The Great Sphinx of Giza ( , ; literally: Father of Dread), commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestonestatue of a reclining or couchantsphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the face of the PharaohKhafra.