The Sphinx’s Nose

Sphinx at Giza
The Sphinx at Giza, Egypt. Photo: TMK, May 2007.

I have previously written about the ever present problem of dating the destruction and mutilation of monuments. Naturally, this is a big concern to me when writing a dissertation on Christian iconoclasm in Late Antiquity. I found a further, useful reminder of this at Giza in Egypt as the famous Sphinx is sadly missing its nose! While both Asterix and Napoleon have sometimes been blamed for this misdeed, there is good evidence to suggest that Islamic clerics in the 14th century were in fact responsible. It was good to be reminded that not all damage of ancient monuments can be attributed to early Christians!

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1 Comment

  1. hi my name is Daniella E. Olivarez ,and i was woundering what happen to the sphinx nose.

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