Egypt’s Great Sphinx: The oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt, the world

CAIRO – 23 February 2022: The Great Sphinx is one of the largest statues in the world, with a length of 20 meters, and a width of 73 meters.

It is distinguished by the body of a lion and the head of a human, and its head is decorated with the royal headdress. It is a statue carved from a single piece of limestone.

According to some estimates, it took about three years to build by 100 workers using stone hammers and copper chisels.

Most historians suggest that the Sphinx belongs to the Fourth ruling dynasty, which Khafre added, yet some believe that it was built by Djedefre's older brother, to commemorate their father Khufu [Cheops].

These scholars indicate that the face of the Great Sphinx bears more resemblance to Khafre, which rumored that Khufu [Cheops] himself built the statue.

The three pyramids were built as a tomb to protect the king's body, and to store/protect supplies he would need in the afterlife from thieves.

It was also believed that its pointed part at the top was a starting point for the king's soul to ascend to heaven and join the sun god.

However, in the nineteenth century a hole exploded from the northern side of the Great Pyramid, and it has recently become the entrance to the pyramid.

Today, visitors enter through the temple corridor that leads to the Great Gallery.It is a wide corridor with a height of 8.53 meters, eventually reaching the king's room, whose walls are lined with solid red granite. Visitors often see the king's sarcophagus that was broken by thieves, which is the only thing that was left in the room, because they did not know how to get it out of the corridor

The Great Pyramids are located on the Giza plateau in the Egyptian cemetery. They are the most famous compared to the pyramids of the Old Kingdom, and contain three huge pyramids, which are:

The Great Pyramid of Khufu [Cheops], who ruled from about 2589 to 2566 BC.

Pyramid of Khufu's son, Khafre, who is believed to have reigned from about 2558 BC to about 2532 BC.

Pyramid of Khufu's grandson, Menkaure