Sphinx

A Sphinx is an iconic image of a recumbent lion with a human head, invented by the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom, but a cultural import in archaic Greek mythology, where it received its name (Greek Σφι?ξ, "strangler"). The best known is the Great Sphinx of Giza.

Egyptian sphinx

The Egyptian sphinx is an ancient iconic mythical creature usually comprised of a recumbent lion – an animal with sacred solar associations – with a human head, usually that of a pharaoh.

Related Topics:
Egypt - Lion - Pharaoh

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:Main article:Great Sphinx of Giza.

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The largest and most famous is the Great Sphinx of Giza , sited on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile River, facing due east, with a small temple between its paws. The face of the Great Sphinx is believed to be the head of the pharaoh Khafra (often known by the Hellenised version of his name, Chephren), which would date its construction to the Fourth Dynasty (2723 BC – 2563 BC). However, there are some alternative theories that re-date the Sphinx to pre-Old Kingdom – and, according to one hypothesis, to prehistoric – times.

Related Topics:
Giza - Nile River - Khafra - Chephren - Fourth Dynasty - 2723 BC - 2563 BC

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Other famous Egyptian sphinxes include the alabaster sphinx of Memphis, currently located within the open-air museum at that site; and the ram-headed sphinxes (criosphinxes), representing the god Amun, that line either side of the three-kilometer route linking the complexes of Luxor Temple and Karnak in Luxor (ancient Thebes), of which there were originally some nine hundred.

Related Topics:
Memphis - Amun - Luxor Temple - Karnak - Luxor - Thebes

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What names ancient Egyptians called the statues is unknown. The Arabic name of the Great Sphinx, Abu al-Hôl, translates as "Father of Terror". The Greek name "Sphinx" was applied to it in Antiquity though it has the head of a man, not a woman.

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