Robert and Olivia Temple, who I am privileged to call friends, have written a new and soon to become rather important book about the Sphinx and Giza. I will be writing a full review of The Sphinx Mystery: The Forgotten Origins of the Sanctuary of Anubis, very shortly as I am still in the middle of digesting some of the books finer points and conclusions. However, I can say with certainty that this is a classic in the making. A book born of the most incredible research and dedication to a subject matter that has all too often been treated in the most simplistic of terms. Together Robert and Olivia take us on an incredible journey of discovery, uncovering reports and writings about this amazing monument that have never been studied before. Think you knew everything about the Sphinx already? Think again. Carrying on from theories first postulated in the groundbreaking, The Sirius Mystery, Robert and Olivia make an incredibly solid case for the Sphinx to have originally been a representation of Anubis. But thats not all. They then go on to reveal that the enigmatic face of the Sphinx, debated over by Egyptologists and researchers for many years now, is neither Khafre or Khufu, but the face of Middle Kingdom Pharaoh, Amenemhat II, who re-carved the colossal statue in his own facial image at a much later date than has been debated before. Quite brilliant detective work and deduction has gone into the book and the photographic reproductions (most of them from the massive collection that Robert holds personally) are simply immense. A new geometrical groundplan for the Giza Plateau is also put forward, and although I would respectfully disagree with Robert on his conclusions here (having been involved with my colleague David Ritchie's astonishing geometrical work at Giza - soon to be revealed in full here), its wonderful to see such well researched ideas put forward.
This is a book not to be missed. I heartily recommend this to you all and invite comments and remarks about its subject matter at any time. I myself return to Egypt in April, with the book tucked under my arm and with my eyes further opened. Check out the book website. Support the authors and buy the book directly from Inner Traditions, the publishers.
Simon Cox
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