Sphinxes of King Amenemhat III

Sphinxes of King Amenemhat III
 
1-  This group of sphinx statues belongs to king Amenemhat III one of the great kings of the 12th dynasty [1].
2-  King Amenemhat III ruled Egypt for about 45 years full of peace and prosperity. He made agricultural projects like digging canals, erecting dams and reclaiming the desert.
The King as Sphinx:
3-     The king is shown with body of lion to symbolize his power in protecting and guarding Egypt.
4-     The most famous sphinx is that of king Khaefre at Giza [2]. The word "Sphinx" is a Greek word derived from the ancient Egyptian word Ssp-anx that means the living statue.
Remarkable Features of the Sphinx Statues:
5-  Looking to the statues, however the artist was working on a hard stone like the grey granite but he succeeded in showing the elegant facial features of the king mingled with the lion’s hair, ears and mane.
6-  Also the body of the lion was shown in perfect way especially in the details of the ribs, the paws and the tail.
7-  There are hieroglyphic inscriptions having the names of kings who ruled Egypt after the time of Amenemhat III. These kings are Ramesses II the great warrior king from the nineteenth dynasty, his son Merenptah and King Psusense from the twenty first dynasty.
- For the names of the kings:
(a)   King Ramesses II from the 19th dynasty who wrote his names on the pedestal of the sphinx. They are read as:
nsw-biti (Wsr-MAat-Ra-%tp-n-Ra) sA-Ra (Mry-Imn-Ra-msw)
King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Strong is the justice of Re, the chosen of Re), the son of Re (Beloved of Amun, the born of Re) [3].
(b)  King Merenptah son of Ramesses II who added his names inscribed on the shoulder of the sphinx:
 nsw-biti (BA n Imn Mry Ra)
King of Upper and Lower Egypt (the Ram of Amun, beloved of Re).
 sA-Ra (Mr n PtH @tp Hr MAat)
Son of Re (the beloved of Ptah, Peace upon Maat).
(c)   King Psusenes I from the 21st dynasty who added his name of the chest of the sphinx:
Mry-Imn PA sbA xa n niwt
Beloved of Amun, the shining star of the city.
8-  However the names of king Amenemhat III were not found on the statues but they were believed to belong to him because they have the distinguished facial features of King Amenemhat III represented in the projecting eyes, the wrinkled face, the high cheek bones and the firm mouth with heavy lips. Beside the style of showing the face of the king with the lion’s mane and ear appeared on the sphinxes of the Middle Kingdom.
A-    Further Notes:
1-     The other sphinxes almost have the same inscriptions.
2-     On the shoulder of the third sphinx in inscribed the hieroglyphic signs nTr nfr  the good god. But the rest of the inscriptions are erased. Probably the erased inscriptions were for the Hyksos king.
3-     There is a small sphinx which was a part of a double sphinx but the second statue is missing.
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Good Luck and with my best wishes
D. Hesham Ezz Eldin


Appendix
King Amenemhat III - Brief Historical Points:
1-      King Amenemhat III is the sixth ruler of the 12th dynasty and son of King Snusert III.
2-      He ruled for about 45 years and his period was time of prosperity and peace.
3-      He made many irrigational projects like:
(1)   Reclaiming the desert.
(2)   Erecting dams at Fayeum and Hawara.
(3)   Digging the lake of Mr-wr or Mores in Fayeum to receive the extra water of the Nile inundation (flood).
(4)   He recorded the maximum height of the Nile annually in the fortress of Semna to estimate the expected agricultural benefits before setting the taxes.
4-      He exploited the mines of Sinai and brought alabaster from Wadi Al-Hammamat, diorite from Nubia, limestone from Tura.
5-      He built many temples for Hathor at Sinai and expanded the temple of Re at Memphis
6-      He built two pyramids for him at Dahshour and Hawara. He was buried in his Pyramid at Hawara.
7-      His funerary temple which is near his pyramid at Hawara was so huge Labyrinth that it was described by Herodotus as the Labyrinth Palace. He said that the building of the Labyrinth contained halls and 3000 rooms in which 1500 rooms were under the ground and the other half were above the ground.
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Appendix: The Sphinx in Ancient Egypt:
1-   The name "Sphinx" is a Greek word, which had been derived from the ancient Egyptian word Ssp-anx that means the living image.
2-   The sphinx combines between the human head and the lion body to symbolize human wisdom and the strength of the lion. Therefore the kings used to have sphinx statues to assure their kingship.
3-   The statues of the king in the form of sphinx symbolized his role in protecting the country.
4-   The Sphinx appeared in the 4th Dynasty and the earliest sphinx belongs to King Djedefre the son of King Khufu found at Abu Rawash.
5-   There are many kinds of sphinxes in ancient Egypt like:
(1)   The Classical Sphinx from the Old Kingdom.
a-      It has human head that wears the nemes headdress with the body of the lion.
b-      The best example is the Great Sphinx of king Khaefre at Giza. This sphinx is called in Arabic “Abu Al-Howl” that means “Father of Terror”.
(2)   The Middle Kingdom Sphinx like those of king Amenemhat III.
- It has the human head but instead of the nemes headdress there are the lion's hair, ears and mane.
(3)   The Ram Headed Sphinx or Criosphinx.
a-      This kind appeared in the New Kingdom.
b-      It has ram head and lion body because they represent god Amun as can be seen in sphinx avenue of Amun before the temple of Karnak.
(4)   The Female Sphinxes like those of queen Nofert from the Middle Kingdom and Queen Hatshepsut from the New Kingdom.
(5)   The Falcon Headed Sphinx as being depicted in the walls of the temple of Horus at Edfu.
Note: the sphinx in Greek mythology was having wings and it was evil. In the Oedipus story قصة أوديب it used to make riddle and if someone could give the right answer he was killed. Only Oedipus was clever enough to give the right answer. For the riddle what was the thing that walk on four in the morning, two in the midday and three at night. The answer is “Man; a child in the beginning of his life, a youth and finally an old”.
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[1] The sphinxes of king Amenhotep III had been found at Tanis, San El-Hagar nowadays in eastern Delta. So they are called Sphinxes of Tanis. Some scholars suggested that the sphinxes of Amenemhat III were first placed before the temple of goddess Bastet at Tell Basta (Zakazek). Then king Ramesses II transferred the statues to his capital Pr-Ramesses in the eastern Delta. After that king Psusennes I from the 21st dynasty moved the statues to Tanis.
[2] The Sphinx appeared in the 4th Dynasty and the earliest sphinx belongs to King Djedefre the son of King Khufu.
[3] The complete inscriptions of Ramesses II can be read as: 
@r KA-nxt mry-MAat Ra-msw nTr grg Htp &Awy nsw-biti (Wsr-MAat-Ra-%tp-n-Ra) sA-Ra (Mry-Imn-Ra-msw)
Horus, the strong bull, beloved of goddess Maat, son of Re (Ramesses) the god who dominates over the two peaceful lands, king of Upper and Lower Egypt (Strong is the justice of Re, the chosen of Re), the son of Re (Beloved of Amun, the born of Re).

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