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The History Behind Sphinx
Theories
The Sphinx water erosion hypothesis is a fringe claim, contending that the Great Sphinx of Giza and its enclosing walls eroded primarily due to ancient floods or rainfalls, attributing their creation to Plato's lost civilization of Atlantis over 11,500 years ago.
Theories
Theories
In Greek tradition, the Sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, the haunches of a lion, and the wings of a bird. According to Greek myth, she challenges those who encounter her to answer a riddle, and kills and eats them when they fail to do so.
Facts
The Great Sphinx is among the world’s largest sculptures, measuring some 240 feet (73 meters) long and 66 feet (20 meters) high. It features a lion’s body and a human head adorned with a royal headdress. The statue was carved from a single piece of limestone, and pigment residue suggests that the entire Great Sphinx was painted. According to some estimates, it would have taken about three years for 100 workers, using stone hammers and copper chisels, to finish the statue.
"In the Omnibus" color dry point and aquatint by Mary Cassatt, 1890-91; in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Impressionism)
Facts
Facts
With a lion's body and a human head, it represents Ra-Horakhty, a form of the powerful sun god, and is the incarnation of royal power and the protector of the temple doors. The Sphinx is the oldest and longest stone sculpture from the Old Kingdom.
My Theory
My theory behind Sphinx is that I think that the Great Sphinx suggests the statue was erected for the Pharaoh Khafre (about 2603-2578 B.C.). Hieroglyphic texts suggest Khafre's father, Pharaoh Khufu, built the Great Pyramid, the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in Giza.
My Theory
My reaserch
My Research
In ancient Egypt, the Sphinx was a spiritual guardian and most often depicted as a male with a pharaoh headdress—as is the Great Sphinx—and figures of the creatures were often included in tomb and temple complexes. For instance, the so-called Sphinx Alley in Upper Egypt is a two-mile avenue that connects the temples of Luxor and Karnak and is lined with Sphinx statues.
A Riddle
What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?
A Riddle
The answer
Results
The answer is a man, who crawls as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a walking stick in his twilight years.
What was it built for
Why were they built? The Egyptians built sphinx statues to guard important areas such as tombs and temples. The most famous Sphinx is the Great Sphinx of Giza.