DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4372#0345
329
the contrary, and I should conceive these Greek authors only
referred to the two kinds of granite, the red and the gray, one
of which might be called noUikog, and the other pAa?.
Behind this are the three smaller pyramids in which, according
to Diodorus Sicnlus, were deposited the bodies of the wives of
Chemmis, Cephren, and Mycerinus.
In front of the second and third pyramids is a square colossal
building, formed by massive stone walls, in which many of the
blocks are twenty-four feet long, and six in width and height.
It is difficult to say what could have been the object of these
enclosures; they are finished in a very rough style, and resemble
in no way any of the temples in Upper Egypt. There are no
hieroglyphical sculptures of any kind, either on them or on any
of the pyramids.
A large and strong built causeway has been carried from the en-
trances of each of these enclosures to the celebrated sphinx, whose
enigmatical meaning still continues to puzzle the antiquaries of
Europe, and who has proved during a long lapse of ages the
faithful depositary of the mysteries which envelop every object
round her. The French excavated the body of the lion ; which
they found uninjured: but the sands of the Desert very soon ren-
dered their labour vain ; and the last time I saw the sphinx, the
head and neck alone Avere visible. These have been evidently
painted all over, and many characters are to be traced upon the
head-dress; but we could not ascertain whether they Avere the sa-
cred or popular letters of Egypt; some indeed bore a resemblance
to the Arabic. It is still a point of dispute among the learned,
whether this combination of the human and the lion's form is
typical of the rising of the Nile, the summer solstice, or the
wisdom and power of the deity. Such a personification of human
intelligence and brutal force might be the original of the Greek
2 v Minerva;
the contrary, and I should conceive these Greek authors only
referred to the two kinds of granite, the red and the gray, one
of which might be called noUikog, and the other pAa?.
Behind this are the three smaller pyramids in which, according
to Diodorus Sicnlus, were deposited the bodies of the wives of
Chemmis, Cephren, and Mycerinus.
In front of the second and third pyramids is a square colossal
building, formed by massive stone walls, in which many of the
blocks are twenty-four feet long, and six in width and height.
It is difficult to say what could have been the object of these
enclosures; they are finished in a very rough style, and resemble
in no way any of the temples in Upper Egypt. There are no
hieroglyphical sculptures of any kind, either on them or on any
of the pyramids.
A large and strong built causeway has been carried from the en-
trances of each of these enclosures to the celebrated sphinx, whose
enigmatical meaning still continues to puzzle the antiquaries of
Europe, and who has proved during a long lapse of ages the
faithful depositary of the mysteries which envelop every object
round her. The French excavated the body of the lion ; which
they found uninjured: but the sands of the Desert very soon ren-
dered their labour vain ; and the last time I saw the sphinx, the
head and neck alone Avere visible. These have been evidently
painted all over, and many characters are to be traced upon the
head-dress; but we could not ascertain whether they Avere the sa-
cred or popular letters of Egypt; some indeed bore a resemblance
to the Arabic. It is still a point of dispute among the learned,
whether this combination of the human and the lion's form is
typical of the rising of the Nile, the summer solstice, or the
wisdom and power of the deity. Such a personification of human
intelligence and brutal force might be the original of the Greek
2 v Minerva;