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.
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.
*********
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.
****
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”.
******
[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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