Gaston--Sphinx







**__The Mysterious Sphinx __** **By: Gaston ** **__Introduction __**  In the small town of Giza, Egypt, lies one of the most spectacular creations of Ancient Egyptian time. This creation is known as the Great Sphinx of Giza. Did you know, the Great Sphinx is the only structure that was ever created by one single stone? The Great Sphinx has been standing for over 4,500 years (Giblin). **__Why is this Place Important? __**  Why is the Sphinx so important to the Egyptian history? The Ancient Egyptians thought, since they followed their greatest rulers rules, that they had to be buried in Pyramids or a Sphinx. The structure of the Sphinx symbolizes the power that the Egyptians thought they had. If people were to go inside the Sphinx, they would find most of Egypt’s history is trapped inside this mythical creature (Giblin). **__How it came To Be __**  The Sphinx was created because the Egyptians wanted to worship the sun god and they didn’t have anywhere to do that (Sphinx). They also wanted somewhere to bury their greatest pharaohs, some place that was more creative than the pyramids. Egyptians thought they needed a guard for their country, so they decided on something to build, because they believed it would protect their people (Giblin).

**__What Has Happened Since it Was Built? __**  In the many years the Sphinx had been built, it has had many things happen to it. Since the Sphinx was buried under sand for several years, it is not what it was before. The Great Sphinx has become weathered from all the sand storms, and from being in the location it is. Scholars have discovered that trying to restore the Sphinx has made the creature’s damage worse than it already is (Interoz). **__Recent Discoveries __**  Recent discoveries have shown that slaves were thought to have built the Sphinx, but it turns out that they were not the ones who built it. The person, who is believed to have built it, is the one who is buried there. This person was King Khafra (Egyptian diamond). Scholars have discovered that to this day, there is no completed nose on the Sphinx. This is because the nose has been missing for over 600 years if not more (sacred). **__What it is used for Today __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> The Sphinx is not used for anything but a tourist attraction today. Tourists may or may not be able to go tour the inside of the Sphinx, but they can see what it looks like today, and what the Sphinx overlooks in the city. If people go to the sphinx, they will see it looks out over modern day Egypt, not the ancient stuff people think of it as.

**__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Interesting Facts __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Some more interesting things about the Sphinx is that there were only three types of limestone used for the whole six story building tall figure. The mouth measures at around seven and a half feet wide. The remains of the nose measure of about five feet long. The other features are also about as big as these features. Can you imagine how long it took to build this? It probably took longer than any of us could imagine (Giblin). **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The Future __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In the future, we expect the people of Egypt to build more Sphinx just like this one around it to show that they still do this stuff some today. Scholars are still going to try to figure out how to stabilize the Sphinx without damaging it more than it already is. This task may be hard, but they will eventually figure out a way to restore it (Giblin). **__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Closing __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The Sphinx is a great place to visit if you are interested in learning about the history of a place. This mythical creature is filled with mysteries about Egypt, and hides most of Egypt’s history.

**__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Works Cited __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Dunn, Jimmy. “The Great Sphinx.” 2008. Accessed October 28, 2010 <http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/the-great-sphinx.htm> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Giblin, Cross, James. //Secrets of the Sphinx.// New York: Scholastic, 2004. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">“Sphinx” __Britanica Encyclopedia__. 2010. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">“The Great Sphinx of Giza.” Sacred Destinations. 2005-2010. Accessed November 2, 2010 <http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/giza-sphinx>