The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-04-01
WHO ORDERED THE SPHINX

WHO ORDERED THE. SPHINX:
Near the great Pyramids of Egypt
stands the Sphinx, which is only
second in interest to these great
piles Of stone. and many travellers find
1t even more so, for it is just as Non
derful in its conception and ccnstruc-
ton, and there is just as much n,ys-
terry attached to its building. h
Sphinx is hewn out Of the natural
rock. and where this material mas
failed it has been nodded into ,he
shape of arecumbent lion with the
head of a man. But by whom?
The face of the Sphinx was deplor-
ably mutilated at a comparatively re
cent period by a fanatic, icOnoclaStic
skeikh and afterward by the barbar-
Gus Mamelukes, who used it as a tar
get. It was pointed out by Lepsius in
1884 that the Sphinx must have been
founded earlier than the eighteenth
dynasty, notwithstanding the inscrip-
ton on one of the tablets-the one
next the breast of the Sphinx, when
bears the date Of the reign of
Thothmes III, Of the eighteenth dy-
nasty.
From another inscription this great
Egyptian curiosity seems to have
been a representation Of khafra or
C~hephren, whose cartouche occurs
at the left Of the last but one Of the
consecutive lines Of the Inscription.
AS the Sphinx lies nearly in d line
with the pyramid of King ThOth-
mes W., it was not unnaturally
thought that he was the founder Of
both monuments. h %cOnject ure
seems to be confirmed by the discov-
cry Of The state Of Chephren in the
rock temple adjoining the Sphinx.
But the has even been
supposed to be entitled to claim still
higher antiquity, for M. Marietta
while examining a ruined building a
the foot Of the southernmost Of the
three pyramids, which rises to the
east of the Great Pyramid, found
stone built into a wall bearing an in
scription which seemed to imply tina
l the Sphinx already existed in tn
time Of khufu, the builder of TIL
l right side of the stone runs LITERAL!
thus: 1.-The living HoruS the Kin,
r Of Upper and Lower Egypt, khufu
1 the life-dispensing, found the Tempt
, Of Isis, the patronees Of the pyramid
in the place of the Temple Of tn
Sphinx"
The Sphinx is Is feet long by 6
. feet in height. The body was left IL
a rough form, but the head was orig
: inally most carefully executed. !
. would seem from Abdellatif's accoun
. that it was in perfect preservation i
his time G162-1231). He says: "Thi
= face is very pleasing, and is OF
graceful and beautiful type; on
y might almost say that it smiles win
ningly." An older writer, however
says the nos was mutiiated in HI
\ time, and. as it is now entirely dc
stroyed, the face somewhat repr
sents the African type, though tn
% mouth still has a smiling appearance
10 The face looks out due eastWar
from the Pyramid field over the Nj
valley, and according to the inscrlI
lions Of the eighteenth dynasty !
II the shrine between the paws. IT rel
l. resents the sun god HarmachIs. III
4 Arabs believed that the figure po'
sessed the supernatural power Of pr
4 venting the e"ncrOachment o. TT
sand. .
# The complete excavation If II
as Sphinx was first undertaken by {;
r. viglia in 1871 under the auspices
N an English society. He discoVere
1e the flight Of steps which ascenoed
the stupendous monument and al
ia found between the paws OF the lion
" carefully laid pavement, at the er
of which,. next to the breast OF q
al Sphinx. rose a kind of open temp
a divided by two partitions, throus
which ran a passage containing
small figure OF q recumbent lion, ia
ing the Sphinx, in the middle
~ Thotmes III restored the Sphi
it is said by some writer's. and seer
especially TO have revered it, as
indicated by several small mon
81 ments which bear the figure Of I
Sphinx coupled with his name or J
/. portrait. In the inscription alrea
n referred TO, the Sphinx IS said
ut speak to Thothmes "as E father
his son. and 10 address him IN