, 1883-09-29

e.
stands this famous object, which has
from time immemdfial so excited
the awe and curiosityOf the traveller.
As longago as the timeof IIerodotus,
the first man who ever conceived the
idea Of writing Il history, and who
lived four or five hundred years be-
fore the time Of Christ, this gigantic
and mysterious human head was
raised above the sand, looking upon
the beholder with the same calm and
serene expression, as if superior tC
the veXatiOns Of life, and to the mu-
tations Of time, as much puzzle as
it is in our own day. 1t was then
hoary with age, though over two
thousand years have since rolled
away. First the Persians, under
/ Cambyses, before HerOdOtus' time,
invaded and devastated the country.
Then the Greeks, under Alexander
and the Ptolmys, his successors; then
the Moslems, enc Of whom, as hater
Of images, sought in vain to destroy
it; and then many other lesser pow
ers down to the Turks Of the present
day; all alike unaffected by any re-
spect for the mOnumentso of antiquity,
and ignorant of their value as records
Of human progress and decay.
The deep mist and darkness Of the
Middle Ages rolled over it for CEN
turtles, and still the Sphynx remains
one Of the wonders of the ancient
world, mutilated, disfigured, neg
lected, and sometimes almost forgot
ten, but always serene, impressive,
and awe-inspiring.
1t is hewn from the salient angle
of the rocky ledge on which stand
the great pyramids; part Of the cap,
the back, and the fore-paws, when
the rock was abraded, being supplied
by masonry. The savants, under
Napoleon, uncovered the back and
shoulders, and obtained approximate
measurements; but il was not until
1918 that the entire figure was dis
played to its pedestal. The honor Of
this work is due to the Italian Ca
Viglia. The loose sand, anciently re-
strained by artificial irrigation, and
doubtless highly cultivated, but now
continually shifting about in that
rainless country with the slightest
breath of air, was removed by the
labor of from sixty to eighty persons
for several days. No trace of these
excavations, made at 50 much cost,
now remains; the upper part Of the
figure alone being seen, rising as be-
fore about thirty or forty feet above
the level of the soil. 1t faces east
ward toward the Nile. At the rear
is the pyramid Of Shafra, while to-
ward the north, in corresponding
position in reference to the pyramid,
stands another rock, which, in the
opinion of LopSius, it may have been
the intention Of the builder to carve
into another SphynX, as twin
guardian Of the approach to the
sacred pile.
Caviglia's efforts laid bare a de-
scent from the Nile for 13j feet sue
ceeded by flight Of thirteen steps,
after which was a platform and a
second flight of thirty steps to the
rocky pavement on which the figure
rests. The body is that Of a lion,
with human head and shoulders.
Though often spoken Of as feminine
in features, the broken fragments Of
a beard which have been found de-
monstrate the incorrcctncss Of the
assertion. Indeed among thousands
of sphynxes found in Egypt, but one
is known having a female head,
though those of the Greeks are al
most always male.
The posture is recumbent, with the
fOrepaws stretched out in front n
distance Of fifty feet. The body Is
143 feet long, and the height to the
top Of the head is g. feet. Between
the fOrepaws is a level space which
was used as a temple or a place Of
sacrifice. Here were the remains Of
an altar with charred embers still
preserved-the relics Of sacrifice
offered, perhaps, to avert the tide of
invasion that overwhelmed the wOr-
shippers. Several small spynX-like
figures stood near or under the chin.
Under the chin is an immense gran
ite tablet, fourteen feet high, seven
broad, and two thick, covered with
hieroglyphics relating to one Thoth-
mes ", and flanked by two other
tablets Of limestone. These formed
part Of the inclosure Of the sacred
area.
The traveller, DIR. POCOcke, asserts
that there are openings in the back
and in the top of the head; but these
could have been nothing but seams
in the rock, or spaces left by dislodg-
ment of parts Of the masonry, as
Lepsius, a most careful observer,
who visited it in 1913, states that no
opening to the interior whatever was
to be seen, and that the mass Of the
statue obviously must have been
hewn from the native rock.
The following striking passage as
to its present appearance is from
Demon:
"Though its proportions are colos-
sal, its outline is pure and graceful,
and the expression mild, gracious,
and tranquil. The character is Afri-
can, but the mouth, the lips Of which
are thick, has a sOftness and delicacy
Of execution truly admirable. That
it is an Egyptian head is plainly evi.
dent, Notwithstanding the mutila,
/ tion; but the type Is fuller and broad.