Horemakhet/Harmachis nelle foto di Giovanni Fasani: una nota sulla Grande Sfinge di Giza

Some photographs by Giovanni Fasani, an Italian photographer who worked in Egypt between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, offer the opportunity to reconsider the Great Sphinx of Giza and its identification, starting from the New Kingdom, with Hor-em-akhet/Harmachis. The photographic shots, taken in a position that is difficult to reach today, show the head of the sphinx emerging on the horizon between the two great pyramids of Cheops and Chefren, forming an enormous akhet sign. The site of Giza has a clear relationship with the Egyptian concept of horizon, starting from the name of the Cheops funerary complex Akhet-Khufu. Fasani’s photographs add elements to the dossier, in order to understand the birth of the new deity at the beginning of the New Kingdom, a period characterized by a notable royal commitment to re-establishing the cult also through new institutions.