The Sphinx is an immense man made sculpture located in the Giza plateau, near Cairo, the capital city of Egypt. This royal sculpture is definitely a national symbol of Egyptian tradition and culture. Tourists, adventurers, scholars and historians have for ages marveled and wondered about the large magnitude of this colossal man made sculpture. The Sphinx of Cairo ranks as one of the top rated tourist attractions in the whole world.
The word ‘Sphinx’ is a Greek word, which means strangler. The Great Sphinx of the Giza plateau, has a body of lion with the head of a king or God. The sculpture represents strength and wisdom. It lies in the northeast of Khafre’s Valley Temple, which was once a quarry. The Sphinx sits facing the rising sun temple built by the 5th dynasty of the Pharoahs. Lion was an icon of strength, power and intelligence in Eastern civilization.
Dimensions of The Sphinx
The body of the Sphinx is 72.55 meters in length and the statue stands tall to a height of 20.22 meters. The face is 4 meters wide and
the eyes are two meters high. Mouth of the Sphinx is two meters wide while
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the nose is 1.5 meters long. It is believed that the Sphinx had a plaited beard. Pieces of the beard are now found in the British Museum. The body of the Great Sphinx is that of a lion and is very well proportioned. It has the paws, claws and tail. The tail is curled around the right haunch.
Geological excavations have revealed that The Sphinx was carved out of a limestone bedrock. The limestone was formed some fifty million years ago from sea water sedimentation. A huge rectangular bedrock was isolated to carve out the Great Sphinx. Limestone use to build the head of the Sphinx was quarried from the blocks used to build the Pyramids.
Popular Egyptian historians believe that the builder of The Sphinx was built by the father of Khafre, King Khufu. He also build the Great Pyramid of Khafre. The distinct features of the face of the Sphinx greatly resembles his older brother Khafre, who was the Pharaoh of Djedefre.
The Sphinx of Giza has undergone major restoration in the recent years. There are no words, which can really describe the beauty and thrill of seeing the Sphinx. The magnificent Sphinx is the essence and symbol of ancient Egyptian tradition and culture.
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