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The Great Sphinx

Introduction

The Great Sphinx is a statue made of colossal stone and is located in a depression, near the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. It was carved out of limestone and has the facial features which resemble that of a man's face, whereas the body is of a lion. It is around 66 feet high and 240 feet long, and is known as a national ancient as well as modern symbol of Egypt. This statue has been the topic of writings by scholars, adventurers, tourists and poets for years and has spurred controversies and a lot of speculation regarding its meaning, real age, nose and other secrets that are related to it (Hawass, pp. 12).

Pharaoh Khafre, who was the 4th king hailing from Fourth dynasty (c. 2575-c. 2465 BC), built the Sphinx in around 2530 BC. He was also the builder and inhabitant of the second pyramid of Giza. The face of sphinx depicts the king's portrait and it remained a royal portrait during most of the history of Egypt. The Sphinx is known to be the intense sculpture of stone ever constructed by man.

The Sphinx is not taken as just a statue, but is also considered a main guardian figure, which protects the tomb of the Khafre by means of directing away evil spirits. The word "sphinx", means 'strangler', and was first coined by the Greeks for a unique statue which had a lion's body, a woman's face and a bird's wings. Many sphinxes are present in Egypt that contain the head of a king along with his headdress, while the body is that of a lion. Some of the sphinxes associated with the god amun also have ram heads (Hawass, pp. 25).

The Sphinx's face was primarily damaged in 1800 during which it was occupied by French, and the was used by Mameluke troops to practice targeting for the cannons of their fields. Apart from that, its body has been affected by different elements for a course of thousands of years (Harp, pp. 22).

History and Background

The Great Sphinx is located to the northeast of Valley Temple of Khafre. A quarry was once in its place and it is believed that about 4,500 years ago, Khafre's workers carved stone into the shape of a lion and made its face resemble the face of the king. Apart from that, Khafre's name had also been stated on the Dream Stele. However, there is still mystery as to whether the face is of Khafre's or not, and it remains the preponderance of thoughts (Lichtheim, pp. 118).

It should also be noted that the Sphinx is not a separate monument and it needs to be studied with relation to its surroundings. Moreover, the statue is complex and comprises of a New Kingdom temple, old temple, and other small monuments. Other than that, it is also linked to Valley Temple (Lichtheim, pp. 154).

Material of the Sphinx

The Sphinx was carved out of material from limestone bedrock of the Muqqatam Formation, ...