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An Egyptian Sphinx has the head of a man with the face of a pharaoh, a ram, or a hawk.  It has the body, legs, and tail of a lion.

Ancient Egyptians put the sphinx in front of pyramids to guard the tombs inside.

Great Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza is the most famous Egyptian sphinx.  It was built near the Giza Pyramids around 2500 BC by the pharaoh Khafre.  Historians believe that the face on the Great Sphinx is Khafre.

The Riddle of the Sphinx

If someone walks by the sphinx, it would ask them a riddle, "What has one voice, and yet goes from four legs, to two legs, to three legs?"  The answer is a man (he uses four legs when he is a baby crawling on his hands and knees, two legs as an adult walking, and three legs when he is old and uses a cane).

If the person answered the riddle incorrectly, the sphinx would eat them.

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Ancient Egypt's Deepest Secrets Revealed
Bartlett Elementary School 2000