The Old Kingdom, King Khafre, the Great Sphinx, and Divine Right

The Egypt/Sphinx Theory

~Introduction~

Before reading any further know that this is just a theory, spun using popular fringe archeology, physical observation of pictures, information from varying fields of study, and plain old guess work. There are a number of theories as to why the Sphinx appears as it does today. The most popular and current theory of the builder of the Sphinx holds that it was commissioned by the 4th Dynasty King, Khafre (2558-2532 BCE). Here I will discuss those theories, how they are flawed, and how other information has been misinterpreted by Egyptologists for centuries.

The lay of the land

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Mainstream theory has problems, and they admit it

Old theories and boy’s clubs for western academics

Some of the evidence linking Khafre with the Sphinx comes from Lehner’s research, but the idea dates back to 1853.

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That’s a really old theory. One that was formed with very little evidence, and new found evidence always seems to support it. Evidence that can’t be twisted to the cause is dubbed legend, or summed up as simple looting. That legend is thought of as mumbo jumbo by the western world.

Statues without crowns and poor proportions

Characteristics Statues comprised a set of very strict laws, which every artist had to follow, artists were ranked according to exact implementation of these laws. So it happened that in the course of three thousand years or more Egyptian art changed very little

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If we know that artistic license and style played such a role in Egyptian art, why do we keep using the statue debate to support theory? You can’t! They weren’t an accurate representation of reality.

I have heard the claim tossed around that Khafre, and Djedefre are the same person. The statues having changed after he changed his name. This is purely speculation.

The Giza Plateau

Geologically, the Giza plateau is part of a body of limestone known as the Mokkatam Formation. The plateau was originally under water in Eocene times and the rock solidified from the remains of corals and other organic remains that settled on the bottom. The plateau today dips from the northwest to the southeast. The precise angle at the Sphinx is unclear but appears to lie between 2.5 and 5 degrees.

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If the entire plateau is made of limestone, then how does the scientific evidence prove that the Pyramid and the Sphinx were built at the same time? It doesn’t. All it proves is that the limestone for both structures came from the same area, and are the same age.

Theory/Summary

With all of the misleading theories regarding the physical evidence available, it’s easy to see why modern Egyptology may have gotten a few, or even most things, wrong. Their tendency to conform Egypt towards the Christian accounts in the bible, and painting the Egyptians as a people obsessed with death has stood in the way of an actual understanding for too long.

Pharaoh Khafre carved the Sphinx, right?

I’m not sure that the popular interpretations of evidence and events make sense. Here’s why.

He made a mistake on a simple project

This pyramid, while probably trying to say that the man who created this is just as great, if not greater, than the man who created the Great Pyramid, has one minor flaw in its design, there is a slight twist at the top that is due to the fact that the four corner angles were not aligned correctly to meet at the top. While it is very minor, it shows that there was a little less attention to detail than at the Great Pyramid.
One feature that is very noticeable on this pyramid is the top, which has a different color and texture than the rest of the pyramid, and indeed, the other pyramids around it. The section is what remains of the casing stones that once covered the entire pyramid. The reason that the top is the only section that remains is the plunderers took the sections of fine limestone that made up the casing from where is was easiest to grab, the bottom, and worked their way up.
The most remarkable thing associated with Khafre's pyramid is not a part of the pyramid at all, but part of the temple complex, the Sphinx. The Sphinx was cut directly from the bedrock at the base of the pyramid. The stones that were removed were probably used to build the pyramid itself.

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He wasn’t a good enough designer to build a pyramid properly, yet he built the Sphinx? Sounds shaky to me. They also robbed or defiled his Pyramid. Circumstances would seem to indicate that he was a maniacal ruler, very concerned with his perception. The fair haired son of a great ruler, looking to prove his worth?

Are we sure they liked this guy?

Son of Khufu. Younger brother of Prince Kawab and Pharaoh Djedefre. It is not known who Khafre's mother was, but he did hold Queen Meritites in high regard as shown in this inscription:
Kings-wife, his beloved, devoted to Horus, Mertitytes.
King's-wife, his beloved, Mertitytes; beloved of the Favorite of
the Two Goddesses; she who says anything whatsoever and it is done
for her. Great in the favor of Snefru ; great in the favor
of Khufu , devoted to Horus, honored under Khafre. Mertitytes

Khafre is thought to be the son of Khufu and Queen Meritites by some becuase of this inscription. He must have been a younger son, as his older brother Kawab seems to have been the intended heir of Khufu and upon Khufu's death the throne went to Khafre's brother Djedefre.

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I believe that he may have been the less favored son of Kufu. The inscriptions to honor queen Meritites may point to the idea that he was a “moma’s boy”, and not well liked by his father.

Not much is known about the reign of Khafre aside from his building projects. Khafre is the owner of the second largest pyramid at Giza, avalley temple, a mortuary temple and well as the sphinx.

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I find it odd that modern Egyptology knows very little about his reign, but holds him as the esteemed builder. I think records of his rule are scarce because the people wanted to forget him.

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Mariette discovered statues of Khafre in 1860. Several were found in a well in the floor and were headless. But other complete statues were found as well.

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Nothing says we love you, like beheading his statues!

No mummy or other remains were found in Khafre’s pyramid. There is a second pit in the floor which may have held the canopic jars containing Khafre’s internal organs, but this is not certain. It has been speculated that Khafre’s Pyramid may have served a ceremonial purpose rather than as a burial place, although both possibilities could be true. There is a second chamber within the pyramid the purpose of which is unknown.

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This one has been ignored. There is a sarcophagi in there, it’s just empty.

This just has to suggest ceremony, hoodoo, and mumbo jumbo, right? Notice the tendency of Egyptologists to relate everything to that, it’s standing in the way of understanding the big picture.

Where are his remains? Perhaps in the secret chamber? Was he thrown into the river by an angry mob after death? Pay attention to that claim. Was the first and empty chamber a spoof? Is the second chamber his real resting place? Was he so hated by the people that he had to hide his own body? I do not know.

Khafre’s mortuary temple was plundered for building materials, but its foundation remains and shows that the temple was quite large, and was constructed in a manner similar to his valley temple, which is intact. Khafre’s valley temple was buried under sand until the 1800's and is in excellent condition, serving as a valuable example of temple construction from that era. Like the mortuary temple, the valley temple is constructed of a limestone core lined with pink Nubian granite imported from Aswan.

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This doesn’t make sense either. Why would you plunder the temple of the great statue builder, and builder of our beloved Sphinx? It seems suspect that such a great builder could ever fall out of favor that badly in death, for the people to allow it. Sounds like this fact was overlooked and doesn’t really fit with the mainstream story. It does however fit with my river theory. Just because they routinely plundered works to get building materials, doesn’t mean these attacks on their monuments was solely for gain. They may have hated him.

The name/person debate

There are no inscriptions on or in the Sphinx to indicate who built it.
Interestingly - the features of the face of the Sphinx bear a far more striking resemblence to an older brother of Khafre, the Pharaoh Djedefre - Radjedef.
In 1996, a NY detective and expert in identification, took various measurements of the size, angles and proportions of the head and concluded that it did not match known representations of Khafre's face. There was a greater resemblance to Khafre's elder brother Djedefre, however the lack of any records regarding the head leaves us in a bit of a quandary.

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This is interesting in that his name means, “appearing like Ra”, yet they claim his brother looked more like the Sphinx than him? Was his name changed when he took the throne? Did they both resemble Ra?

Pharaoh Khafre was known as Chephren to the Greeks, and his name, Khaf-Ra, means “Appearing like Ra.” One of Pharaoh Khufu’s sons, he was preceded in kingship by his brother, Djedefre, who ruled for about eight years. After Djedefre’s early death, Khafre assumed the throne, making him the fourth king of the Fourth Dynasty. He was succeeded by his son, Menkaure.

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That’s interesting considering the Sphinx is said to look like him or his brother.

“Appearing like Ra” can mean many things. It can mean he looks like Ra, or it could also mean that he was born or appeared at the same time Ra did. Pay attention to that, because I think he may have been born at a very special time. He may have been a “fair haired” Pharaoh.

Theory/Summary

I’m not convinced that Pharaoh Kafre carved the Sphinx, in the slightest. I believe he was the first to defile the Sphinx in the eyes of the people, by adding his own head to what was supposed to be a headless statue. I believe that his namesake implies that rather than looking like Ra, he was born at the time his father saw Ra for the first time. I believe him to have been a manacle man, that changed his name to reflect his birth date. He was not a great builder, or a man of the people. I believe he forced them into mass servitude using his claim of birth time to sway them at first, falling out of favor later in life. In death, I believe they were quick to abandon him, and destroyed much of his work and his body. Perhaps his son also hated him, and ordered the destructive acts? We will never know, but his son did seem to rule in contrast to his father, as well as build his temple far from his father’s.

When was the Sphinx built?

Short answer is, the end of the age of Leo. That’s right, I support that idea. My take on it has a few twists though.

Long answer...

The Pharaohs Journey

It is said there that the pharaoh, the Horus-king, is to identify himself with the solar disc and that he is to make a journey on the ground by following a map in the heavens. The Egyptologists regard this as, at best, religious mumbo-jumbo, but if, with the help of a computer, one simulates how the sky looked in 2,500 BC when these texts were written, a lot of things start looking clearer, as author Graham Hancock sees it.
"First, you have to remember that the texts say the pharoah is to identify himself with the solar disc. After that, he is to place himself 'on the riverbed of the Winding Waterway' 70 days before the summer solstice. He is then to make a journey of 70 days in which he will be carried across "the Winding Waterway", finally to be united with or fused with Horakthi, Horus-of-the-horizon.

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Note: this text has been reinterpreted by mainstream Egyptologists to suit the afterlife hoodoo theory. They have renamed it, “The Pharaoh’s journey to the underworld”. The above passage paraphrases it differently than current mainstream theory, but the original theory was that the journey of the pharaoh was about divine right. They just couldn’t figure out exactly what it meant in reality, so they’ve now made it hoodoo. I was taught the first theory many years ago in school.

While I disagree with most of what this article has to say, I use it because it describes the old theory of the pharaoh’s journey. I’m taking it a slightly different direction than they did.

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Leo is an impressive and easy to recognize constellation, dominating the spring skies in the northern hemisphere and autumn skies in the southern hemisphere.

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I believe that the observation of Leo would begin 70 days early, not the actual journey.

The lion has been identified with the Sun since the earliest Mesopotamian civilizations. In the formative period of settled civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, some five millennia ago, the Sun's passage at midday through this area of the sky coincided with the midsummer solstice. Leo was therefore the constellation of high summer, which is manifestly the realm of the Sun.

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As the Sun or Ra, intersected the area of the sky that Leo occupied, the journey would begin. Following the setting sun each day, would give an approximate heading, approximately to the early Sphinx. This would be his “map from the heavens”. I believe it would be his responsibility to solve this puzzle himself.

The journey would begin by crossing the ancient flood plain (the winding water, possibly by small boat, when the spring rains made the river flood. He would then hike towards Giza, and with a bit of luck, find the Sphinx. Overall the physical journey would be short, but probably risky. Solving the puzzle, would be difficult.

I think there was probably a specific point that they would leave from, on their voyage. I am not sure where this point was though.

In the early years the Sphinx would’ve been a headless rock formation, that resembled the body of a lion. Upon standing in front of it, facing west, and watching the Sun, or Ra, set over the shoulders of this natural rock formation, he would gain a few things as the new leader of his people. One, a conformation of his divine right to rule. This was hugely important in ancient societies. Secondly, confirmation of faith. The wonderment of the rock formation coupled with the sun or Ra, moving into position as the head of the great statue, could be considered divine in their eyes. I do not believe it was as complicated as some would believe, nor is the journey about the afterlife. It is about divine right.


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On June 21st, on Summer Solstice, carved in the landscape the hieroglyph akhet. The Sun sets at 16h58 UT under the azimuth 117 + 180 = 297° between the two largest pyramids, just behind the Sphinx, as testifies the magnificent picture taken by Juan Antonio BELMONTE on June 21st 2006.

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The sky remains clear surrounding the Sphinx, for a deliberate reason. To preserve the faith and the event.

I think this journey was inscribed in 2500 BC as an attempt to preserve the practice, as Egypt grew closer to Giza. The practice went back to what we would call prehistoric times. Increased building during Khafre’s reign would’ve revealed the location to all. I believe during his death the area was condemned for a time, and the settlements that popped up were not a cult, but a band of outcasts that had nowhere else to go.

The researchers also found a third wall to the east of the temple of King Khafre, the builder of the second-largest pyramid in Giza and the likely builder of the Sphinx. According to Hawass, the wall may be part of the settlement that grew up around King Khafre's pyramid after the monarch's death around 2532 B.C. In this village, priests and officials oversaw the mortuary cult of the dead king.
Khafre's mortuary cult remained strong until the end of Egypt's Old Kingdom around 2143 to 2134 B.C. After that, initial excavations suggest the village was abandoned, said Essam Shehab, the supervisor of the Khafre's valley temple excavation.

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Another example of glorifying, assumptions, and relating everything to the afterlife.

Final summary and personal theory

I do believe that the Sphinx started out as a natural rock formation, that was later carved into the statue that it is today. I think the Giza plateau was a more hospitable area at the time, with a large piece of limestone jutting from the soil. This was and always has been an area for runoff to pass over, which may have helped carve the basic shape of the Sphinx. I think the soil and limestone surrounding it was slowly excavated by the many dynasties of Egypt, to form the Giza plateau as we know it today. I also believe that the building materials used were an integral part of the passage to the afterlife. Later Pharaohs deviated from the original idea, that Giza was a divine place where one could ascend to the heavens if they had enough steps to do so. Giza being the sight of the original appearance of Ra, in the Pharaohs journey. This would be the time of Pharaoh Khafre’s birth, and the origin of his name.

The reason no explanation has been found for who built it? Why would one be necessary? Faith simply is. Why are the pyramids all staggered carefully? To keep that part of the faith alive. Did Khafre build it? Not a chance. I believe he may have quarried from around it. I believe Khafre gave the Sphinx his own head because he considered himself to be the real Ra. A King that was a little more convinced of his divine right than most. The Sphinx wasn’t built by man, it was built by nature. A prehistoric rock outcrop that has likely had civilization near it since the dawn of time. What it originally looked like, and how many repairs and renditions it has been through, is anyone’s guess. Mine is right after the age of Leo ended, for the discovery, not the building, of the Sphinx. I think it was slowly carved more and more by each dynasty, with Khafre finishing the rear, building the Sphinx temple, and adding a head. I believe the people disagreed with adding a head, feeling that it’s headless state should be preserved. This is why I believe he fell out of favor in death.

wow thats a spin I hadnt considered. Oh how I want to know what is in the flooded underground where I believe the true treasures and architecture are... good job 2A

This is a very interesting and well thought out thread. I always enjoy learning more about ancient civilizations.
I am extremely interested in hearing some more of your theories on ancient Egypt.

Here is another good thread from SLAYER69 that discusses the Sphinx:Age of the Sphinx, A glaring issue about it's age!
I am curious to hear your thoughts on that theory.

reply to post by AnarchysAngel


Hey there AnarchysAngel ... I thoroughly enjoyed reading that (S&F for you) ... I don't agree with a lot of it but it's great to see someone daring to step out of the box labelled 'mainstream' ... loved the presentation ... a very well set-out and thought-out thread ... excellent quality ... and some though-provoking theories.

Loved it

Woody

reply to post by watchitburn


Before I say anything I have to say that I often agree with Slayer's theories. He has put out some very interesting ideas that seem to make sense. I'm a fan, I guess you could say.

I've read that thread before. It's been a while though.

My biggest problem with that thread was that the temple walls he was using for arguement, were actually covered. That's where the difference in weathering came from. At least that's how I remember it. Sick and tired of reading at the moment to be honest.

I do think that thread points out many reasons why the Great Sphinx and the complex surrounding it was slowly built over time, by many leaders. I just didn't want to go into all of that information in my thread. It was too long already.

What about the chamber that was found under the paw of the sphinx?

Great thread! Looking forward to future threads.........
S&F

reply to post by thepupils

B. Seismography. The seismic survey indicated the existence of several unexplored tunnels and cavities in the bedrock beneath the Sphinx, including a large rectangular chamber at a depth of some 25 feet beneath the monuments front paws.

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You mean that? I'm not sure! If I recall they haven't been allowed to dig to prove anything. I can understand why. The Great Sphinx has weathered our curiosity long enough. We should let it live, and restore it with long term preservation in mind.

I'm convinced that Egyptians did build everything there. I'm not trying to take credit from them, just point out that we're not thinking like an ancient Egyptian when we look over the evidence.

Originally posted by thepupils
What about the chamber that was found under the paw of the sphinx?

As Robert Schoch.

Seismic Data