Latest / Ramses the Great: Egypt's Most Powerful Pharaoh — Fexingo History / Ramses' Great Sphinx at Giza: The Monument That Remade Egypt
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, when we talk about Ramses the Great, we always picture Abu Simbel, the Ramesseum, those colossal statues of him. But there's one monument he literally put his stamp on that people walk past every day without a second thought — the Great Sphinx at Giza. Luna: Wait, the Sphinx? That's Old Kingdom, isn't it? What does Ramses have to do with it? Lucas: Great question. So the Sphinx was already over a thousand years old when Ramses came along — built by Khafre around 2500 BCE. But by Ramses' time, the monument was literally buried up to its neck in sand. And that's where our pharaoh steps in. He didn't just clear the sand — he redefined the Sphinx for his own era. And honestly, the way he did it tells us a lot about how he saw himself as a ruler. Lucas: Think about it — Ramses was a master of self-promotion. He wasn't about to let a monument that big sit there half-buried when he could attach his name to it. And he had the perfect excuse: the Sphinx was sacred, it was ancient, and restoring it made him look like a pious king who honoured the past. It's a move straight out of his playbook. Luna: So he was basically using an ancient landmark for PR? Lucas: Exactly. But it wasn't just empty posturing — he actually did a full restoration. His workmen dug out the sand, repaired the body, and even added a new beard and a royal headdress. And here's the thing — that beard wasn't a true ancient addition. It was carved to make the Sphinx look more like a pharaoh of Ramses' time. So in a way, he was literally reshaping the past to fit his image. Lucas: And that's a pattern we see everywhere with Ramses — he didn't just build new monuments, he co-opted older ones. He did it at Karnak, at Luxor, all over the country. But the Sphinx is special because it's so iconic, and because we have such a personal connection to it — even today, people are still fascinated by its missing nose. Luna: Oh, the nose! Do we actually know what happened to it? Lucas: That's one of those great historical mysteries. There's a legend that Napoleon's troops shot it off during a battle or target practice, but that's almost certainly a myth — there are drawings from before Napoleon that show the nose already missing. The truth is, we don't know for sure. It might have been deliberately destroyed by a Sufi zealot in the 14th century, or it could have just eroded over time. What we do know is that the face originally had a nose — and that Ramses' restoration probably didn't replace it, because the damage wasn't done during his reign. But the mystery is part of why the Sphinx is so compelling. Lucas: And that brings me to something else — the restoration wasn't just physical. Ramses also added a whole new religious dimension. He connected the Sphinx to the solar cult, which was huge in his time. The Sphinx became seen as an image of Horus-on-the-Horizon, a form of the sun god. So by restoring it, Ramses was aligning himself with the sun god's power. That's smart theology and smart politics at the same time. Luna: So he was using religion to cement his own authority. Lucas: Absolutely. And he did it in a very visible way. Right between the Sphinx's paws, he erected a stela — a big stone slab with inscriptions. That's the so-called Dream Stela, and it's one of the most fascinating artifacts from his reign. It tells the story of how, when Ramses was still a young prince, he fell asleep in the shadow of the Sphinx and had a dream. In that dream, the Sphinx promised him the throne if he would only clear away the sand. So when he became pharaoh, he came back and fulfilled his side of the bargain — or so the story goes. Luna: Wait, so he claimed the Sphinx literally promised him the crown? Lucas: That's the story. And it's a brilliant piece of political myth-making. It doesn't matter whether it actually happened — what matters is that it justified his rule. The Sphinx, an ancient divine being, had chosen him. That's a message that would resonate with every Egyptian, from the priests to the farmers. And it's the kind of thing Ramses excelled at — turning propaganda into legend. Lucas: But here's the twist — the Dream Stela wasn't actually Ramses' invention. There was an earlier stela from the 18th Dynasty, set up by Thutmose IV, that told a very similar story. Ramses essentially copied the idea, maybe even re-used the old stela as a model. So he wasn't just restoring a monument — he was reviving a tradition of royal restoration that went back generations. Luna: So he was borrowing from his ancestors' PR playbook. Lucas: Exactly. And it wasn't just Thutmose IV — there's evidence that Amenhotep II also did work at the Sphinx. So Ramses was tapping into a long lineage of kings who recognized the power of this monument. But he took it a step further. Not only did he restore the Sphinx, he also built a small temple nearby, dedicated to the solar deity. So he wasn't just cleaning up an old statue — he was creating a whole religious complex around it. Lucas: Now, one person who was probably deeply involved in all this is Ramses' son Khaemwaset. We've mentioned him before — he was the high priest of Ptah and a bit of an antiquarian, one of the first people in history we'd call an archaeologist. He travelled around Egypt restoring old monuments and inscriptions. It's very likely he oversaw the Sphinx restoration for his father. And that's a nice personal touch — father and son, working together to revive the past. Luna: That's really cool. So this wasn't just a lone pharaoh — it was a family project. Lucas: Right. And that family connection makes the Sphinx feel more human, doesn't it? I mean, we can imagine Ramses and Khaemwaset standing there, looking up at that massive stone lion with a human face, discussing how to fix the cracks and what to add. It's a far cry from the cold, distant god-king image we often have of Ramses. Luna: I never thought of the Sphinx as a family project. That changes how I look at it. Lucas: And that's what I love about this topic — it reminds us that behind every great monument there are real people making decisions. And speaking of decisions, you know, we at Fexingo History are really grateful that listeners like you keep this show going. We don't run ads, and that's only possible because of people who support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every little bit helps us keep digging into stories like this one. Luna: Yeah, it's a great community. And now, back to the Sphinx — so what happened after Ramses? Did the Sphinx stay clean? Lucas: Good question. After Ramses, the Sphinx slowly sank back into the sand over the centuries. Later kings, like the Ptolemies and the Romans, did some clearing, but it wasn't until the 19th and 20th centuries that major excavations uncovered it fully. So for most of recorded history, the Sphinx was a head sticking out of the desert. That's a powerful image — this massive ancient guardian, half-buried, still watching over the pyramids. Lucas: And there's one more thing that ties Ramses directly to the Sphinx — the beard. When the Sphinx was excavated in the 19th century, fragments of a beard were found. Some scholars think part of that beard might be from Ramses' restoration, not the original. So in a way, a piece of Ramses is still up there, 4,000 years later, even if it's been re-attached and repaired multiple times. Luna: So his touch is literally on the monument. Lucas: Literally. And that's what makes Ramses so fascinating — he wasn't just a builder, he was a restorer, a re-user, a rebrander. He understood that power isn't just about creating new things, but about controlling the narrative of the past. And with the Sphinx, he did exactly that. He took an ancient symbol of divine kingship and made it his own, all while paying respect to the ancestors. It's a masterclass in political survival. Lucas: But we should also consider the practical side. Restoring the Sphinx wasn't just about ideology — it was a huge public works project. It required thousands of workers, engineers, and resources. By undertaking it, Ramses was providing jobs and demonstrating the strength of his administration. It's like a medieval king building a cathedral — it shows you have the wealth and the organization to do great things. Luna: So it's also an economic statement. Lucas: Exactly. And that's something we sometimes forget when we look at ancient monuments — they weren't just art, they were infrastructure. The Sphinx restoration was a massive undertaking that involved quarrying new stone, transporting it, and carving it on-site. It's a testament to the logistical power of Ramses' Egypt. Lucas: So next time you see a picture of the Sphinx, remember — it's not just an ancient mystery. It's a living monument that Ramses the Great helped shape, literally and figuratively. And it's still standing, still guarding the Giza plateau, still making people wonder. That's the legacy of a pharaoh who knew how to make his mark on eternity. Luna: That's a beautiful way to put it. Thanks, Lucas, that was really enlightening. Lucas: My pleasure. And if you're curious about other restorations or other monuments, we've covered plenty of them in past episodes. But for now, I think we've given the Sphinx its due.