萬萬沒想到：關於獅身人面像的7件事
1. TECHNICALLY, THE GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA IS NOT A SPHINX.
1.嚴格來說，吉薩的獅身人面像不是獅身人面像。
Not a traditional sphinx, anyway. Although heavily influenced by Egyptian and later Mesopotamian mythology, the classical Greek depiction of the Sphinx consists of the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and the wings of a bird. Giza’s male-identifying landmark is, technically, an androsphinx. The lack of wings further muddles its accepted taxonomy.
總之他並不是傳統意義上的獅身人面像。雖然他受到埃及以及後期美索不達米亞神話的影響嚴重，但在古希臘人的描繪中，獅身人面像應該有着獅子的身體，女人的頭，和鳥的翅膀。而吉薩的獅身人面像從外表上看是男性，嚴格來說，他是獅身人頭像，而翅膀的缺失讓他的分類更加模糊。
2. LABORERS WHO CONSTRUCTED THE STATUE ATE LIKE KINGS.
2.建造雕像的勞動者吃的非常好。
Most scientists’ initial assumption was that the men who toiled to bring the Sphinx to life belonged to an enslaved caste. Their diets would suggest otherwise, however; excavations led by Lehner revealed that the statue’s laborers regularly dined on luxurious cuts of prime beef, sheep, and goat meat.
大部分科學家最初以爲建造獅身人面像的苦工們是奴隸，但是不然，領導挖掘的萊納透露說，建造雕像的人通常分到頂級的牛肉、綿羊肉以及山羊肉這樣的奢侈食物。
3. THE SPHINX WAS ONCE RATHER COLORFUL.
3.獅身人面像曾經相當色彩豐富。
Though it is now indistinct from the drab tan of its sandy surroundings, the Sphinx may at one time have been completely covered in vivid paint. Remnants of red can be found on the statue’s face, while hints of blue and yellow remain on the body.
儘管他現在身處沙漠中與周圍環境有着同樣的淺褐色，並不顯眼。但是獅身人面像也許曾全身覆蓋着鮮豔的色彩。雕像的臉上可以找到殘餘的紅色，而身體上也留有藍色和黃色的痕跡。
4. A CULT VENERATED THE SPHINX LONG AFTER IT WAS BUILT.
4.獅身人面像建好後被長時間地狂熱崇拜
Thanks to Thutmose’s mystical vision at the Sphinx, the sculpture and its represented mythological deity began to win new popularity during the 14th century BCE.
多虧了圖特摩斯對獅身人面像的神祕構思，這座雕像以及它所代表的神開始在公元前14世紀大受歡迎。
5. THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX IS MUCH KINDER THAN ITS GREEK COUSIN.
5.埃及獅身人面像比它在希臘的表親要和善很多。
The Sphinx’s modern reputation for tyranny and trickery spawns not from Egyptian mythology, but Greek. The creature’s most famous appearance in Ancient Greek lore came from her run-in with Oedipus, whom she challenged with her allegedly unsolvable riddle. Ancient Egyptian culture valued its Sphinx as a much more benevolent, albeit no less powerful, godlike figure.
獅身人面像在現代暴政與欺詐的名聲並非起源於埃及神話，而是希臘神話。在古希臘的傳說中，她與俄狄浦斯的爭論非常出名，俄狄浦斯來挑戰她那無人可解的謎題。而在古埃及文化中，獅身人面像更爲仁慈，儘管依舊是強大、神一般的人物。
