The valley temple and the causeway leading to the pyramid of Khafre are situated behind the Great Sphinx.
Khafre constructed his pyramid on the Giza plateau, next to his father’s. Although it appears to be taller than Khufu’s, it is actually slightly smaller. Khafre’s son, Menkaure, would also build a pyramid, although much smaller than the other two. Each pyramid had a separate causeway connecting it to a valley temple where the body was prepared for burial but only Khafre’s valley temple has been preserved and is still visible today.
The Great Sphinx (highlighted in red) is located next to Khafre’s valley temple.
Left: The sphinx as seen through the eyes of an artist at the end of the 18th century, before the Valley Temple was excavated. Right: Excavations of the Valley Temple exposed giant blocks of granite used in its construction. The head of the sphinx is visible to the right of the temple.
Left: The causeway of Khafre’s pyramid, looking east towards the valley temple (and the Great Sphinx), with the suburbs of Cairo in the distance.
Right: The causeway looking west towards Khafre’s pyramid.
The Sphinx
Khafre’s real claim to fame was the Great Sphinx. Half man and half feline, the sphinx was a uniquely Egyptian invention. It is true that the Elamites also invented strange hybrid creatures, but they attached the head of an animal to the body of a man, not vice versa. The Sumerian bull-men offer a closer parallel, but the sphinx is feline.
Measuring 235 feet long and 64 feet high, the sphinx is “the most monumental sculpture made by man.”1Redford 2001, “Sphinx” But whose head is attached to this monster? The two most likely candidates are Khufu’s or Khafre’s. It would make sense for the sphinx to belong to Khafre since his valley temple is right next to it and his name was inscribed on a stele next to the sphinx. However, the stele inscription dates to the New Kingdom period, more than a millennium after the sphinx was constructed, and it is badly weathered, making it difficult to read. Another stele discovered next to the sphinx names both Khufu and Khafre.
Egyptologist Donald Redford notes that Khafre’s valley temple seems to have been been shoehorned into place, as though its builders were forced to accommodate an existing monument which stood in its way—such as the Great Sphinx. Redford also points out that the Great Sphinx was originally beardless and that all known depictions of Khafre show him with a false beard. Redford argues that if Khafre had constructed the sphinx, it would have had a beard.2D. Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Vol. III, pg 307 ff. – Note, a beard was attached to the sphinx, probably during the New Kingdom period, but there seems to be a general consensus that this was a late addition. In contrast, Khufu is never shown wearing a false beard. Thus, according to Redford, Khufu is more likely to have constructed the Great Sphinx instead of Khafre.
Scholars debate whether the sphinx represents Khufu or Khafre.
During the New Kingdom period the Sphinx was restored and a false beard added. The sphinx was at that time worshipped as the god Harmachis (“Horus in the Horizon”).
Redford, D.B.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt.
Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Link