The Great Sphinx and the Giza Pyramids

The Great Sphinx is not older than all Egyptian pyramids. It is generally dated to the Old Kingdom, around 2500 BCE, and associated with Pharaoh Khafre’s complex, whose pyramid and valley temple stand nearby. The Khafre attribution rests on the archaeological context of the complex and the prevailing Egyptological interpretation; details of dating and authorship have been debated. The sphinx is often interpreted as a royal guardian figure, but that specific symbolic role is an interpretation, not an inscription on the statue.