Puzzles come in pieces
Who built the Sphinx? The most compelling evidence that the
Sphinx was built for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre during his
reign (2520-2494 BC) is in the architecture, geology, and
archaeology of the Sphinx and its related monuments.
People propose all kinds of theories about Old Kingdom (2575-2465
BC) pyramid construction and the date of the Sphinx. Few of
them have examined the evidence at Giza in detail. Some theorists
use the evidence selectively instead of looking at all of the
available evidence together.
The Sphinx is only part of a set of structures built to serve
the cult of the dead king and the sun god, Re, consisting
of a pyramid, Pyramid Temple, causeway, Sphinx, Sphinx Temple,
and Valley Temple. The Sphinx may have been intended to associate
the king with the sun god. The ancient Egyptian general term
for sphinx, shesep ankh Atum, means “living image of
Atum,” Atum being both the creator god and the setting
sun.
The Sphinx looks onto a temple built directly east of the statue.
The alignment of the Sphinx Temple probably indicates sun worship (see
sidebar). We can show that the three lower Khafre structures
(Sphinx, Sphinx Temple, and Valley Temple) fit within the
same archaeological sequence.
For more on AERA’s work with the Sphinx,
see AERAGram Vol. 5 No. 2, Spring 2002.
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