“Mythology is not a lie, mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has been well said that mythology is the penultimate truth--penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words. Beyond images, beyond that bounding rim of the Buddhist Wheel of Becoming. Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told. -Joseph Campbell”
Venturing into the depths of history one will come to know about legends of mysterious creatures, beasts, and guardian angels. These legends change from place to place, taking up different forms and shapes.
In Egyptian mythology, most of the mentions have gone to a creature having the body of a lion and head of a human- The Sphinx. To the Egyptians, The Sphinx was like a guardian angel, both respected and feared.
The oldest example is the Sphinx of Giza, which has been standing there, tall and mighty, protecting the people, farmland, and the pyramids. The body as a lion symbolizes immense power, strength, and dignity. The head resembles the king. Pharaoh Khafra was ruling Egypt during those times; hence the head represents him and his reign.
The Sphinx of Giza has different controversies pointing to its originality, the builder, and the legends surrounding it. Some historians even tell the stories of the Sphinx being colorful once and having astronomical connections. Theories about the missing nose of the Sphinx of Giza have still not reached any conclusion.
On the other hand in Greek Mythology, The Sphinx takes up the role of an ominous creature, which devoured travelers if they fail to answer her riddle,
“What is it that has one voice and yet becomes four-footed, two-footed and three-footed?”
Her terror continued, till Oedipus gave the answer, Man, who crawls on fours as a baby, walks on two legs in youth but when old age falls, walks with the support of a stick making him walk on three feet. After hearing the right answer, The Sphinx killed herself.
But are legends really just legends or are they the shield covering up various secrets and dark days of the past? Like in the case of king Thutmose IV, it was said that he received a dream from the Great Sphinx, who promised that he will be the king if he clears out the sands under which the Sphinx got buried. He was promised more power than his brothers. This came true and the Pharaoh kept his promise. But according to conspiracy theories, this story was just a cover-up by the king to hide his bloody hands red with his brothers’ murders.
The story of the Sphinx guarding secret passageways is also another legend, which till date historians are working hard to discover. They say that those passages can lead the man to immense wealth and unknown knowledge. But are we ever going to discover these jewels or will it stay back in the times of history forever, guarded by the mighty lion hearted Sphinx? But one thing remains the same about the Sphinx, that it was feared by all, as the Arabs say Abū al-Hawl, or “Father of Terror.”
All these folklores and legends sometimes make me wonder whether these are only stories or are they depicting something. Whether we should really need to know everything or are few things better to be kept untouched and unknown, appearing only in the yellow pages of old books.
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