The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx with a human head and a lion’s body. It is situated on the Giza Plateau in the city of Giza, Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile River. The Great Sphinx was likely constructed around 2500 BC during the reign of King Khafre of the 4th Dynasty. Despite more than four thousand years having passed since its construction, it has managed to survive to this day. It was carved from the remains of a limestone quarry that served as a source of stone for the other pyramids and monuments in the area, including the Pyramid of Khufu. The stones quarried from around the Sphinx’s body were also used to build a temple directly in front of it. However, neither the surrounding area nor the temple was ever completed.
Possessing a captivating appearance, the Sphinx has, over the centuries, typically only had its head visible above the sand, as it is situated in a hollow that has been repeatedly filled by shifting sands. This colossal structure, which has suffered deformation over time for various reasons, has been restored on several occasions, and the sand that accumulated on it has been cleared away time and again. Consequently, Thutmose IV erected a temple housing the Dream Stele—a granite slab inscribed with text—between the Sphinx’s paws.
Today, the Sphinx measures approximately 73 m (240 ft) in length from paw to tail; from the base to the top of the head, it stands 20 m (66 ft) high. The lion’s body consists of a torso, front and hind legs, and a tail wrapping around the thigh of the right hind leg. The statue’s pharaonic-style head, however, is quite small in proportion to the body. Some researchers have suggested that the Sphinx originally had a larger head and that the current head is the result of a later modification. According to them, the head has undergone several revisions over time. Furthermore, the exact cause of this disproportion has not been definitively determined.
Facing eastwards from the west, the head of the Great Sphinx of Giza is covered with a Nemes headdress. The beard and nose on the head section of the statue are broken. Fragments of the beard are currently housed at the British Museum in London. The nose, however, was broken at an unknown time between the 3rd and 10th centuries AD, and numerous folk tales have been created to answer questions about what happened to the nose. However, given its construction, it is thought that the nose was broken intentionally. Whilst traces of red pigment are visible on some parts of the Sphinx’s face, traces of yellow and blue pigment have been found elsewhere. This has led Mark Lehner to suggest that the statue was once adorned with the garish colours of a comic book. However, due to the wear and tear of time, the Great Sphinx of Giza now has a yellowish-beige appearance.
The Sphinx, which possesses a mysterious history shrouded in many unknowns, was given its name approximately 2,000 years after its generally accepted date of construction, during the classical ancient era, in reference to a Greek mythological monster. Although the exact purpose of the Sphinx’s construction is unknown, there are differing views on this matter within Egyptology. According to one theory, the Great Sphinx of Giza, with its majestic appearance, was likely guarding the Giza plateau. Arab writers described the Sphinx as a talisman protecting the region from the desert. Another view holds that King Harmachis was buried here. Herbert Ricke, however, noted that the statue belonged to the sun cult and represented Harmachis, a local form of the sky god Horus. Perhaps the statue is also an image of Pharaoh Chephren, who was depicted as Horus, or an image of his father, Pharaoh Cheops. Mark Lehner, who researched the Sphinx from 1979 to 1983, like other researchers, suspected that the builder was Chephren, also known as Khafre. Rainer Stadelmann, however, favoured King Cheops. In recent years, other images and statues of these two pharaohs have been compared with the head of the Sphinx using the most modern methods. However, no clear and definitive attribution has been possible to date. Although archaeological evidence suggests that the Great Sphinx was built for Pharaoh Chephren, the founder of the Second Pyramid at Giza around 2500 BC, there is not a single contemporary inscription linking the Sphinx to him.
With its magnificent appearance and enigmatic aspects, the Sphinx continues to intrigue and preserve its mystery, attracting millions of visitors every year. Known as the oldest monumental statue, ‘The Great Sphinx of Giza’ is one of the world’s most famous sculptures.