Cairo, Egypt - 7 December 2010; A sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. The most famous depiction of such a c

---

Cairo, Egypt - 7 December 2010; A sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. The most famous depiction of such a chimera is the Great Sphinx of Giza, situated on the Giza Plateau adjacent to the Great Khafre Pyramid on the west bank of the Nile. Although the date of its construction is uncertain, the head of the Great Sphinx now is believed to be that of the pharaoh Khafra (4th Dynasty - to 2494 BCE).

---

Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location:
Photo credit: © Jon Bower / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: afterlife, ancient, antiquity, archaeology, architecture, arid, attraction, azure, blue, body, cairo, civilisations, clear, cloud, cloudless, colossal, complex, contrasts, death, desert, dry, egypt, egyptology, el-giza, emblematic, enigmatic, female, forepaws, giza, great, head, human, iconic, international, khafre, kingdom, landmark, limestone, lion, menkaure, monolith, monumental, mortality, mortuary, mysterious, necropolis, nile, pharaoh, plateau, pyramid, religion, sand, sandstone, sky, sphinx, statue, stone, tomb, tourism, tourist, travel, weathered, wonders, world, worship