The Great Sphinx of Giza

Sphinx are massive stone statues representing the body of a lion lying with the head and face of a human being. The figures can be found worldwide in various forms, but they are usually associated with Egypt, which has the most famous example in the form of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Surprisingly, the statue carved from a monolithic piece of rock, and 240 meters long, 20 meters wide and 66 meters high, is considered the largest monument of its kind in the world. Historians widely agree Sphinx function being a guardian symbols or statues have been placed strategically around critical structures such as temples, tombs and pyramids. The Great Sphinx of Giza seems to be something different. It stands next to the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre, and most archaeologists think that it is her face that is represented on the statue.

The Mystery 

Despite its reputation as one of the most famous monuments of antiquity, there is still little known on the Great Sphinx of Giza. Egyptologists may have little understanding of why the statue was built, but when, how and by whom is still shrouded in mystery. Pharaoh Chephren is the main suspect, who would date the structure back to around 2500 BC, but other researchers have argued that traces of water erosion of the statue indicates that it is much older and perhaps even before the era of dynastic Egyptians. This theory has some modern followers, but if true, would mean the Great Sphinx of Giza is even more mysterious than previously believed.