Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Great Sphinx of Giza

Great Sphinx of Giza - Egyptian tourist spot-Great Sphinx of Giza - Tourist attractions in Egypt's most famous pyramids and the sphinx is located in Giza, near Cairo. Pyramid is a building with a square base with pointed toes like a cone. While the sphinx is a historic monument in the form of sculpture lion body with a human head or a cat. Sphinx depict the glory of the ancient Egyptian rulers of his time. This is the most phenomenal sights in Egypt.

In the Greek tradition, the Sphinx has the body of a lion, wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. He was a very cruel nasty creatures. Those who can not answer her riddle to be killed and eaten by a hungry monster. Unlike the Greek sphinx which was built to resemble the form of a woman's face, the Egyptian Sphinx was built as a gentleman (an androsphinx). In addition, the Egyptian sphinx is seen as a philanthropist, is contrary to the evil sphinx Greek version and is regarded as guardians flanking the entrance to the temple.

Great Sphinx of Giza

In European decorative art, the sphinx enjoyed a major revival during the Renaissance. Later, the sphinx image, something very similar to the original Ancient Egyptian concept, was exported into many other cultures, albeit often interpreted quite differently due to translations of descriptions of the originals and the evolution of the concept in relation to other cultural traditions. Generally the role of sphinxes is associated with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples. The oldest known sphinx was found near Gobekli Tepe at another site, Nevali Çori, or possibly 120 miles to the east at Kortik Tepe, Turkey and was dated to 9,500 BC.

The sphinx is located in the north and below the pyramids. What names their builders gave to these statues is not known. At the Great Sphinx site, the inscription on a stele by Thutmose IV in 1400 BCE, lists the names of three aspects of the local sun deity of that period, Khepera–Rê–Atum. The inclusion of these figures in tomb and temple complexes quickly became traditional and many pharaohs had their heads carved atop the guardian statues for their tombs to show their close relationship with the powerful solar deity, Sekhmet, a lioness. Other famous Egyptian sphinxes include one bearing the head of the pharaoh Hatshepsut, with her likeness carved in granite, which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the alabaster sphinx of Memphis, Memphis, Egypt, currently located within the open-air museum at that site. The theme was expanded to form great avenues of guardian sphinxes lining the approaches to tombs and temples as well as serving as details atop the posts of flights of stairs to very grand complexes. Nine hundred with ram heads, representing Amon, were built in Thebes, where his cult was strongest.

Perhaps the first sphinx in Egypt was one depicting Queen Hetepheres II, of the fourth dynasty that lasted from 2723 to 2563 BC. She was one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of that dynasty. The largest and most famous is the Great Sphinx of Giza, sited at the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile River and facing due east (29°58′31″N 31°08′15″E). It is also from the same dynasty. Although the date of its construction is uncertain, the head of the Great Sphinx now is believed to be that of the pharaoh Khafra. The Great Sphinx has become an emblem of Egypt, frequently appearing on its stamps, coins, and official documents.

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