How can you explain the statement cephalopod primates of the sea. Cephalopods - "primates of the sea"
Address: Egypt, Giza plateau in the suburbs of Cairo
Date of construction: XXVI-XXIII centuries BC e.
Coordinates: 29°58"41.3"N 31°07"52.1"E
Where the green Nile Valley gives way to the Libyan Desert, in the suburbs of Cairo, on the Giza Plateau, the Great Pyramids stand unshakably. To the eyes of a tourist arriving in Giza, the pyramids open unexpectedly: like a mirage, they “grow” from the hot sands of the desert.
Great Pyramids of Giza from a bird's eye view
In the Ancient World, the pyramids were considered one of the “7 Wonders of the World,” but even today they impress with their immense size, and their secrets will excite the imagination of mankind for a long time. The pyramids were admired " the mighty of the world this" - Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, etc.
Great Pyramids of Giza. From left to right: pyramids of queens, pyramid of Mikerin, pyramid of Khafre, pyramid of Cheops
Wanting to inspire French army Before the famous battle with the Mamluks, Napoleon, standing at the pyramids, exclaimed: “Soldiers, 40 centuries are looking at you from these peaks!” And then Bonaparte calculated: if the Cheops pyramid was dismantled, then from 2.5 million stone blocks it would be possible to build a 3-meter wall around France.
The three Great Pyramids, guarded by the Great Sphinx, are part of the huge necropolis of Giza. These pyramids were built under the pharaohs of the IV dynasty, who ruled the Old Kingdom in 2639-2506. BC e. They are surrounded by small pyramids and temples where the wives of the pharaohs, priests and officials are buried.
The Pyramid of Cheops
Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)
The largest of the pyramids, the Pyramid of Cheops, is the only one of the “7 Wonders of the World” that has survived to this day. For more than 3,000 years, before the construction of Lincoln Cathedral in England (1311), the Cheops Pyramid was the tallest structure on Earth. Its original height - 146.6 meters - corresponded to a 50-story skyscraper, but after an earthquake in the 13th century, the Cheops pyramid decreased by 8 meters - it lost its cladding and the gilded pyramidon stone that crowned the top.
Pyramid of Cheops and Museum of the Solar Boat
The Egyptians stole the polished white limestone slabs and used them to build Cairo's houses and mosques. The Pyramid of Cheops amazes with its grandeur and the titanic work of people who raised stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons to the sky using primitive devices - ropes and levers. And in the “Tsar’s Chamber” granite blocks weigh up to 80 tons. The Arab historian Abdel Latif (12th century) notes that the individual blocks are so tightly fitted to each other that it is impossible to insert the tip of a knife between them.
Solar boat
Solar boat
Inside the Cheops pyramid there are burial chambers, and outside, at its foot, there is the Museum of the Solar Boat.. On this ship, built of cedar without a single nail, the pharaoh was supposed to go to the afterlife.
Pyramid of Khafre
Pyramid of Khafre (Khafre)
The second largest ancient Egyptian pyramid was built 40 years later than the first by Pharaoh Khafre, the son of Cheops. Although the pyramid of Khafre is inferior in height (136.4 m) to the tomb of his father, but due to its location on a more high point plateau, it was a worthy competitor to the Great Pyramid.
At the top of the Pyramid of Khafre, a white basalt cladding is partially preserved, reminiscent of a glacier on the mountain.
Pyramid of Mikerin
Pyramid of Mikerin (Menkaure)
The ensemble of the Great Pyramids is completed by the relatively modest-sized tomb of Mikerin, built for the grandson of Cheops. Contrary to the loud nickname “Heru” (high), it reaches only 62 meters in height, but it emphasizes the greatness of the pyramids of Cheops and Khafre.
Great Sphinx
Great Sphinx
At the foot of the Giza plateau stands a monumental sculpture 73 meters long and 20 meters high. It is carved from a monolithic limestone rock in the shape of a sphinx - mythical creature with the head of a man, the paws and body of a lion. According to scientists, The facial features of the Great Sphinx are similar to the appearance of Pharaoh Khafre. The Sphinx's gaze is directed to the east, towards to the rising sun. According to the beliefs of the Egyptians, the lion was a symbol of the solar deity, and the pharaoh was the deputy of the Sun god Ra on earth and after death merged with the shining luminary.
Great Sphinx from the rear
The lions stood at the gate the afterlife, therefore the Sphinx is considered to be the guardian of the necropolis. The statue's face is badly damaged. Most often you can hear that the Sphinx's nose was beaten off by Napoleonic grenadiers. According to another version of the legend, the damage to the sculpture was caused by one Shah, religious fanatic. The reason for the vandalism is simple: Islam prohibits making images of people and animals.
The Great Sphinx against the background of the Pyramid of Khafre
Secrets of ancient times: why were the pyramids built?
Disputes about the purpose of the pyramids are still ongoing. The traditional version says that the mounds towering above the mortal world could be the tombs of the pharaohs, from where their ashes rose closer to the sky and the sun. Some scientists consider the pyramids to be temples where sun worshipers performed religious rites; other - scientific laboratories created for astronomical observations. German archaeologists have put forward another hypothesis: pyramids are natural generators of earthly energy.
The Complete Encyclopedia of Mythological Creatures. Story. Origin. Magic properties Conway Deanna
Egyptian Sphinx
Egyptian Sphinx
The image of the Egyptian Sphinx is familiar to us from the destroyed monument standing next to the pyramids. This ancient statue, carved from a giant stone, is located just outside Gaza and depicts a reclining lion with an apparently male human head. Currently, the Sphinx statue is destroyed and significantly damaged and is only an echo of its former beauty. When Muslims took over Egypt, fanatical adherents of this religion deliberately chopped off the nose of the statue, calling it a sinful idol.
In the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, who called it “hu,” it symbolized the four elements and the Spirit, as well as all the science of the past, which is lost to us. Despite the fact that the statue of the reclining Sphinx is located near the Great Pyramid, the Sphinx was built much later than this famous structure.
The Egyptian Sphinx is different from the Greek one. He is believed to be male, as he wears a headdress with long cloths falling over his shoulders and a royal uraeus (cobra). He has no wings. Meanwhile, many ancient authors argued that the Sphinx is an androgynous creature with both male (positive) and female (negative) creative powers. Looks like the Egyptian Sphinx, regal, but mysterious creature, was the guardian of the underworld, that parallel world, which initiates speak of as a place of great initiations.
The height of the Egyptian Sphinx is almost seventy feet, length - more than a hundred. It is estimated that its weight is several hundred tons. It is possible that the statue was originally covered with a layer of plaster and painted in sacred colors. Externally, the Sphinx was the embodiment of the Sun God, so his head was decorated with a royal headdress, his forehead was a cobra (uraeus), and his chin was a beard. Both the cobra and the beard were once chopped off. The beard was discovered between the front paws of the Sphinx during its excavation from the layer of sand covering the statue.
The main body of the Sphinx is carved from a monolithic giant stone, and the front legs are carved from smaller stones. The version that this stone could have been a monolithic rock that was originally located there has caused a lot of controversy. Analysis of the limestone from which the statue was carved showed that it contained great amount small sea creatures, indicating a greater likelihood of quarrying the stone elsewhere.
The temple, the altar located between the paws, and the steps leading up to the Sphinx were built much later. This was probably done by the Romans, who restored many Egyptian monuments.
Between the Sphinx's front paws is a huge red granite stele with a hieroglyphic inscription on it stating that the Sphinx is a guardian. Some of the hieroglyphs on this stele describe an unusual dream-vision of the Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Thutmose IV, who appeared to him while he was sleeping in the shadow of the Sphinx. Thutmose was still a prince then. Tired during the hunt, the prince lay down to take a nap in the shadow of an ancient statue, and he dreamed that the Sphinx turned to him with a request to remove the sand that bound him and restore his former beauty. And in gratitude, he promised to reward Thutmose with the double crown of Egypt. Apparently Thutmose paid heed to this request (although the part of the stela describing it is too badly damaged to read the entire text) because he became Pharaoh Thutmose IV.
Conservative archaeologists, historians and scientists firmly believe that the Sphinx was carved in the image of one of the great pharaohs as a funerary offering. However, ancient historical sources, which these “experts” ignored, set out a different version of the purpose of the Sphinx.
The ancient philosopher Iamblichus wrote that the Egyptian Sphinx blocked the entrance to the sacred underground chambers and galleries, where adherents of secret knowledge underwent certain tests. The entrance to the Sphinx was carefully closed by huge bronze gates, and the way to open them was known only to individual high priests and priestesses. If the initiate into secret knowledge was not completely ready, the intricate labyrinth of passages inside the statue again returned him to the beginning of the path. If he found the right path in the labyrinth, he moved from one ritual hall to another. And only if the initiate was recognized as ready for the great sacrament of initiation, he or she was escorted to a deep tunnel leading under the desert sands from the Sphinx into the Great Pyramid.
George Hunt Williamson claims that these underground temples contain slabs of precious metals, papyrus scrolls and clay tablets containing ancient information.
To refute the claims of ancient authors, over the years, metal rods and not a single passage or hall was discovered within it. However, in October 1994 information Agency The Associated Press reported that workers trying to restore the destroyed parts of the Sphinx made a fantastic discovery: they discovered an unknown ancient passage leading deep inside the Sphinx. Yet antiquities experts still don't know who built it, where it leads, or what its purpose was.
Sometimes the Sphinx was represented with the head of a hawk, rather than a human one. Egyptian Sphinxes have always been depicted lying down. Sphinxes were often placed on both sides of the entrance to the temple to guard it.
However, images of Sphinxes have been discovered in cultures more ancient than Egyptian. It has been determined that the stone sculptures of the Sphinxes found in Mesopotamia were created according to at least five thousand years earlier than the Egyptian Sphinx in Gaza. Similar figures carved from stone have been discovered throughout the Middle East. Even in Ancient Greece there was a legend about the Sphinx.
Egyptian Sphinx
From book encyclopedic Dictionary(WITH) author Brockhaus F.A.Sphinx Sphinx (Sjigx) – in Greek mythology a demon strangler in the form of a half-woman, half-lion; the personification of inevitable fate and inhuman torment. The name S. is of Greek origin (from the verb sjiggw - to strangle), but the idea was probably borrowed from the Egyptians or
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Egypt is a country that is still shrouded in a lot of mysteries that attract tourists from all over the planet. Perhaps one of the most important secrets of this state is the great Sphinx, the statue of which is located in the Giza Valley. This is one of the most grandiose sculptures ever created by human hands. Its dimensions are truly impressive - the length is 72 meters, the height is approximately 20 meters, the face of the Sphinx itself is 5 meters long, and the nose that fell off, according to calculations, was the size of an average human height. Not a single photo can convey the full grandeur of this stunning ancient monument.
Today, the great Sphinx in Giza no longer inspires sacred horror in a person - after excavations it was discovered that the statue was just “sitting” in a hole. However, for many centuries, her head, sticking out of the desert sand, inspired superstitious fear among desert Bedouins and local residents.
general information
The Egyptian Sphinx is located on west coast River Nile, and his head is facing the sunrise. For many thousands of years, the gaze of this silent witness to the history of the land of the Pharaohs has been directed to that point on the horizon where, in the days of autumn and spring equinox the sun begins its leisurely course.
The Sphinx itself is made of monolithic limestone, which is a fragment of the base of the Giza plateau. The statue represents a huge mysterious creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man. Many have probably seen this grandiose building in photographs in books and textbooks on the history of the Ancient World.
Cultural and historical significance of the structure
According to historians, in almost all ancient civilizations the lion was the personification of the sun and solar deity. In the drawings of the ancient Egyptians, the pharaoh was often depicted as a lion, attacking the enemies of the state and exterminating them. It was on the basis of these beliefs that the version was built that the great Sphinx is a kind of mystical guard protecting the peace of the rulers buried in the tombs of the Giza Valley.
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It is still not known what the inhabitants called the Sphinx Ancient Egypt. It is believed that the word "sphinx" itself has Greek origin and literally translates as “strangler.” In some Arabic texts, in particular in the famous collection “A Thousand and One Nights,” the Sphinx is called nothing less than “Father of Terror.” There is another opinion, according to which the ancient Egyptians called the statue “the image of being.” This once again confirms that the Sphinx was for them the earthly incarnation of one of the deities.
Story
Probably the most important mystery that the Egyptian Sphinx conceals is who, when and why erected such a grandiose monument. In the ancient papyri found by historians, one can find a lot of information about the construction and creators of the Great Pyramids and numerous temple complexes, but there is no mention of the Sphinx, its creator and the cost of its construction (and the ancient Egyptians were always very careful about the costs of this or that business). not in any source. The historian Pliny the Elder mentioned it for the first time in his writings, but this was already at the beginning of our era. He notes that the Sphinx, located in Egypt, has been reconstructed and cleaned of sand several times. It is precisely the fact that not a single source has yet been found that explains the origin of this monument, which has given rise to countless versions, opinions and guesses as to who built it and why.
The Great Sphinx fits perfectly into the complex of structures located on the Giza plateau. The creation of this complex dates back to the reign of the IV dynasty of kings. Actually, it itself includes the Great Pyramids and the statue of the Sphinx.
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It is still impossible to say exactly how old this monument is. According to the official version, the Great Sphinx in Giza was erected during the reign of Pharaoh Khafre - approximately 2500 BC. In support of this hypothesis, historians point to the similarity of the limestone blocks used in the construction of the pyramid of Khafre and the Sphinx, as well as the image of the ruler himself, which was discovered not far from the building.
There is one more alternative version origin of the Sphinx, according to which its construction dates back to even more ancient times. A group of Egyptologists from Germany, who analyzed the erosion of the limestone, concluded that the monument was built around 7000 BC. There are also astronomical theories about the creation of the Sphinx, according to which its construction is associated with the constellation Orion and corresponds to 10,500 BC.
Restorations and the current state of the monument
The Great Sphinx, although it has survived to this day, is now badly damaged - neither time nor people have spared it. The face was especially damaged - on numerous photos you can see that it is almost completely erased, and its features cannot be distinguished. The uraeus - a symbol of royal power, which is a cobra that wraps around its head - is irretrievably lost. The plat - the ceremonial headdress that descends from the head to the shoulders of the statue - is also partially destroyed. The beard, which is now not fully represented, has also suffered. But where and under what circumstances the Sphinx’s nose disappeared, scientists are still arguing.
Damage to the face of the Great Sphinx, located in Egypt, is very reminiscent of chisel marks. According to Egyptologists, in the 14th century it was mutilated by one pious sheikh, who fulfilled the commandments of the Prophet Muhammad, prohibiting the depiction human face on works of art. And the Mamelukes used the head of the structure as a cannon target.
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Today, in photos, videos and live, you can see how much the Great Sphinx has suffered from time and the cruelty of people. A small piece weighing 350 kg even broke off from it - this gives another reason to be truly amazed gigantic size this building.
Although only 700 years ago the face of the mysterious statue was described by a certain Arab traveler. In his travel notes it was said that this face was truly beautiful, and his lips bore the majestic seal of the pharaohs.
Over the years of its existence, the Great Sphinx has more than once plunged up to its shoulders into the sands of the Sahara Desert. The first attempts to excavate the monument were made back in ancient times pharaohs Thutmose IV and Ramses II. Under Thutmose, the Great Sphinx was not only completely dug out of the sand, but also a huge granite arrow was installed in its paws. An inscription was carved on it, saying that the ruler was giving his body under the protection of the Sphinx so that it would rest under the sands of the Giza valley and in certain moment resurrected as a new pharaoh.
During the time of Ramses II, the Great Sphinx of Giza was not only dug out of the sand, but also underwent a thorough restoration. In particular, the massive back part of the statue was replaced with blocks, although previously the entire monument was monolithic. IN early XIX century, archaeologists completely cleared the chest of the statue of sand, but it was completely freed from sand only in 1925. It was then that the true dimensions of this grandiose structure became known.
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The Great Sphinx as a tourism object
The Great Sphinx, like the Great Pyramids, is located on the Giza plateau, 20 km from the capital of Egypt. This is a single complex of historical monuments of Ancient Egypt, which has survived to this day since the reign of the pharaohs from the IV dynasty. It consists of three large pyramids - Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin, and small pyramids of queens are also included here. Here tourists can visit various temple buildings. The Sphinx statue is located in the eastern part of this ancient complex.
Sphinx is a Greek word of Egyptian origin. The Greeks called this a mythical monster with a woman's head, a lion's body and bird wings. It was the offspring of the hundred-headed giant Python and his half-snake wife Echidna; other famous people also descended from them mythical monsters: Cerberus, Hydra and Chimera. This monster lived on a rock near Thebes and asked people a riddle; whoever could not solve it was killed by the Sphinx. This is how the Sphinx destroyed people until Oedipus solved its riddle; then the Sphinx threw himself into the sea, since fate determined that he would not survive the correct answer. (By the way, the riddle was quite simple: “Who walks in the morning on four legs, at noon on two, and in the evening on three?” - “Man!” answered Oedipus. “In infancy, he crawls on all fours, mature age walks on two legs, and in old age leans on a stick.")
In the Egyptian understanding, the Sphinx was neither a monster nor a woman, like the Greeks, and did not ask riddles; it was a statue of a ruler or god, whose power was symbolized by the lion's body. Such a statue was called shesep-ankh, i.e. “living image” (of the ruler). From the distortion of these words the Greek “sphinx” arose.
Although the Egyptian Sphinx did not ask riddles, the huge statue itself under the pyramids at Giza is a riddle incarnate. Many tried to explain his mysterious and somewhat contemptuous smile. Scientists asked questions: who does the statue depict, when was it created, how was it carved?
After a hundred years of study, which included drilling machines and gunpowder, Egyptologists discovered the real name of the Sphinx. The surrounding Arabs called the statue Abu'l Hod - "Father of Terror", philologists found out that this is the folk etymology of the ancient "Khorun". Behind this name were hidden several even more ancient ones, and at the end of the chain stood the ancient Egyptian Haremakhet (in Greek Harmakhis), which meant “The choir in the sky.” The choir was the deified ruler, and the sky was the place where, after death, this ruler merges with the sun god. The full name meant: “The living image of Khafre.” pharaoh Khafre(Khefre) with the body of the king of the desert, a lion, and with symbols of royal power, i.e. Khafre - a god and a lion guarding his pyramid.
Riddles of the Sphinx. Video
There is not and has never been a statue in the world larger than the Great Sphinx. It is hewn from a single block left in a quarry where stone was mined for the construction of the pyramid of Khufu and then Khafre. It combines a remarkable creation of technology with wonderful artistic invention; Khafre's appearance, known to us from other sculptural portraits, despite the stylized nature of the image, is conveyed correctly, with individual features (wide cheekbones and large, lagging ears). As can be judged by the inscription at the feet of the statue, it was created during Khafre’s lifetime; therefore, this Sphinx is not only the largest, but also the oldest monumental statue in the world. From its front paw to its tail is 57.3 meters, the height of the statue is 20 meters, the width of the face is 4.1 meters, the height is 5 meters, from the top to the earlobe is 1.37 meters, the length of the nose is 1.71 meters. The Great Sphinx is over 4,500 years old.
Now it is badly damaged. The face was disfigured, as if it had been hit with a chisel or shot with cannonballs. The royal uraeus, a symbol of power in the form of a cobra raised on the forehead, disappeared forever; the royal nemes (celebratory scarf descending from the back of the head to the shoulders) is partially broken off; from the “divine” beard, a symbol of royal dignity, only fragments remained, found at the feet of the statue. Several times the Sphinx was covered with desert sand, so that only one head stuck out, and not always its entire head. As far as we know, the pharaoh was the first to order it to be excavated at the end of the 15th century BC. e. According to legend, the Sphinx appeared to him in a dream, asked for this and promised the double crown of Egypt as a reward, which, as evidenced by the inscription on the wall between his paws, he subsequently fulfilled. Then he was freed from captivity by the Sais rulers in the 7th century BC. e., after them - the Roman emperor Septimius Severus at the beginning of the 3rd century AD. e. In modern times, the Sphinx was first dug up by Caviglia in 1818, doing this at the expense of the then ruler of Egypt Muhammad Ali, who paid him 450 pounds sterling - a very large sum for those times. In 1886, his work had to be repeated by the famous Egyptologist Maspero. The Sphinx was then excavated by the Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1925–1926; The work was supervised by the French architect E. Barez, who partially restored the statue and erected a fence to protect it from new drifts. The Sphinx generously rewarded him for this: between his front paws were the remains of a temple, which until then none of the researchers of the pyramid field in Giza had even suspected.
However, time and the desert did not cause such significant damage to the Sphinx as human stupidity. The wounds on the face of the Sphinx, reminiscent of marks from blows with a chisel, were actually inflicted with a chisel: in the 14th century, a certain devout Muslim sheikh mutilated it in this way in order to fulfill the covenant of the Prophet Muhammad, prohibiting the depiction of a human face. Wounds that look like marks from cannonballs are also just that. It was the Egyptian soldiers - the Mamelukes - who used the head of the Sphinx as a target for their cannons.