Frequently Asked Question #11: “Did Napoleons troops shoot the nose off the Sphinx?
By Tom Holmberg Although popular legend blames Napoleon and his troops during the French campaign in Egypt (1798-1801) for having shot the nose off the Great Sphinx, in fact this story just isn’t true. I haven’t located an original source for this myth, but it has been perpetuated over the years by countless teachers who have passed this bit of “history” on to children the world over. A poll conducted on the Internet found that fully 21% of respondents believed Napoleon was responsible for the Sphinx’s missing nose. One of the most recent examples of the persistence of this falsehood was Louis Farrakhan’s “Million Man March” speech where he said: “White supremacy caused Napoleon to blow the nose off the Sphinx because it reminded you [sic] too much of the Black man’s majesty.” This error has persisted in spite of the fact that the truth can be readily found in such common reference sources as the Encyclopedia Americana (Danbury, CT: Grolier, 1995). vol.25, p.492-3 under “Sphinx”, which
