Introduction As one of the oldest and largest statues ever made, the Great Sphinx of Giza stands regally on Egypt's golden sand. With the head of a man and the body of a lion, this statue is famous around the world for its impressive size and how it ties to ancient Egyptian culture. The Great Sphinx in the largest monolith statue in the world and is thought to be made around 2558 and 2532 BC, during the rule of the Pharaoh Khafra ("Great Sphinx of Giza"). Though created long ago, the Great Sphinx remains an important part of the rich Egyptian culture. Personal Interest The Great Sphinx is thought to be built to guard the pyramids of Giza. At the time, Egyptians often carved statues of sphinxes to guard royal places, like temples and tombs. …show more content…
It was carved out of a single slab of stone. For many years, it was buried under sand, which delayed erosion ("Description of the Sphinx at Giza"). There is not much information known about the Sphinx's structure, but there are three known tunnels inside of the Sphinx. However, over the years the tunnels' entrances have been blocked and deemed unreachable ("The Great Sphinx"). The Sphinx may be world-famous, but it's structure will forever remain a mystery. Like I mentioned, the Sphinx was blanketed in sand for a long while, which made erosion harder. However, sand didn't prevent all erosion from happening. The natural elements eventually took over and the Great Sphinx has suffered many kinds of erosion, including through wind and water ("Sphinx Erosion"). The Sphinx is thought to have lost its nose and its pharaoh's beard ("Great Sphinx of Giza"). However, geologists hypothesized that the Sphinx's pharaonic beard was added on later, making it easily succumb to damage. The Sphinx may be older than our country, but it has survived amazingly well through nature's trials ("Sphinx
The statue of King Khafre Seated , from the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, 2520 - 2492 BCE, was created by an unknown artist in the smooth permanence of graywacke stone. Although the statue is currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as number 56 in the Special Egyptian Exhibition, its true home is at the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo. The man being portrayed, King Khafre, ruled Egypt for approximately thirty years, during which he commissioned the single most recognizable monuments of Egypt, the a fore mentioned Pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx. These monuments of symmetry and solidity characterize the focus of popular architecture and sculpture from the Old Kingdom in Egypt.
The great Sphinx is located on the Giza Plateau. Now days the Egypt City of Cairo is just barely 200 meters from it's paw. The three Giza pyramids also are close to the Great Sphinx.
1. The Naxos Sphinx – Crafted between 570-560 B.C. The Naxos Sphinx, depicted to the left, has the head of a woman, the wings of a griffin, and the body of a lion. Standing just over 7 feet high, the sculpture appears to be much larger; this is mainly due to its placement a top of a 10 meters tall Ionic column. Discovered in a series of broken pieces back in 1861, this marble structure is regarded as both impressive and quite detailed. In ancient Greek times sphinxes were most commonly placed on top of funeral monuments, with their head turned sideways to frighten strangers away, this one, however, was sculpted to look straight ahead, and stood below the Apollo Temple terrace at Delphi. This monument served as a guardian within the sanctuary, ensuring no evil entered the temples sacred grounds. Not only does this artifact show us that ancient Greeks were highly influenced by other cultures, Egyptians especially, but it also serves as an example of how strongly the Greeks believed in protecting their gods & goddesses from any impurities, and bestow, instead, peace, good-fortune, and overall safety onto sacred land.
Constructed during Egypt's 4th Dynasty, The Pyramids of Giza are truly an astonishing work of architecture. These pyramids display several of the characteristics, that are now known, to be attributed to the Ancient Egyptian era. Years of research show that much of the ancient Egyptian's focus in their artistry, was that of a religious nature, regardless of medium. Artists of the time, focused their efforts on depicting the various Gods and Goddesses, immortality and the afterlife, and the glorification of the pharaohs. (MindEdge) One of the best examples of this are the pyramids. Each pyramid was built to be the final resting place of a pharaoh (Khufu, Khafre, or Menkaure) upon his death, and subsequent mummification. They were built on the
One of the most mysterious structures found in today’s world is the Great Sphinx of Egypt, located on the outskirts of the hustling city of Giza. Many archeologists and explorers spend their entire careers trying to answer many unknowns about the Sphinx such as, “Who built the Sphinx,” and “Why does it exist?” Although these questions do not have clear answers, there are many theories that try to crack the mysteries of the Great Sphinx.
When I researched the Sphinx I learned some other interesting things. I also discovered that nobody really knows a true fact. For example: Ancient Egyptian Art by Susan Hodge, states that the Sphinx was made out of sandstone. This was on page twenty two of the book. However, the website, “http://guardians.net/egypt/sphinx” states it was made out of bedrock. So really nobody knows what the Sphinx was built of.
A pyramid is an Egyptian structure and are as old as 40,000 years old. A pyramids base can either be triangular or square this affects how many sides the pyramid has. These structures were usually made out of huge limestone blocks. The Egyptian pyramids were built using ramps which spiraled around the pyramid. The average limestone block weighed around 2.5 tons.( The great pyramids and more, 2013)
Soon enough Egyptians came up with the Great pyramid, which was bigger than step pyramids and mastabas. The Great pyramids were built for emperors and kings. They were located in the flat desert sands at the Giza and they were built around 2584 BC. The tall pyramids did not stand alone in the desert. They were surrounded by an assortment of lesser buildings, including small pyramids, mastabas and temples.
Hawass,Zahi. The secrets of the Sphinx: restoration past and present. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 1998.
The Pyramids Of Giza were chosen as they are three extraordinary structures that give a rich insight into the context, culture, function, technology, power and experiential aspects of the time period and the buildings themselves. The three pyramids showcase the Egyptian’s advanced construction and design methods, their religious beliefs and practices, their rich and diverse culture, the power of the king, as well as the context that surrounded these magnificent structures.
In the beginning of this chapter it discusses how the pyramids were built, what purpose they served, the three pyramids at Giza, some messages found on the stones that were used to build pyramids, and what a mastabas is. Pyramids are tombs built for Egypt's pharaohs. Pyramids are large structures with four sides that are the shape of a triangle, that meet at the top to form a point. The ancient Egyptians used the pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and temples for their gods. The pyramids have one or two little temples attached to them, which holds their relatives and servants.
The Egypt pyramids were constructed for the pharaoh, as a tomb. Their belief was that the top point of the pyramid was the gate for the soul to travel to the afterlife and return to earth if chosen. These tombs were built which line up with planets and certain stars.
The most famous are the three great pyramid tombs at Giza, which was built by three successive Fouth-Dynasty kings. I believe that they are the best representatives of ancient Egyptian art, not only because they are architectural marvels, but also the because of their portrayal of wisdom and the culture of ancient Egypt. 1. What is the difference between Architectural beauty The Giza Pyramids embody great beauty with unique elements. seen in modern architecture.
Of all the pyramids of Egypt, the first three are held in the highest regards. This is known as the Great Pyramid. It was built for the Pharaoh Khufu. The Great Pyramid is about 450 feet tall and covers about 13 acres. The subject of this pyramid was to honor the pharaoh and show him some respect. It took about 100,000 workers and 20 years to build the pyramid.