Sphinx

The Great Sphinx Of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a statue of a reclining or couchant Sphinx. The Sphinx has been a symbol of Egypt from ancient times to the present. The Sphinx of Giza is an immense stone sculpture of a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. The Sphinx sits in a shallow depression to the south of the pyramid of the Pharaoh Khafre at the west bank of the Nile River near the city of Cairo. The Sphinx is part of a complex of structures that also contains the Sphinx temple. In 1798 when Napoleon came to Egypt the Sphinx was buried in sand up to its neck. Between 1816 and 1858 a series of adventure antiquarians including Giovanni Caviglia, Auguste Mariette and Gaston Maspero attempted to clear the sand from the body of the Sphinx but were each forced to abandon the project due to the enormous amount of sand.