People continue to ask when the Sphinx was created, why was it created, who created it and who's face is on it. No one seems to wonder if the face currently on the Sphinx is the only one that has been there.

I was initially struck by the unproportional size of the current head to the body. It made me wonder if the original head might not have been much larger with some other representation of animal or leader. Is it not possible, if not highly likely, that rulers over the centuries have recarved the face to suit their own desires?

Are there other representations of the Sphinx in other ancient Egyptian art that would confirm that this head is the original?

There's been some theories about this. Saw a program on Discovery some years ago.
First of, it's not likely that the current face is the first one.
Mainly because the water errosion on the rest of the body is far worse than the head. Most of this errosion (on the body) can be "dated" back to a time long before the sphinx is supposed to have been made (dated by calculations and tests). But the head shows no signs of such a great errosion.

Another thing is like you said the proportions. It's very unlikely that the people who supposedly created the pyramids and the sphinx is not gifted enough to get the proportions correct (or even close to correct).
However, if you stick a lions (or simular) head on the sphinx, add the samme ammount of errosion as on the rest of the body, you'd get much better proportions.

My guess is that a Pharao in ancient Egypt figured he would give the sphinx a "make-over", and got his people to carve his facial features in the existing head (lion?) This would cause it to shrink in size and quite possible look the way it does today.
Sorry I don't have any links to back my claims up. Like I said, this is taken from a show on discovery years back.

Another thing:
did you know that the three pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza line up perfectly with how the constelation Orion looked in Egypt over 10.000 years ago?

Good topic

10.500 years ago to be exact, wasnt that the same show where they said that not only the monuments in Egypt were aligned to the stars but also another building somewhere in Asia?, i forgot the name. it was supposed to align with the draco constellation.

could be, sultanmuratova. I just remember the part about egypt. Looks like Discovery has stopped making those "controversial" programs. Now it's all about motorcycles, cars, extreme machines etc etc etc

hmmmmm somtimes i think that becuase it doesnt realy look like somthing anyone would make
and who did make it? wos it found like som say did i orince make it?did aliend make it?or was it there?

Ya i know what you mean the good shows only come on once in while now.

there are many many other buildings around the world that align with constelations and more that are aligned to the winter an summer solicaste, stonehenge,, newgrange ireland, black pyramids canary islands, most,mayan buildings, angor wat thailand, sudan pyramids, chinese pyramids, snake mound an many other mounds ohio united states and the list goes on an on

yes ive heard of that but i was talking about the ones that align up to the constellation in the same time frame of 10.500 years. but i dont know the details, would have to research that.

its true that discovery has changed their shows and thats really too bad cause it used to be one of my favorite tv channels.

Ok this is my best guess.
There is a great deal of simularity between the ancients of South America and Egypt and any cross over culture would have to have been in the very extreme remote past.
Since both the priests of South America and Egypt wore spotted feline furs, my guess is the original was a leopard's head.

The Sphinx was carved from an outcrop protruding from a limestone plateau. They then dug a trench around it enlarging the outcrop usuing this as raw material for the Sphinx's body. It was then carved into the image of a lion with a man's head. The ancient Egyptians had the tools to sculpt the massive statue. The only mystery is who carved it and when and for what purpose.
Most Egyptologists agree that the Sphinx was made around 2500 B.C.. They also think that the Pharaoh Khafre(or Chephren) ordered it made and that it is in his likeness. The sphinx is believed to be the god Harmachis -the god of the rising sun.
In 1991 Professor Robert Schoch, a geologist, announced that after studying the erosion on the Sphinx it must be several thousand years older than previously thought. A police artist from NY City did a comparison on the faces of the Sphinx and the face of Khafre from a statue in the Cairo museum. He ultimately came to the conclusion that the Sphinx was not modeled after Khafre. Author Adrian Gilbert used computer techniques to demonstrate that about 10,500 B.C., during the morning of the spring Equinox, that the constellation Leo would have risen directly in front of the Sphinx on the eastern horizon. He believes that the Sphinx was built for this reason. Thus making it far older than originally believed.
The Sphinx will allways remain a mystery and I'm glad. Why does the Human race think they have to solve every enigma from the ancient world? Just enjoy what they left for us!!

We cannot help it. It is how we are hard wired.

I'm not so sure that there are many similarities between the South American cultures and the Egyptians. It is true that both built pyramids, but the construction techniques were far different, and they were used for different purposes - temples in South America, monuments and tombs in Egypt. The pyramids in South America are step pyramids built over mounds of earth, with temples built on top. The pyramids of Egypt are entirely constructed of stone blocks and have angled sides, with passages and rooms on the inside. Both cultures had a form of writing but Egyptian heiroglyphs bear no resembalance to the Mayan heiroglyphs, neither in form nor in syntax.

As for both using spotted furs, well, leopards and jaguars are common in the two respective regions. Egyptians were equally enamored of the jackal, owl, lion, etc. We find no such animals being revered by the Mayans, who favored snakes and monkeys - neither seen to have any great presence in Egyptian culture. The animal connection appears to be entirely coincidental and based solely upon the local fauna.

In short, I find the connection tenuous and based more on circumstance than anything solid.

-Pilgrim

Another thing:
did you know that the three pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza line up perfectly with how the constelation Orion looked in Egypt over 10.000 years ago?


Maybe you're referring to the Graham Hancock programme, "Heaven's Mirror" and the book of the same name.

This is not a new question.

The daddy of them all, Howard Phillip, thought about this and ghost wrote about it for one of the few that was on his level during his lifetime.

Imprisoned with the Pharaohs, 1924 (with Harry Houdini)

"I knew that those features were the features of Khephren the Great, who raised the Second Pyramid, carved over the Sphinx's face in the likeness of his own."

It is easy to question reality when the potential answers are cooler than the truth.

I wanted to mention that this assumtive history is the reason that I began the post. It is utterly illogical to think that the original sphinx was carved with a tiny, unproportional man's head. I strongly believe that any documentary mention of the Sphinx's face must include mention that it is probably not the original.

The Ancient Egyptians were one of the most advanced of their time. No other civilization could match them.

It is possible that the pyramids are as old as the Sphinx, the external, protective layer of limestone has been robbed away so this could have been as badly eroded as the Sphinx is. No-one really knows how old the pyramids are because there is no real evidence. I've also read that the nose of the Sphinx was removed on purpose because it showed the features of the people who origionally built it.