THE SPΗΙΝΧ

 

THE SPΗΙΝΧ  OF EGYPT

by  G.S.O. 

 THIS wonderful relic of antiquity stands about four miles from Cairo, near the Nile. It is a vast monster cut out of stone, with a woman's face and a lion's body. Naturally enough, we ask, Who was the maker of the Sphinx? And was it carved out of a rock which stood there,? or was it made at some distance, and then brought to the place, where it stands? These questions a boy may ask, but the wisest greybeard cannot answer them. They would serve as riddles to be put to us by the Sphinx herself, riddles we could not answer; for there are ne great rocks standing out of the sand thereabout, and the huge monster is made out of one hard stone, her bulk being sixty-two feet from the top of her head to her belly, and and one hundred and forty- three in her greatest length. Only think of a village church with a good high tower nave and chancel hewn out of one piece of rock! The Sphinx had something important to do in days gone by, when religion was a dark and deceitful science, and priests were cunning men. 

Then the Sphinx used to utter words of mystery, and sermons came from her mouth of stone. There was a secret passage underground, by means which a man could reach a staircase in the bowels. This staircase led him upward into the  head of the Sphinx. From this place he answered questions, which were put to him by people outside. The chamber, from which he spoke, was so cunningly contrived, that his voice sounded almost like thunder, and the people trembled when they heard the awful tones of the Sphinx, and treasured up her words, as if they were the words of God. 

 It is said, moreover, that the Sphinx was intended to typify over the river Nile, which, by overflowing its in the months of July and August, makes Egypt one of the most fruitful countries in the world. Lion and the Virgin are the two signs of the zodiac in which the sun appears to be at that time of year. 

If you then remember, the Sphinx has a virgin's face, and a lion's body,and connects that with the Nile, it will serve to remind you of the time when that celebrated river plays its wonderful part in feeding so many myriads of mankind. 

The Sphinx here represented, is called the Sphinx of Jizeh, or Gizeh, and that pyramid you see is probably the pyramid of Gizeh. The stones of that remarkable building would make, I have heard, a wall round France, ten feet high and two and a half feet thick/ It stands on an area of thirteen acres, and is nearly as high as Arthur's Seat the grand hill, which stands near Edinburgh. At present, we see barely half of it, for the Pyramids are fast sanding up, and at last we shall have no Pyramids at all. The entrance to the interior was once reckoned half-way up. It now appears almost at the bottom. 

Talking of the Sphinx, some of you may be minded of the Grecian Sphinx, half she-dog woman, and very cruel. She used to live, the writers tell us, on a hill near Thebes, where she a riddle to every passer- by .Those who could guess her riddle, were at once killed by her, and this devastation made the Thebans very sad.

 At length a clever fellow named OEdipus solved the riddle, whereupon the chop-fallen Sphinx threw herself from her rock and perished. The riddle which OEdipus solved, was this:-

-"What creature is that which goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs in the middle of the day, and on three legs at night?"

How should you like to be asked such a riddle, and devoured, if you could not give the right answer?    

Reference:

Chatterbox 1877