巴黎考古研究所的埃及古物學家瓦希爾·多布列夫博士日前宣布，他已成功破解了獅身人面像（斯芬克斯）所代表的具體人物以及它真正的建造者。瓦希爾認為斯芬克斯并非古埃及第四王朝法老哈夫拉所建，而是他的兄弟德杰德夫拉為了紀念其父胡夫建造的。外電報道如下：Archaeologists, who are able to tell us who built the pyramids of ancient Egypt, have puzzled over the riddle of the Sphinx for generations.

The identity of the ruler who ordered the building of the 65-ft-high, 260-ft-long limestone half-human statue that has guarded the Giza Plateau for 4,500 years has been lost in the sands of time.

Now, following a 20-year re-examination of historical records and uncovering new evidence, Vassil Dobrev, a French Egyptologist, claims to have proved that the largest single stone statue on Earth is the work of a forgotten pharaoh.

Pharaoh是古代埃及最高統治者的稱謂“法老”，這個詞的原意是“大房子”，直到新王國時期才成為國王的同義語。在古埃及，法老被視為偉大的太陽神之子，他不僅擁有至高無上的政治和軍事權力，還是宗教上的神。因為法老是古代專制君主的典型代表，可以隨意處置手下的臣民和奴隸，所以后來pharaoh有了“暴君”的引申義。

（中國日報網站編）