Pathways Egypt

A commonly known fact is that the Great Pyramid of Giza is the only monument of the original Seven Wonders of the World still standing in the present day. While the superior construction and design of the Pyramid has helped it stand the test of time, one cannot help but poetically wonder if part of its survival can be attributed to its guardian.

The guardian of the great pyramid, and the other pyramids in the Giza complex, is known to all. The Great Sphinx of Giza is, and has always been, a huge tourist drawing point for those wishing to walk on the sands of ancient Egypt. The sphinx is one of the largest surviving monuments of the ancient world, though few are aware of its role within the Giza complex.

Sphinxes in general originate in ancient Egypt, though they appear throughout the classical world. The Egyptian sphinx usually shows the body of a lion a topped with the head of a female, though the Great Sphinx of Giza is somewhat unusual in that it shows the head of a male. The identity of the man the head of the Sphinx is modeled on is subject to much debate, though current Egyptologists now believe it to be the head of the pharaoh Khafra (reigned circa 2558 BC).

The Great Sphinx sits to the east of the Giza Pyramid Complex, facing outward with its back to the second-largest pyramid. As with most sphinxes, its role is that of guardianship over the dead. The pyramids are the tombs of pharaohs, and the Sphinx acts as their protector in the afterlife.

The builder of the Sphinx is unknown, though dating would place its construction around the pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty. Various pharaohs within this dynasty have been attributed with ordering the construction of the Sphinx, but no contemporary documents have been found to verify this. It is likely that this guardian of the fallen pharaohs was ordered and constructed by more than one of the Fourth Dynasty, with the original conception of the idea generally attributed to Djedefra, Khafra’s successor.

There is one thing modern Egyptologists can be sure of, however: whoever constructed the Great Sphinx, it remains one of the most visited attraction in Egypt today.

Egypt is a country with extremely strong links to its past, a place which has one of the longest histories of any in the world. Along with Roman and Greek ancient civilization, Egyptian cultural influence stretched far beyond the boundaries of the country. The legendary Egyptian civilization was responsible for many innovations and works of great craftsmanship relevant to art and historical craft. Among the innovations of Alexandrian craftsmen was the invention of Papyrus, which is recognized by us today as paper.

Of course, Egyptian craftsmanship is defined for many people by the burial processes and tombs of ancient Egypt, not least the legendary pyramids that include the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to still be standing today. The Pyramids themselves were built to house the tombs of Egyptian nobles – specifically the Pharaohs and their consorts – and are immediately recognized by just about anyone who sees them. In actual fact, their structure is so recognizable that any three-dimensional triangular shape is now known as a “pyramid”.

The Great Pyramid was built for the fourth generation Pharaoh Khufu, who reigned from 2589-2566 BC and is, interestingly, the builder of the largest building of ancient times and simultaneously the subject of the smallest royal sculpture ever to be found – a statuette in ivory about three inches tall.

Along with the pyramids, other examples of classic Egyptian/Alexandrian craftsmanship are visible in the death masks and sarcophagi that were created for the Pharaohs. The most famous of these would obviously be the incredibly intricate mask created for perhaps the most famous Pharaoh of all time, Tutankhamun, whose tomb was discovered fully intact in 1922 by the archaeologist Howard Carter. Among the effects found in the tomb, the mask was seen as the one which truly stood out, and has come to represent ancient Egypt in a single image for many people. The importance placed on burial ceremony in Ancient Egypt was reflected very strongly in their traditions and now, millennia later, has come to symbolize an entire ancient civilization for a great many people.