Line #10 Art/TheSphinx


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sphinx_5.png]]
2	%%[[caption-width-right:350:Caption text here]]
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4	A colossal {{s\|culptures}}tatue in the form of a lion with a human head wearing an {{ancient Egypt}}ian headdress (and which may or may not have originally been a normal lion head), the Sphinx is so closely associated with UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} that it serves as an instant visual clue of the setting, even more so than ThePyramids (since pyramids also exist in other parts of the world). The Sphinx is located next to the [[UsefulNotes/SevenWondersOfTheWorld Great Pyramid of Giza]], the largest one in the world.
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6	It was built in approximately 2500 BC, specifically at the time of the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory Old Kingdom]] during the rule of the Fourth Dynasty.
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8	This Sphinx has nothing to do with [[RiddleOfTheSphinx the riddling one]] from the Myth/{{Greek Myth\|ology}} of Oedipus. Rather, the Greeks called the statue (which is more than 4,000 years old) the Sphinx due to its resemblance to that monster. However, the Sphinx is considered "riddling" because, even today, we don't know who made it or why; even more puzzling, there are no surviving records from that time that explain these things. Naturally, that has led to lots of [[EpilepticTrees crazy theories]] about it.
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10	It is famously [[TheNoseless without a nose]]. Urban legends attribute this to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte's cannons accidentally shooting it off during the brief French occupation of Egypt (1798--1801), but it is known to have been missing since long before that, and was most likely hacked off by a 14th-century Muslim religious fanatic (who was hanged for vandalism by the Sultan in response).
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12	In fiction, often the target of MonumentalDamage or even MonumentalTheft. Or just [[LivingStatue getting off its duff]] and [[WeaponizedLandmark stomping on people.]]
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14	To know how it's perceived in popular culture, please go to the [[Analysis/TheSphinx analysis tab]]. Only list here examples concerning the Sphinx itself.
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16	!!Tropes:
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18	* AmbiguousGender: One of its many riddles. Is the head a man's or a woman's? Looks kind of manly, but it's missing the intricately coiffed beard that ancient Egyptian men sported. Bits of an alleged beard have been found, but given the lack of damage to the chin, it's likely that it was added on later and then fell off.
19	* BeastWithAHumanFace: It draws from Egyptian Mythology, so it's a rather cartoonish lion body with the face of an Egyptian human of AmbiguousGender. It wears pharaoh regalia on its head, too.
20	* BiggerIsBetter: There are other sphinxes but this is ''The Great Sphinx''. It is the largest monolith statue in the world.
21	* DreamSequence: The ''Dream Stela of Thutmosis IV'' placed between the sphinx's paws tells a story about the young Thutmosis IV resting in the sphinx's shadow (protected from the midday sun). He fell asleep and dreamt that the god Hor-em-akhet-Atum-Khepri was his father. The god promised the kingdoms of upper and lower Egypt to Thutmosis IV if he cleared away the sand that had been building up around the Sphinx. Thutmosis IV got the sand removed, the sphinx restored and the ''Dream Stela'' stone placed between the paws. This is generally regarded as propaganda put forth by Thutmosis IV to explain why he instead of his older brother became pharaoh. While no evidence exists one way or the other whether he usurped his brother, either way, it's logical that he would've wanted to nip any perception of illegitimacy in the bud by claiming to be divinely chosen.
22	* EntertaininglyWrong: Illustrations from the 16th and 17th centuries were drawn under the belief that the Sphinx's crown was ''hair''.
23	* HatOfAuthority: The Sphinx wears a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemes Nemes]], a headdress worn by the pharaohs.
24	* MixAndMatchCritters: It's a sphinx from Myth/EgyptianMythology. A lion's body and a human head adorned with a regal Nemes.
25	* MonumentalDamage:
26	** The statue is missing its nose, believed to have been an act of religious vandalism long ago. A popular myth says that it was blown off by cannon fire during Napoleon's Egypt campaign, but the damage predates that by centuries.
27	** It has also suffered the kind of wear and tear you can expect from a stone monument sitting exposed to the elements for more than 4,000 years, though much of it has been repaired as of the 20th century.
28	** There are also theories (based on the head being disproportionately small compared to the lion's body) that it originally had a different face before a later pharaoh had it re-carved into his own head.
29	* TheNoseless: It wasn't originally like this but, due to MonumentalDamage, it fell off and nowadays that makes one of its most iconic features.
30	* OlderThanDirt: And anciently older: built around 2500 BCE, or 1,700 years before the development of the Greek alphabet.
31	* PortalStatuePairs: Egyptians liked to flank the openings to palaces or temples with two (or sometimes four or more) giant statues of either gods or Pharaohs. That's why some historians believe there may have also been a second sphinx at Giza.
32	* ProtagonistTitle
33	* TimeAbyss: While not particularly old by geological standards, the Sphinx is older than most existing civilizations, and possibly even predates its equally famous Egyptian siblings, the Great Pyramids. Even by the youngest estimates, the Sphinx is so old that it would've already been considered ancient and mysterious during the lifetime of UsefulNotes/{{Tutankhamun}}.
34	* TinyHeadedBehemoth: One theory about The Sphinx is that it originally had a well-proportioned head, but the face eroded away, so a new, smaller head was carved out of the existing one. Specifically, that head was most likely a lion head. If put in a computer simulation and turning time backwards, the Sphinx would have looked into the constellation "Lion" — 8000 years ago.

Context Art / TheSphinx