BY RUBY

ABOUT THE SPHINX…. The Sphinx of Giza is a Symbol that has represented the essence of Egypt for The Sphinx’s is truly a mysterious marvel from the days of ancient Egypt. The body of a Lion with the head of a king or god, the sphinx has come to symbolize strength and wisdom. The Sphinx of Giza is a Symbol that has represented the essence of Egypt for thousands of years.

WHY….. Have you ever wondered why the Egyptians built the Sphinx in the first place? This is why, they built the sphinx to scare or trap evil gods in hopes to save there Pharaoh from not making it to the afterlife. Fact 1: The Sphinx used to have a beard, but fell off when soldiers used it as shooting practice.

MYTHS AND LEGENDS….. There are told to be a lot of secret passage ways under the Sphinx, and stories have been carved into the Sphinx. But this story is one of my favourites. One day, a young prince fell asleep next to the Great Sphinx. He had been hunting all day, and was very tired. He dreamt that the Great Sphinx promised that he would become the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt if he cleared away the sand covering its body (the Great Sphinx was covered up to its neck). The rest of the story is gone, so you will have to use your imagination to work out the ending. This stele was put up by the pharaoh Thutmosis IV who lived around 1400 B.C. Facts 2: It is 241 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 66 feet high. The eyes on the face are 6 feet tall, the ears over three feet tall, and the nose would have been nearly 5 feet long before it was knocked off.

QUICK AND EASY FACTS The Great Sphinx is located on the Giza Plateau 25km (15 miles) south west of Cairo, bordering the Sahara Desert on the west bank of the River Nile. The Great Sphinx is one of the most iconic symbols of Egypt, its gigantic and monumental proportions are truly awesome. It was named as by the Bedouins meaning the "father of terror". The massive statue has the head of a man wearing a nemes headdress and the elongated body of a crouching lion. The Nemes was the traditional striped head cloth worn by the pharaohs of Egypt as a ceremonial headdress. The Uraeus cobra symbol, offered magical protection and conveyed the legitimacy of the ruler.

HISTORICAL PHOTOS!