The equinox reveals one of the secrets of Egypt's iconic Sphinx

Live Science ^ | March 23, 2020 | Laura Geggel

[SunkenCiv]

The Sphinx had a "distinctive astronomical" moment with the sun during the spring equinox when, in a shining flourish, the sun set on the shoulder of the half-man, half-lion statue on March 19, according to the Egypt Ministry of Antiquities.

This phenomenon happens only twice a year, during the spring in March and the fall equinox in September, according to the ministry.

During the equinox, Earth's axis doesn't point toward or away from the sun, meaning that the Northern and Southern hemispheres receive equal amounts of the sun's light. In other words, the day and the night are equal in length.

Related: Day and night are perfectly balanced in spring equinox photo snapped from space...

The Sphinx is also strategically placed for the summer solstice in June, when the sun sets between the pyramids of pharaohs Khufu and Khafre.

The Sphinx's position during the equinoxes and summer solstice suggests that the ancient Egyptians purposefully positioned the hybrid lion-man statue. "This phenomenon proves that archaeologists were wrong when they said that the ancient Egyptians had found an ancient rock by accident and turned it into a statue of a human face and a non-human body," the Egypt Ministry of Antiquities wrote in a Facebook post.

[blogOps]

Always enjoyed your ancient history posts.

[HandyDandy]

Yes, of course. The operative word being “tilt”. They may have confused the axis with the equator. The plain of the equator does point directly towards the center of the Sun on an equinox. My seven-year-old granddaughter understands this. We talk about it a lot.

[bert]

Everyone knew

Run of the mill Ancestral Pueblo dwellings had holes in the wall that showed the sun on special days. They built the calender into the house.

Hovenweep National Monument, Colorado / Utah

[HandyDandy]

Nice segue. Didn’t Napoleon’s men shoot the nose off of the Sphinx? And is it true or not that they did this so that the Sphinx would align with Paris?

[SunkenCiv]

The National Geographic vid is an old fave of mine, but it has been taken down; OTOH, relevant footage can be seein in the "New Evidence" vid linked below, and I *thing* also in the Lexxtex vid linked below (it's been a while since I'd watched these). The Dassault Systemes vid is derived from their 3d experience doodad, and DS is the company that has sponsored Jean-Pierre Houdin's research.

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The Great Pyramid Mystery Solved - National Geographic Documentry [sic]
[This video contains content from National Geographic, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.]

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Great Pyramid Mystery Solved? | National Geographic [trailer]

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The Great Pyramid of Egypt New Evidence Full Documentar [sic]

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Khufu Reborn - Dassault Systemes (Documentary) [Khufu Reborn 3d Experience]

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Lexxtex -- the Hidden Secret of the Great Pyramid's Construction Uncovered

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• Great Pyramid May Hold Two Hidden Chambers
• Egyptologists use high-tech software to analyze construction of Great Pyramid
• Architect Says Pyramid Built Inside Out
• Architect claims to solve pyramid secret

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah, but it ain't wrong. Just irrelevant.

[yesthatjallen]

Did they adjust for precession?

[HandyDandy]

Welp, the words “Sphinx”, and “Equinox” both end with the letter “x”, so..........

[SunkenCiv]

Is it even possible? Yes, it is.

[dfwgator]

One of my all-time favorite albums

Pyramid - Alan Parsons Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_JG7A7mA9s&list=PLx4kFPMlNLaIav7dULdQebwe60e6AfH7U

[SunkenCiv]

"Do you like 'Civ's ancient Egypt topics?".

"Dahshur."

[SunkenCiv]

It was Rick's idea, he said, "we'll always have the Sphinx' nose."

The nose probably was broken off by weathering, but the other version of the modern despot story is that the Turks shot it off. Neither one is true, as far as anyone actually knows. If it was human vandalism, it probably took place during the destruction of pagan shrines and such.

[myerson]

Well, it depends on where the viewer is standing.

[KobraKai]

Great question. Some estimates of the creation of the Great Sphinx puts it as far back as 10,000 BC, so the axis of the Earth has moved considerably in that time.

[SunkenCiv]

Nice question! A similar problem was pointed out back at the time of Hawkins' book "Stonehenge Decoded" (I think that was the crock that got the grossly misnamed "Most Ancient Order of Druids" annual shindig started; it's an interesting read though; these fake druids started in the late 18th c). The Sun -- which sort of rolls up one side of the "heel stone" on solstice day -- would have been even more off the mark back when that phase of the monument is believed to have been constructed.

[HandyDandy]

My 7yr old grand-daughter FaceTimed me to tell me that should could name all eight planets in order of distance from the Sun. She then proceeded to do so. Then I told her that when I was her age I had to memorize 9 planets. She said, “I know. Pluto.”

But I am more a purist. I like to stick to the original, “Is such a thing even possible? Why yes, yes it is.”

[mdmathis6]

A man...

[SunkenCiv]

And the Sphinx (shesep ankh, "living image") wasn't sporting its current head when it was constructed -- perhaps it was an Ox! :^)

[thesearethetimes...]

BkMk!

[HandyDandy]

That says it all.