert, while Christians and Muslims mostly flourished in cities. Therefore, in the vicinity of Giza there is little evidence of Christian influence. On the other hand, Muslims were attracted by great pyramids. In the Middle Ages they were used as a resource for the construction of buildings in Cairo.
During the period of Islamic rule, many legends arose around the Sphinx. Arab thinkers described the head of the Sphinx, which peeps out of the sand. Among the Copts there were beliefs about the Sphinx - they called it "Belhaib", which means "father of horror." Arabs transformed this term into "Abu al-haul."
The Sphinx inspired fear in people who did not know the culture of the ancient Egyptians. The desert for Arabs is full of mystical creatures, such as genies and ghouls, so it is natural that many were afraid of the Sphinx. However, the 13th-century Muslim Egyptologist Abdul-Latif al-Baghdadi admired the beauty of Sphinx. Muslim historian Ibn-Dukmak (14th century) wrote that the Sphinx is a talisman holding the banks of the Nile.
Excavations of the Sphinx, 1880s.
The 12th-century Muslim geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi claimed that some Arabs who sought to occupy a high post with the Sultan brought good fortune to the Sphinx. Perhaps this is how the legend arose that it was during the time of the Mamlyuk Sultanate of the Sphinx that was damaged. According to legend, during the next worship of the Sphinx, the Sufi Sheikh Sayem Al-Dahr was so angry that he went to the monument and damaged his face. After that, in October 1365, Alexandria was plundered by Jerusalem and the Cypriot cross-country king Peter Lusignan. Al-Manufi describes this event as a retribution for the desecration of the Sphinx. Al-Manufi further says that ancient monuments cannot be touched, following the example of the associates of the Prophet Muhammad.
Archaeologist Mark Laner speaks of clear traces of damage by tools of an indefinite era between the 3rd and 10th centuries. During this period, the Sphinx was also popular among some Muslim rulers of Egypt. Islamic sources report that Ahmad ibn Tulun, who ruled in the 9th century, loved to come to Sphinx.
Thus, historians do not have sufficient information about the culprit of vandalism against the Sphinx. One can only say that Napoleon was definitely not guilty of nose damage. Most likely it is not a matter of natural reasons (ventilation). Perhaps one of the representatives of the iconoclastic environment of Christians or Muslims so hated the Sphinx that he decided to laugh at him, showing the superiority of his god over pagan gods. But who did just that is unclear.
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