what is a sphinx

A sphinx is a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion, and sometimes with wings of an eagle. The sphinx is an important image in Egyptian and Greek art and legend. The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, located on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre. In Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, the haunches of a lion, and the wings of a bird. According to Greek myth, she challenges those who encounter her to answer a riddle, and kills and eats them when they fail to do so. The later Greek sphinx was almost always female and usually wore the long-tiered wig known on contemporary sculptures of the Daedalic style; the body became graceful, and the wings developed a beautiful curving form unknown in Asia. For the Egyptians, the sphinx was a protector, built to guard royalty and often found near royal burials and temple entrances. The Great Sphinx of Giza was created around 2500 BC for the pharaoh Khafre, the builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza, and is a monolith carved from the bedrock of the plateau, which also served as the quarry for the pyramids and other monuments in the area.