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<p>[QUOTE="J. J., post: 6457328, member: 118499"]In fact, the Giza Sphinx had a beard – it is excavated and on display in the museum. And also, some sphinx coins show a beard, some don’t.</p><p><br /></p><p>What do you want me to say? That the Giza Sphinx isn’t the greatest and best known sphinx ever sculptured? Of course, it is! But why did you assume, <b>with absolutely no hesitation</b>, that the coin depicts any monolith?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Sphinx was such a popular creature in Egyptian mythology that it appeared everywhere: in sculptures, images, hieroglyphs and... coins! Do you think that every time the ancient Egyptians saw the image of a sphinx, they were like: ”Oh, such a nice Giza Sphinx!” It’s like you saw a picture of Jesus and said: ”Look, this guy looks like the statue in Rio de Janeiro!” And when the Egyptians were reading, did they see a letter (sphinx-shaped hieroglyph) or the Giza Sphinx?</p><p><br /></p><p>If, according to your opinion, the Romans minted sphinx coins to commemorate the Egyptian building skills, why didn’t they mint coins depicting the Pyramids – considered one of the 7 wonders of the world (Strabo, <i>Geographica</i>)?</p><p><br /></p><p>In my opinion, the sphinx coin doesn’t necessarily have to represent the monument – but the symbol itself. The Romans did what they were doing everywhere else – expanding the Roman culture by mixing local symbols and deities with symbols of the Roman authority.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Does a new member have to deserve a permission to ask kind and relevant questions? If yes, feel free to execute me on that hill because I wouldn't like to be a part of such club. I own the sphinx coin myself. And it is not less valuable for me when I detach that catchy architectural story from it. I would say - the coin is even more interesting if we can argue about its history.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="J. J., post: 6457328, member: 118499"]In fact, the Giza Sphinx had a beard – it is excavated and on display in the museum. And also, some sphinx coins show a beard, some don’t. What do you want me to say? That the Giza Sphinx isn’t the greatest and best known sphinx ever sculptured? Of course, it is! But why did you assume, [B]with absolutely no hesitation[/B], that the coin depicts any monolith? Sphinx was such a popular creature in Egyptian mythology that it appeared everywhere: in sculptures, images, hieroglyphs and... coins! Do you think that every time the ancient Egyptians saw the image of a sphinx, they were like: ”Oh, such a nice Giza Sphinx!” It’s like you saw a picture of Jesus and said: ”Look, this guy looks like the statue in Rio de Janeiro!” And when the Egyptians were reading, did they see a letter (sphinx-shaped hieroglyph) or the Giza Sphinx? If, according to your opinion, the Romans minted sphinx coins to commemorate the Egyptian building skills, why didn’t they mint coins depicting the Pyramids – considered one of the 7 wonders of the world (Strabo, [I]Geographica[/I])? In my opinion, the sphinx coin doesn’t necessarily have to represent the monument – but the symbol itself. The Romans did what they were doing everywhere else – expanding the Roman culture by mixing local symbols and deities with symbols of the Roman authority. Does a new member have to deserve a permission to ask kind and relevant questions? If yes, feel free to execute me on that hill because I wouldn't like to be a part of such club. I own the sphinx coin myself. And it is not less valuable for me when I detach that catchy architectural story from it. I would say - the coin is even more interesting if we can argue about its history.[/QUOTE]
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