Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The gods ruled the Egyptian cosmos like dictators in a big banana republic (or the US
Congress). Egyptians bribed their gods for favors, offering food, animals, or money, or
erecting statues like these.
Sekhmet holds an ankh. This key-shaped cross was the hieroglyph meaning “life” and
was a symbol of eternal life. Later, it was adopted as a Christian symbol because of its
cross shape and religious overtones.
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Continuing down the Egyptian Gallery, a few paces directly in front of you and to the
left, find a glass case containing a...
Fragment of the Beard of the Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx—a statue of a pharaoh-headed lion—crouches in the shadow of the
Great Pyramids in Cairo. Time shaved off the sphinx's soft limestone, goatee-like beard,
and a piece is now preserved here in a glass case. This hunk of stone is only a
whisker—about three percent of the massive beard—giving an idea of the scale of the six-
story-tall, 250-foot-long statue.
