DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11715#0060
THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS.
difficulty, and embarked it for England in 1838, but the vessel which conveyed it
unfortunately went down off the coast of Spain.
The Red Pyramid was opened by the Moslems in the thirteenth century, when, the
narrator states, " nothing was found but the decayed rotton remains of a man, but
there were no treasures, excepting some golden tablets, inscribed with characters which
nobody could understand." Some portion of the remains were found in the outer
apartment, which are now deposited in the British Museum. Amongst them was the
lid of a sarcophagus inscribed with an epitaph containing the king's name, which is at
once identified with Mycerinus, to whom Herodotus attributes the erection of the pyramid.
At the eastern edge of the platform of Gizeh stands the Great Sphinx, a
fabulous monster, compounded of the bust of a man with the
body and legs of a lion. This combination is supposed to
symbolize the union of intellect and power required in a
king. The conception originated apparently in Thebes, and
seems as intimately connected with that city as the pyra-
mid is with Memphis. This gigantic monster is consequently
some centuries later than the neighboring Pyramids. Bunsen
is inclined to assign it tc Thothmes IV., who is represented,
in a tablet on the breast of the Sphinx, offering incense and
libations.
It is carved out of the living rock, excavated for the pur-
pose to a depth of above sixty feet. The sands had so accu-
mulated about the figure, that only the head, neck, and top of
the back were visible, when Caviglia began to excavate the
front in 1817. In recent years it has been wholly uncovered
bust of chephren in the \ ...
museum at boolak. by M. Mariette. The figure lies with its face to the Nile,
with the paws protruding, in an attitude of majestic repose.
The contenance has the semi-negro, or ancient Egyptian cast of features, but is much
injured by the Arabs hurling theii spears and arrows at the idol. Fragments
^Q] of the beard have been found, and some traces of red remain on the cheeks,
which are perhaps of a later date. The head was covered with a cap, of which,
only the lower part remains. It is named in the hieroglyphics Hor-em-Khoo,
" Horus in the horizon ;" that is to say, the Sun-god, the type of all the kings.
Cartouche
„ < The height from the crown of the head to the floor between the paws is
Lkfpkren. o l
seventy feet; the body is a hundred and forty feet in length, and the paws pro-
trude fifty feet more. Between them was the altar or temple where sarifices were
offered to the deity, which was apparently the Genius of the Theban monarchy.
Rameses the Great is among the worshippers, and inscriptions on the paws testify to
the continuance of the rite in the Roman age. A small building on the steps in front
is inscribed to the Emperor Severus, who visited Egypt a.d. 202.
From the floor, where the altar stood, a flight of forty-three steps ascended to a
platform, whence an inclined plane led to the top of the rock facing the Sphinx. The
whole intermediate space had been excavated with prodigious labor. Nothing could
be grander than the appearance of this mysterious creature fronting the worshippers,
and rising more and more over their heads, as they descend the long flight of steps to
lay their offerings at its feet.
56
difficulty, and embarked it for England in 1838, but the vessel which conveyed it
unfortunately went down off the coast of Spain.
The Red Pyramid was opened by the Moslems in the thirteenth century, when, the
narrator states, " nothing was found but the decayed rotton remains of a man, but
there were no treasures, excepting some golden tablets, inscribed with characters which
nobody could understand." Some portion of the remains were found in the outer
apartment, which are now deposited in the British Museum. Amongst them was the
lid of a sarcophagus inscribed with an epitaph containing the king's name, which is at
once identified with Mycerinus, to whom Herodotus attributes the erection of the pyramid.
At the eastern edge of the platform of Gizeh stands the Great Sphinx, a
fabulous monster, compounded of the bust of a man with the
body and legs of a lion. This combination is supposed to
symbolize the union of intellect and power required in a
king. The conception originated apparently in Thebes, and
seems as intimately connected with that city as the pyra-
mid is with Memphis. This gigantic monster is consequently
some centuries later than the neighboring Pyramids. Bunsen
is inclined to assign it tc Thothmes IV., who is represented,
in a tablet on the breast of the Sphinx, offering incense and
libations.
It is carved out of the living rock, excavated for the pur-
pose to a depth of above sixty feet. The sands had so accu-
mulated about the figure, that only the head, neck, and top of
the back were visible, when Caviglia began to excavate the
front in 1817. In recent years it has been wholly uncovered
bust of chephren in the \ ...
museum at boolak. by M. Mariette. The figure lies with its face to the Nile,
with the paws protruding, in an attitude of majestic repose.
The contenance has the semi-negro, or ancient Egyptian cast of features, but is much
injured by the Arabs hurling theii spears and arrows at the idol. Fragments
^Q] of the beard have been found, and some traces of red remain on the cheeks,
which are perhaps of a later date. The head was covered with a cap, of which,
only the lower part remains. It is named in the hieroglyphics Hor-em-Khoo,
" Horus in the horizon ;" that is to say, the Sun-god, the type of all the kings.
Cartouche
„ < The height from the crown of the head to the floor between the paws is
Lkfpkren. o l
seventy feet; the body is a hundred and forty feet in length, and the paws pro-
trude fifty feet more. Between them was the altar or temple where sarifices were
offered to the deity, which was apparently the Genius of the Theban monarchy.
Rameses the Great is among the worshippers, and inscriptions on the paws testify to
the continuance of the rite in the Roman age. A small building on the steps in front
is inscribed to the Emperor Severus, who visited Egypt a.d. 202.
From the floor, where the altar stood, a flight of forty-three steps ascended to a
platform, whence an inclined plane led to the top of the rock facing the Sphinx. The
whole intermediate space had been excavated with prodigious labor. Nothing could
be grander than the appearance of this mysterious creature fronting the worshippers,
and rising more and more over their heads, as they descend the long flight of steps to
lay their offerings at its feet.
56