Great Sphinx of Giza

ancient egypt · giant statue · history

Half human, half lion. The Sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a person and the body of a resting lion, carved as one huge statue.

Carved from bedrock. It was sculpted right out of the natural limestone rock of the Giza Plateau, not built from separate blocks.

Facing the sunrise. The Sphinx faces east, looking toward where the sun rises each morning over the Nile River.

Oldest of its kind. It's the oldest known monumental sculpture in all of Egypt and is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.