The Great Sphinx

With dimensions of 65 feet (20m) high, 260 feet (57m) long, and 20 feet (6m) wide, the Great Sphinx of Giza is the largest structure created from a single piece of stone. It is also a figure synonymous with ancient Egyptian culture and remains shrouded in mystery.

The Great Sphinx has the body of a lion and the face of a man (king?). The age of the sphinx is not known, with guesses varying between six-thousand and even thirteen-thousand years old. The commonly-held belief is that is was created during the 2700s BC, and many believe to have been created at the will of King Khafra, whose pyramid the sphinx happens to be situated in front of, though more recently it has been suggested that the construction was set by Khafra's half brother, Djedefre, in the image and honor of their father, Khufu.

The monument was given the name 'sphinx' due to its likeness to a Greek legend of a creature with the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird. The name used by ancient Egyptians is still unconfirmed, though texts from medieval times suggest names such as "balhib" or "bilhaw".

The Great Sphinx can be found near the banks of the Nile , facing east, away from the pyramid of Khafra (near modern day Cairo). As the years passed after its construction, the areas around the sphinx were left to the elements, covering much of it in sand. A piece of stone covered in writing called the Dream Stela tells of a young prince who fell asleep against the parts untouched by the sand drifts and dreamed the sphinx talked to him, promising him kingship over Egypt if he could clear all of the sand. He was later known as Thutmose IV. It is also believed that Ramesses II removed the sand later, and the last large clearance took place around 1925.

Over the many years, the Egyptian sphinx has not remained in pristine condition. As seen in photographs, the defacement of the sphinx goes beyond simple erosion by the elements. The story goes that the loss of the sphinx's nose is due to Napoleon's army using the monument as target practice. There are drawings and etchings, though, that show the sphinx had been noseless for easily a hundred years before Napoleon even arrived.

There were three tunnels built in the Sphinx, but the passage of time has left the destinations unreachable and the tunnels themselves seem to basically stop short. Because of the limited resources and writing found on and around the sphinx, very little else is known about the structure (hence the "Riddle of the Sphinx"). All that we can be sure of is its immensity and the level of craftsmanship required to build it.

Two authors, Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, connect the sphinx to astrology. They claim that the lion shape is a reference to the constellation of Leo, the pyramids at Giza a reference to Orion and the Nile a reference to the Milky Way. In general these claims are regarded as pseudo science and have been refuted.