Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-05
RIDDLE OF The SPHINX
Has It Been Solved by an
American Student2
SO IT rs CLAIM ED
PORTRAIT OF THE EGYPTIAN GOD
OF THE MORNING.
Has Been the Subject Of Discussion
and Speculation for Gen.
turtles.
s 0 IT rs Gil Al E D
Written for The Evening Star.

| Written for The Evening Star.
For two Thousand years and more the be-
| lief has prevailed all over the civilized
world that the marvellous figure of the
Sphinx was intended to represent a woman
but this theory is now forever dispelled
through the inquisitiveness of the we'll
known American student of antiquity, Col.
| Ram, who has at last solved the greatest
enigma that ever perplexed mankind.
The great image has fallen from its
height Of mighty righteousness. to be
| shown by unassailable proof, to be nothing
| but colossal portrait of Ra-Harmachio,
which, God of the Morning and Con-
| queror of Darkness, faces the rising sum-
Col Ram, whose discovery has now made
him world-famous, has been for some time
past making excavations around the Sphinx,
| but not until very recently did he succeed
in finally uncovering the foundation of the
| great statue and bringing to hight many
| interesting features which were previously
| unknown.
No other relic of antiquity has been the
| object of more discussion, nor the subject
| OF more widespread theories than this great
| monument of stone which has withstood
| the storms and burning sun of the desert
| OF Egypt for centuries. and the calm face,
| with It's features almost beaten away by
the driving sands, has given rise to legends
| and superstitions without number; whole
| libraries of books were written about it,
and controversies as to its age, signifi-
! canoe and purpose were held from time to
| time, but not a ray of light was thrown
upon the secret in the end, and the stone
| lips remained imperturbably closed
Subject of Discussion.
This silence, this haunting secrecy, Col.
Ram has successfully broken and penetrat-
| ed, but not until men had given their lives
to the attempt to unravel it, legends and
stories had been born in it's shadow and
had died, others springing up in their place,
and books, works of lifetime had been
| completed and destroyed, and other equally
| ponderous works raised their ashes
The world loves mystery, and as
| consequence travellers will journey all the
| way from America to Egypt merely to gaze
with awe on the great image which has
| been puzzling humanity for so long, and
| has consented to give up its jealousy
guarded secret only after more than twenty
| centuries of silence.
Col. Ram, while he has removed this
| fascinating VEIL has supplied the Sphinx
| with history. the interest of which quite
| makes up for the loss OF the mystery
Among the heretofore unknown features
| of the stone figure which he has just
| brought to light is the temple surrounding
| the base, which was intended for the wor
| ship of Harmachio, and several chambers,
| hewn in the rock which were the tombs of
| kings and priests devoted to his worship.
Colonel Ram had already discovered
stone cap with a sacred asp carved on the
| the Sphinx like a royal helmet, and must
| have added to its grandeur, particularly if it
/ was gilded, Colonel Ram believes.
Of Solid Rock
! The Sphinx is not an Independent structure.
| The body and head ara actually hewn out
| of the solid rock, but much sandstone
| masonry was built in to make the outlines
perfect and cover defects in the material
This reinforcement of the original rock is
very apparent to close observer, but origi-
nally it was concealed, for scientists believe
that the entire image was once covered with
enamel Indeed, it is yet possible to find
fragments still adhering to the surface
which resemble the porcelain tiles found in
tombs and the ruins of the ancient palaces.
Several private collections and some mu-
seums have large blocks of most brilliant
coloring and artistic design, from which it
can be imagined what an imposing spectacle
the great statue must have been before the
Persians and Mohammedans destroyed its
glory.
While it is still an impressive picture, it
has no beauty Whatever. The nose, the lips
and other features have been mutilated by
vandals, among whom the French soldiers
under Napoleon are said to have been the
most vicious, and the sandstorms that
sweep the desert have aided in the destruct-
i've work but the DETACHMENT began before
the Christian era, when Cambyses invaded
Egypt and made it province of the Persian
empire.
Lacking in Expression.
The expression upon the face of the enor-
nous statue is blank. Poets and magma
tive people have expended much eloquence
in discovering lines which do not appear
and are purely fanciful; the world has been
told again and again that the solemn i'm
mobility of its expression is 1.-The ideal of
mystery in stone.
There is no more expression about the
face of the Sphinx than there would be in
any sandstone image that has been hit
square in the nose by 300 pound shot fired
from French cannon and had its features
scattered over a square mile of desert.
The body of the Sphinx, which resembles
that of lion is $50 feet long; the paws
and legs, which are stretched out in front,
are fifty feet long; the head is thirty from
the neck upward; the face is fourteen feet
wide, and the whole figure seventy-two feet
high. 1t is believed to have been built long
before the pyramids, for Inscriptions found
within the temple show that it was old at
the time of Cheops, who erected the big
is also a tablet showing that 1t was re-
cessors.
Pyramids Around Cairo
There are fourteen pyramids in the neigh
borhood of Cairo. Those which surround
the Sphinx and are known as the pyramids
of Gizeh are most easily accessible and
may be visited without fatigue or difficulty
Within the last few years trolley line