Sphinx. History of a monument

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the few monuments from ancient Egypt familiar to nearly everyone. In a hand where the colossal is part of the landscape, it still stands out, the largest known statue in Egypt. Originally constructed as the image of King Chephren, builder of the second of the Great Pyramids, the Sphynx later acquired new fame in the guise of the sun god Harmakhis. Major construction efforts in the New Kingdom and Roman Period transformed the monument and it environs into a impressive place of pilgruimage, visited until the end of pagan antiquity.