The Riddle of the Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza

In front of the Great Pyramids of Giza sits the largest statue of a Sphinx, (part human, part beast) in the world.  It is 76.5m long and about 20m tall.  Not only is it big, but it is also really old.  The Sphinx is one of the oldest monuments on Earth being around 4500 years old.  Now because it is so old we don't know much about it.  There are still questions of who built it, what purpose it served, who it was modelled after and why parts of it are missing (like its nose and beard!)?  So over the years many theories, and even some legends, developed to help people answer questions about the Sphinx.


The Sphinx on guard, keeping evil away from the Pharaoh.

Some believe the Sphinx was built in front of the pyramids to act as a guard, protecting the Pharaoh in the afterlife.  Others believe that he was an image of the sun god and that Egyptians would come and pray to the statue for good luck.

There are some interesting tales about the missing nose too.  Some Egyptologists believe that the nose was cut off by an invading ruler who didn't like the way people were worshipping the statue.  Another story about the nose is that when the French were occupying Egypt it was shot off during target practice by Napoleon's soldiers.

Whatever the true story is one thing is certain, the Sphinx was built to inspire awe, and it can still do that today even after 4000 years.

A different Sphinx in the Ancient City of Memphis.  This one is much smaller than the great Sphinx, but it still has its beard and nose intact.