# Why do black people think Napoleon shot off the Sphinx's nose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448 "2004-01-08T17:05:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/1 "2004-01-08T17:05:58Z")
From my recent studies of Islamic history, I’m pretty confident that it was destroyed by a Muslim around the twelfth or thirteenth century. Recently it’s come up that no white people I’ve talked to know or care who did it but several black people are certain Napoleon did it. What’s up? (And if anyone could give me any more information about the nose being removed, that’d be great.) ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/2 "2004-01-08T17:14:25Z")
> [@](#): > > **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.” And the perpetuation of this myth in “Afrocentric” circles was even the subject of a segment of the U.S. television investigative journalism program "60 Minutes."** Never mind, found my own answers. This is what happens when you take classes with activists. [source](http://www.napoleonseries.org/faq/sphinx.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![timgregory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@timgregory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timgregory)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/3 "2004-01-08T17:16:01Z")
Possibly because it is commonly used as evidence of long standing racism against black people. _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.” And the perpetuation of this myth in “Afrocentric” circles was even the subject of a segment of the U.S. television investigative journalism program “60 Minutes.”_ [http://www.napoleonseries.org/faq/sphinx.cfm](http://www.napoleonseries.org/faq/sphinx.cfm) I think a lot of white people believe this, too, but don’t have any reason to bring it up in conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/4 "2004-01-08T17:16:09Z")
[Did Napoleon’s troops shoot the nose off the Sphinx?](http://www.napoleonseries.org/faq/sphinx.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![Genghis\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/45deac/32.png) [@Genghis\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genghis_Bob)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/5 "2004-01-08T17:18:47Z")
I remember when I was a kid (35 years ago or so) reading in “The Book of Marvels” by Richard Halliburton that Napolean’s artillery had shot off the Sphinx’s nose while taking target practice. I’ve always believed this to be true, in a maybe-I-can-win-a-bar-bet-with-this-knowledge sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/6 "2004-01-08T17:27:22Z")
There seems to be a determined effort in Afrocentric circles to present Ancient Egyptians as negroid. Cleopatra, descended from a long line of Macedonians in the wake of Alexander the Great, is particularly misappropriated for this task. You can see from the occasional representation of negroid Africans (“Nubians”) in Egyptian art that Egyptians saw themselves in distinct contrast to them. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/7 "2004-01-08T17:51:40Z")
Awww, c’mon **Anal Scurvy**! I can’t believe you missed (or dismissed) [this scholarly site](http://www.islavista.goleta.k12.ca.us/9697/Page_James01.html)! > [@](#): > > **Well the Sphinx’s nose is gone because when Napoleon invaded Egypt 250 years ago while looking for minerals, his soldiers were so board that they just started to shoot the Sphinx. And did Napoleon care, NO WAY!!! All he wanted was his precious jewels.** Lessee… 2004 - 250 = 1754… fifteen years before Napoleon was born! NO WAY!!! :dubious: > [@](#): > > \*\* Well, scientists in the 1960’s, they said that it could be impossible for any kind of tomb to be inside the Sphinx. Boy were they wrong. Today’s scientists are using things that the 1960’s scientists didn’t have, RADAR. With the advanced stuff they have today they have found small chambers inside the Sphinx’s belly and the head. They think that these chambers would hold problem small warm blooded mammals.\*\* Those people in ancient Cairo just weren’t into cold blooded mammals. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/8 "2004-01-08T21:32:34Z")
I believed that for a long time and I’m not black. ---
**Author:** ![Anal\_Scurvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c57346/32.png) [@Anal\_Scurvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anal_Scurvy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/9 "2004-01-08T23:14:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by furryman \* > \*\*I believed that for a long time and I’m not black. \*\* Absurd. Maybe you should scrutinize your parents a bit more closely. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/10 "2004-01-08T23:39:04Z")
Radar was certainly around before the 60’s. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/11 "2004-01-08T23:57:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anal Scurvy \* > Absurd. Maybe you should scrutinize your parents a bit more closely. > > :rolleyes: Oh come on. It’s not so bad. I believed that lemmings committed suicide for a long time, and that the coriolis force affects sink drains; does that make my parents deadbeats too? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/12 "2004-01-09T00:07:31Z")
My father thought that it was Napoleon’s fault, and not only is he white, but he’s a Classics major from an Ivy League university. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/13 "2004-01-09T00:24:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Achernar \* > \*\*Oh come on. It’s not so bad. I believed that lemmings committed suicide for a long time, and that the coriolis force affects sink drains; does that make my parents deadbeats too? \*\* I don’t think that’s what he meant… ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/14 "2004-01-09T00:29:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gluteus maximus \* > **Awww, c’mon Anal Scurvy! I can’t believe you missed (or dismissed) [this scholarly site](http://www.islavista.goleta.k12.ca.us/9697/Page_James01.html)!** The good news is that the page was created by an elementary school student named James. The bad news is that James’s teacher must have okayed the math and history found therein. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/15 "2004-01-09T00:30:24Z")
Apparently the local tour guides are perpetuationg this myth. My mother (who I’m pretty sure isn’t black) tried to tell me this after returning from a trip to Egypt a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/16 "2004-01-09T00:33:30Z")
I also believed that. I was taught it in school. I’m not black either. Bob ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/17 "2004-01-09T00:48:55Z")
Right – it’s not exclusively or primarily a “black thing”, it’s just that it’s a common “Non-Urban Legend” that just happens to fit nicely into Bad Afrocentrist History. For comparison, think of how many people are positive that it was (pick one) (a)Caesar (b) the Christians ©the Muslims that “burned the Library of Alexandria”. Depending on your predisposition to believe the worst about one particular culture or religion, you may be tempted to take one of those claims as deserving great credence. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/18 "2004-01-09T00:57:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max\_Castle \* > \*\*Apparently the local tour guides are perpetuationg this myth. My mother (who I’m pretty sure isn’t black) tried to tell me this after returning from a trip to Egypt a couple of years ago. \*\* Just to clarify, she was told that Napoleon’s soldiers shot the nose off, but was not told that it was because of racial motivations. ---
**Author:** ![anansi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@anansi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anansi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/19 "2004-01-09T01:35:51Z")
“Black People” do not believe this. This is a common urban legend and as was mentioned it fits in with some afrocentric theory. All black people are not afrocentrists. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\*There seems to be a determined effort in Afrocentric circles to present Ancient Egyptians as negroid. Cleopatra, descended from a long line of Macedonians in the wake of Alexander the Great, is particularly misappropriated for this task. You can see from the occasional representation of negroid Africans (“Nubians”) in Egyptian art that Egyptians saw themselves in distinct contrast to them. \*\* as far as this goes you’re right in that some afrocentrists misrepresent the ethnicity of many ancient egyptians. Cleopatra was a greek. however, there is abundant evidence that were “negroid” elements to the egyptian population. just as there were asian and semitic elements. The egyptians were definitely African (as egypt is located within africa) just as ethiopians, libyans and other north and east africans are. There were undoubtedly egyptians who walking down a street in modern america would be considered black. this is a tricky proposition though since race is a social construct rather than a biological one. To bring this back to the OP, one reason why these claims are made is the systematic editing out of history ny trace of “black” people. Within a large part of the last century Ethiopians and Sudanese were not considered black. they were hamitic “Whites”, the reasons postulated were the traces of megalithic architecture in these areas precluded the posibility that the builders could have been African or “Black”. Afrocentrism is a reactionary response to eurocentrism. they’re both silly. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448/20 "2004-01-09T01:42:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by audilover \* > I don’t think that’s what he meant… Oh I see. My bad. :o [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-black-people-think-napoleon-shot-off-the-sphinxs-nose/223448.md?page=2)