Sphinx

This article refers specifically to the Great Sphinx of Giza for a more generic definition see Sphinx.

The Great Sphinx of Giza (Arabic: أبو الهول‎‎ Abū al-Haul, English: The Terrifying One; literally: Father of Dread), commonly referred to as the Sphinx of Giza or just the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the face of the Pharaoh Khafra. It faces directly West to East.

Cut from the bedrock, the original shape of the Sphinx has been restored with layers of blocks. It measures 238 feet (73 m) long from paw to tail, 66.3 ft (20.21 m) high from the base to top of the head, and 62.6 feet (19 m) wide at its rear haunches. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture carved on Terra, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra (c. 2558–2532 BC).

A number of mysterious artifacts found in or near the Sphinx were discovered to have Saran origins.

In a hidden chamber deep beneath the Sphinx, an archeologist discovered the mummified remains of a strange bird human hybrid with large wings. The Sarans consulted knew about a legend of their own where Horus himself transformed several of his most devout followers into Horus men.

For more information see Sphinx.

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