Great Sphinx of Giza

The Sphinx of Giza is a symbol that has represented the essence of Egypt for thousands of years. The body of a lion with the head of a king comes from the Egyptian culture symbolizing strength and wisdom. The sphinx is a carved out of the living rock. Egyptologists believe that the sphinx was built in 2500 BC in the fourth dynasty. From the north side the profile of the Sphinx reveals the proportion of the body to the head. It would appear as though the head is small in proportion to the body. Because of the changing desert terrain, the body of the Sphinx has been buried several times over the past several thousand years. Most recently in 1905, the sand has been cleared away to expose the magnitude and beauty of the entirety of the Sphinx. The sphinx is carved out of a single ridge of soft limestone 240 feet long and 66 feet high. The head was sculpted from the same stone, and the forepaws were separately

made from blocks of limestone. The paws themselves are 50 feet long while the entire length is 150 feet . The head is 30 feet long and 14 feet wide. Because certain layers of the stone are softer than others, there is a high degree of erosion that has claimed the original detail of the carved figure. The face of the Great Sphinx has been thought to be pharaoh Khafre 's face Fascinatingly, the features of the face of the Sphinx has a far more striking resemblance to an older brother of Khafre, the Pharaoh Djedefre . Djedefre 's short lived reign occurred just prior to the reign of Khafre. Originally it is believed that the Sphinx was painted and was quite colorful. Since then, the nose and beard have been broken away from . In between the paws of the Sphinx is a stela, now called the "Dream Stela" which is a stone slab placed vertically and inscribed with a story. The 18th Dynasty story tells of the time Taha 2
Thutmosis IV fell asleep under the Sphinx which was covered to the neck in sand. Thutmosis had a dream that the