Sphinx Symbolism

In Egyptian mythology the Sphinx was an image of the sun god, though it may have been no more than the peculiar shape of a limestone hillock on the Giza plateau that suggested the original notion of a recumbent lion with a human head wearing the headdress of the pharaohs. It was in the third millennium BC that Chephren had craftsmen shape the Great Sphinx at Giza. It is 240 feet long and faces the rising sun. Protector of the pyramids and scourge of the enemies of Re, the Sphinx was a popular motif in Egyptian art and architecture. According to legend, Tuthmosis IV (1425–1412 BC) was promised as a prince by the Sphinx that he would ascend the throne if he cleared away the sand which was submerging the paws of the Great Sphinx.

Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian guardian of sacred places --an idol with human head and a lion's body. The Greek sphinx would devour travelers who failed to answer her riddle. According to A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (by Arthur Waite, xii) the masonic sphinx "is the guardian of the Mysteries and is the Mysteries summarized in a symbol. Their secret is the answer to her question. The initiate must know it or lose the life of the Mysteries. If he can and does answer, the Sphinx symbolically dies for him, because in his respect the Mysteries have given up their meaning