Since Khafre had it hewed
the Great Sphinx has represented
protection for the pharaohs
and the people of Egypt.
Even the powerful Ramses II
thought of himself as being
enfolded by the colossus.
But after thousands of years
as symbolic protector
the Sphinx now needs
protection by and from
the acids of the modern world.
---adapted from
National Geographic, April 1991
Mark Lehner (p. 39).