The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre. The original shape of the Sphinx was cut from the bedrock, and has since been restored with layers of limestone blocks. It measures 73 m (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20 m (66 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches.
Great Sphinx of Giza
Natural rock formation at Farafra, Egypt
The New Kingdom Dream Stele between the paws of the Sphinx.
The Great Sphinx partially excavated, ca. 1878
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture that represents persons or animals in full figure but that is small enough to lift and carry is a statuette or figurine, whilst one more than twice life-size is a colossal statue.
Statue of Unity (2018), the world's tallest statue, Gujarat, India
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus by Praxiteles, 4th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece
Urfa Man, in the Şanlıurfa Museum; sandstone, 1.80 metres (5 ft 11 in) c. 9,000 BC
Michelangelo's David, 1504, The Accademia Gallery, Florence, Italy