Wet collodion on
glass 23.5 x 29.5 cm Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago |
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The
Great Sphinx at Giza. Carved from limestone bedrock during the Old
Kingdom (c. 2800-2350 B.C.) as an image of Harmachis, the rising sun, the
Sphinx was from time to time buried up to its neck by the encroaching
Libyan sands. During the New Kingdom (c. 1560-1085 B.C.) it became popular
for royal princes holding military posts in Memphis to ride their chariots
across the ancient pyramid fields, perhaps in ritualized exhibition of
their martial prowess. The stela of Thutmosis IV, visible in this photo
between the front paws of the Sphinx, tells of how the prince Thutmosis
was accustomed to drive his chariot round and round the Sphinx. One day he
went to sleep in the shadow of the Sphinx, and the god Harmachis himself
appeared to the young man in a dream, complaining of the sand which
burdened his colossal image and promising the throne to the prince if he
would clear away the sand. Evidently both Thutmosis IV and Harmachis kept
their word. This photograph was taken after Émile Baraize completed his
excavations of the Sphinx in 1934 and before Selim Hassan began new work
on the site in 1936. The pyramid of Khafra (Chefren) is visible to the
right; those of Menkaura (Mycerinus) and one of his queens to the left.
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