Were there 2 sphynxs?

I've read in a page i dont remember which one was it that there was supposed to be a second great sphynx in Egypt. Then i saw this image




does this image means that there were two of them? If so why there isn't any sign of it, hidden in the desert perhaps?

Another question i have is why does the Great Sphynx shows signs of heavy water erosion when the Pyramids show none? Was the Sphynx located on a ancient lake, that is now desert?

Maybe someone here can help me out.

thanks

I think there were many Egyptian sphinxes:

en.wikipedia.org...

I don't think any were as massive as the Sphinx at Giza.

reply to post by Picollo30

Hi,
The Sphinx's weathering patterns are consistent with a much longer history than is currently accepted by historians.

Author, lecturer, and guide, John Anthony West delivered a seismic shock to archaeology in the early 1990's when he and Boston University geologist Robert Schoch revealed that the Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt, showed evidence of rainfall erosion. Such erosion could only mean that the Sphinx was carved during or before the rains that marked the transition of northern Africa from the last Ice Age to the present interglacial epoch, a transition that occurred in the millennia from 10,000 to 5000 BC.

"Egyptian civilisation was not a development, it was a legacy"

John Anthony West

Link

The sphinx was replicated in many statues and depictions during various kingships in Egypt, hence the picture you linked to.

The Great Pyramid was originally covered in acres of highly polished stone. There seems to be a discrepancy about what the stone was, although we can still see elements of it at the pyramid's base. Each cover stone was cemented into place with a unique blend that acted as a glue. Each stone was perfectly aligned with its neighbors and showed no gaps. This would have prevented erosion for the longest time.

The sphinx was carved from the bedrock and was not covered in a protective coating, although a few rulers did do restoration work using bricks that we see easily today.

Hope this helps answer your questions.

reply to post by Picollo30

Hi,

I spent quite a bit of time in and around Egypt and Middle East (another story) and have seen many inscriptions like this.

I would hazard a guess that the two Sphinxes are possibly a reference to "duality" or the dualistic mind as opposed to unified mind state - especially as they mirror each other.

Do not recall ever hearing about another great Sphinx in Egypt of similar size and appearance to that on the Giza Plateau.

I cant tell from the pic, but it would be interesting to see whether the Sphinx symbols represent the original face of the Sphinx before Napoleon and other superstars of this era decided to use cannon to blow the original facial features of the Sphinx off - following a long line of leaders in Egypt who apparently attempted the same.

I believe Cheops may have even tried to have his own face resculptured on the Sphinx (heresay) before or after carving his name into a Lintel above the entrance to the main pyramid.

Thanks

Bravo

so what would the face on the sphynx be? human or feline?

has anyone noticed some similarities with the face on mars (cydonia?). I kow it has been debunked, but curious nonetheless

Originally posted by Picollo30
so what would the face on the sphynx be? human or feline?

It is hypothecized that it was either originally feline or the head of Anubis, and later recarved by the more widely accepted definition of ancient egyptians into the face of a pharoah.

Maybe the stuff of legends but not completely without historical support. Perhaps a grain or two of salt is required as with all old tales.

The Arab writers who mention a 2nd Sphinx are:

Al-I'Drisi (AD 1099-1166) who wrote about it in Kitab al-Mamalik wa al-Mansalik (a large geographic encyclopedia) and Al-Kitab al-Jujari, a geographical encyclopedia on Asia and Africa. He describes a second sphinx across the Nile from the first in very bad state of repair, made of mud (bricks?) and faced with stone, most of the stone having been hauled away by local inhabitants and now the Nile "lapping at it's feet." He doesn't say if it was the same size, but since the Nile moved further east after AD 1166, then it would have been destroyed.

Ibn Battuta (AD 1307-1377) in his Travels in Asia and Africa doesn't mention it, either because it doesn't exist, or has already been destroyed by then (it was written around AD 1325-1354).

Musabbihi mentions a smaller Sphinx across the Nile from the large one "south of Cairo" in a "ruined state of brick and stone" in the Annals of Rabi II around AD 1024.

Nasir-i Khosrau visited Egypt between Aug 1047 and April 1048 and heard rumors of a second one but apparently never looked for it or saw it.

It could have been a larger than usual Sphinx that normally lines the road to a temple and was the last of the line left after the Nile crept over to the location and destroyed all the others, easy to visualize as the destruction of the outer stones of the others would leave the mudbrick exterior subject to the flooding of the Nile.

from here

I've also seen theories of the second great sphynx having been located on the western side of the Giza plateau.

Originally posted by Picollo30
I've read in a page i dont remember which one was it that there was supposed to be a second great sphynx in Egypt. Then i saw this image

That's part of the stonework from the great stele that rests between the Sphynx' paws.

www.touregypt.net...

Egyptians liked harmony and balance in things and thus would often write a piece of text in mirror reflections. I can't see the full thing, but it appears that at least part of it (including the sphynxes) is mirrored. If so, that's a convention in Egyptian art that I've seen many other places.

Another question i have is why does the Great Sphynx shows signs of heavy water erosion when the Pyramids show none? Was the Sphynx located on a ancient lake, that is now desert?

Don't bank completely on water erosion, however, there IS some.

And the sphynx and pyramids are sitting right next to the Nile. They're not in the middle of the desert.

Originally posted by Picollo30
so what would the face on the sphynx be? human or feline?

has anyone noticed some similarities with the face on mars (cydonia?). I kow it has been debunked, but curious nonetheless

Human, and it's not really similar to Cydonia. The "headdress" on Cydonia is all wrong.

The sphynx was a representation of the power of pharaoh as god, so it usually had a human face. There are some cases where it has the face of Horus.

If it has a feline face, then it is not a sphynx but a representation of something else. Sometimes (depending on context) it represents the lions that guard the gates of the dawn.

According to a book called "Keeper of Genesis", the Sphinx faced East in a timeframe where Leo was rising in the East at dawn. So it's possible the original Lion carved out within its pit was more a time marker than anything else, pointing to a time for us to explore.

It's also thought by some that the texts about travelling in the Duat (the heavens, after death) are aligned with the timing of this rising, as might be initiations into higher spiritual knowledge.

The human face we see today is thought to be of a pharoah who had his face carved into and over the original Lion head. More than likely with shifting sands the Sphinx had lain there for far longer than our History Books tell us.

[edit on 6-9-2009 by Tayesin]

Originally posted by Tayesin
According to a book called "Keeper of Genesis", the Sphinx faced East in a timeframe where Leo was rising in the East at dawn.

Actually, depending on the time of year, there's a whole month where Leo is the rising constellation. I think the author of the book may not be aware of that.

But that's why your "sun sign" in astrology can be Leo, or Pisces, or any of the other options.

It's also thought by some that the texts about travelling in the Duat (the heavens, after death) are aligned with the timing of this rising, as might be initiations into higher spiritual knowledge.

That's a modern Western (neo-shamanic) teaching, not anything that the Ancient Egyptians believed. They didn't have an initiatory religion with levels (although they did have a bureaucracy within the temples.) The only people allowed into the Duat were the dead who were "justified of voice" (or "true of voice"), who had passed the test with the Feather of Ma'at. Afterlife Egypt was like life in Egypt... only with no need to labor and lots of festivals to attend (according to the hieroglyphic texts.) There are many prayers written on tombs that speak of the deceased participating in festivals to Osiris and other gods after they died.

The Duat was not a place of knowledge, but of rest.

The human face we see today is thought to be of a pharoah who had his face carved into and over the original Lion head.

There are several layers of limestone of different types that make up the Sphynx. The top layer is fairly soft and wouldn't really hold up to anything with a long muzzle.

The Dream Stele itself (between the paws of the Sphynx) says that it was carved with a human face. Egyptian deities were shown with animal heads; offhand the only full lions I know about are the Aker who guard the dawn. The sphynx is associated with "horus on the horizon" one of the old traditional titles of the Pharaoh.

Khufu's pyramid is known as "Horus on the Horizon" (that's its formal name, recorded by ancient historians.)