Great Sphinx of Giza - 73 meters high monument with lion body and human head
Location show on map
Giza, Egypt
Date of build
Ok. 5000 years ago
- Other building names: Hor-em Archet (egip.)
- Building type: Monument, Statue
- Architectural style: Ancient Egyptian
- Material: Monolith
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Height: 20 meters
- Length: 73 meters
This statue has a lion's body and a human head, it is 20 meters high and 73 meters long. At the widest point the face is over 4 meters.
The statue is forged in the monolithic rock remaining after mining the stone at 330 m distant The Great Pyramid, , was built by Pharaoh Chefren (the head of the Sphinx is apparently his portrait).
For centuries, the Sphinx has been a symbol of mystery and mystery. It is presumed that he is the guardian of the pyramids lying behind him.
He has a royal headgear and a royal cobra on his forehead, formerly decorated with a Uraeus and a square beard, probably originally plastered and painted in red.
Sphinx is missing a part of his nose. On this subject arose various guesses, some claim that he lost it due to the influence of sand and winds others, that through numerous earthquakes, still others suspect Napoleon soldiers who allegedly had to organize a shooting competition in the nose of the statue.
In the New State, the Sfinks remained in connection with the cult of the sun and was considered the symbol of Horus (the Egyptian god of the sun).
The building often covered the sand. Until 1926, the Sphinx was buried up to the neck in the sand. It has recently been restored in the 1990s.
Geologist Robert Schoch announced in 1991 a fact that still remains a mystery, namely, he claims that Sfinks has traces of erosion from the water. Only their head does not have them, which additionally certifies the history of its processing.
Inside the building there are three tunnels. Two of them were discovered in 1881, they were opened in 1979. The third tunnel was discovered in 1926 and it has not been opened since then.
"lived in our time a man named Saim al-Dahr, who was a dervish. This man, wanting to heal matters of religion, went to the pyramids and smeared the face of Abdul-Hol (one of the Arabic sphinx expressions), which henceforth remains to this day Since this disfigurement, sand has broken into farmlands in Giza, and people attribute it to Abdul-Hol." - Arabic chronicles of Al-Makrizi
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