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A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ ,
Boeotian Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the
haunches Squatting is a versatile List of human positions, posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. In contrast, sitting involves taking the weight of the body, at least in part, on the buttocks against the groun ...
of a lion, and the wings of a bird. She is mythicized as treacherous and merciless, and will kill and eat those who cannot answer her riddle. This deadly version of a sphinx appears in the myth and drama of
Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
. Unlike the Greek sphinx, which was a woman, the Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as a man (an androsphinx ( grc, ανδρόσφιγξ)). In addition, the Egyptian sphinx was viewed as benevolent but having a ferocious strength similar to the malevolent Greek version. Both were thought of as guardians and often flank the entrances to temples. In European decorative art, the sphinx enjoyed a major revival during the Renaissance. Later, the sphinx image, initially very similar to the original Ancient Egyptian concept, was exported into many other cultures, albeit they are often interpreted quite differently due to translations of descriptions of the originals, and through the evolution of the concept in relation to other cultural traditions. Sphinx depictions are generally associated with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples.


Etymology

The word ''sphinx'' comes from the Greek Σφίγξ, associated by
folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
with the verb σφίγγω (''sphíngō''), meaning "to squeeze", "to tighten up". This name may be derived from the fact that lions kill their prey by strangulation, biting the throat of prey and holding them down until they die. However, the historian Susan Wise Bauer suggests that the word "sphinx" was instead a Greek corruption of the Egyptian name "shesepankh", which meant "living image", and referred rather to the ''statue'' of the sphinx, which was carved out of "living rock" (rock that was present at the construction site, not harvested and brought from another location), than to the beast itself.


Egypt

The largest and most famous sphinx is the
Great Sphinx of Giza 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, E ...
, situated on the
Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...
Plateau adjacent to the Great Pyramids of Giza on the west bank of the
Nile River The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...
and facing east (). The sphinx is located southeast of the pyramids. While the date of its construction is not known for certain, the general consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx bears the likeness of the pharaoh
Khafre Khafre (also read as Khafra and gr, Χεφρήν Khephren or Chephren) was an ancient Egyptian King (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the successor of Djedefre. According to the ancient historia ...
, dating it to between 2600 and 2500 BC. However, a fringe minority of late 20th century geologists have claimed evidence of water erosion in and around the Sphinx enclosure which would prove that the Sphinx predates Khafre, at around 10,000 to 5000 BC, a claim that is sometimes referred to as the Sphinx water erosion hypothesis but which has little support among Egyptologists and contradicts other evidence. What names their builders gave to these
statue 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 t ...
s is not known. At the Great Sphinx site, a 1400 BC inscription on a
stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
belonging to the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose IV lists the names of three aspects of the local sun
deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
of that period, '' KheperaAtum''. Many pharaohs had their heads carved atop the guardian statues for their tombs to show their close relationship with the powerful solar deity Sekhmet, a lioness. Besides the Great Sphinx, other famous Egyptian sphinxes include one bearing the head of the pharaoh Hatshepsut, with her likeness carved in granite, which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the alabaster Sphinx of Memphis, currently located within the open-air museum at that site. The theme was expanded to form great avenues of guardian sphinxes lining the approaches to tombs and temples as well as serving as details atop the posts of flights of stairs to very grand complexes. Nine hundred sphinxes with ram heads (Criosphinxes), believed to represent Amon, were built in Thebes, where his cult was strongest. At Karnak, each Criosphinx is fronted by a full-length statue of the pharaoh. The task of these sphinxes was to hold back the forces of evil. The Great Sphinx has become an emblem of Egypt, frequently appearing on its stamps, coins, and official documents.


Europe

The revived Mannerist sphinx of the late 15th century is sometimes thought of as the "French sphinx". Her coiffed head is erect and she has the breasts of a young woman. Often she wears ear drops and pearls as ornaments. Her body is naturalistically rendered as a recumbent lioness. Such sphinxes were revived when the '' grottesche'' or "grotesque" decorations of the unearthed '' Domus Aurea'' of Nero were brought to light in late 15th-century Rome, and she was incorporated into the classical vocabulary of arabesque designs that spread throughout Europe in engravings during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sphinxes were included in the decoration of the '' loggia'' of the Vatican Palace by the workshop of Raphael (1515–20), which updated the vocabulary of the Roman ''grottesche''. The first appearances of sphinxes in French art are in the School of Fontainebleau in the 1520s and 1530s and she continues into the Late Baroque style of the French Régence (1715–1723). From France, she spread throughout Europe, becoming a regular feature of the outdoors decorative sculpture of 18th-century palace gardens, as in the Upper Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, La Granja in Spain, Branicki Palace in
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...
, or the late Rococo examples in the grounds of the Portuguese Queluz National Palace (of perhaps the 1760s), with ruffs and clothed chests ending with a little cape. Sphinxes are a feature of the neoclassical interior decorations of Robert Adam and his followers, returning closer to the undressed style of the ''grottesche''. They had an equal appeal to artists and designers of the Romanticism and subsequent Symbolism movements in the 19th century. Most of these sphinxes alluded to the Greek sphinx and the myth of
Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
, rather than the Egyptian, although they may not have wings.


Greece

In the Bronze Age, the Hellenes had trade and cultural contacts with Egypt. Before the time that Alexander the Great occupied Egypt, the Greek name, ''sphinx'', was already applied to these statues. The historians and geographers of Greece wrote extensively about Egyptian culture. Herodotus called the ram-headed sphinxes Criosphinxes and called the
hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
-headed ones
Hieracosphinx The hieracosphinx ( grc, ἱερακόσφιγξ) is a mythical beast found in ancient Egypt, Egyptian sculpture and European heraldry. The god Horus#Her-ur (Horus the Elder), Haroeris ("Horus the Elder") was usually depicted as one. The name Hie ...
es. There was a single ''sphinx'' in Greek mythology, a unique demon of destruction and bad luck. Apollodorus describes the sphinx as having a woman's face, the body and tail of a lion and the wings of a bird. Apollodorus, Librar
Apollod. 3.5.8
/ref> Pliny the Elder mentions that Ethiopia produces plenty of sphinxes, with brown hair and breasts, corroborated by 20th-century archeologists. Statius describes her as a winged monster, with pallid cheeks, eyes tainted with corruption, plumes clotted with gore and talons on livid hands. Sometimes, the wings are specified to be those of an
eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
, and the tail to be serpent-headed. According to
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
, the Sphinx was a daughter of Orthrus and an unknown she—either the Chimera, Echidna, or
Ceto Ceto (; grc, Κητώ, Kētṓ, sea monster) is a primordial sea goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Pontus and his mother, Gaia. As a mythological figure, she is considered to be one of the most ancient deities, and bore a host of ...
. According to Apollodorus and
Lasus Lasus of Hermione ( el, Λάσος ὁ Ἑρμιονεύς) was a Greek lyric poet of the 6th century BC from the city of Hermione in the Argolid. He is known to have been active at Athens under the reign of the Peisistratids. Pseudo-Plutarch's ...
, she was a daughter of Echidna and Typhon. The sphinx was the emblem of the ancient city-state of Chios, and appeared on seals and the obverse side of coins from the 6th century BC until the 3rd century AD.


Riddle of the Sphinx

The Sphinx is said to have guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, asking a riddle to travellers to allow them passage. The exact riddle asked by the Sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the myth, and was not standardized as the one given below until late in Greek history. It was said in late lore that
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
or
Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...
sent the Sphinx from her Aethiopian homeland (the Greeks always remembered the foreign origin of the Sphinx) to Thebes in Greece where she asked all passersby the most famous riddle in history: "Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?" She strangled and devoured anyone who could not answer.
Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
solved the riddle by answering: "Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then uses a walking stick in old age". By some accounts (but much more rarely), there was a second riddle: "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?" The answer is "day and night" (both words—'' ἡμέρα'' and '' νύξ'', respectively—are feminine in Ancient Greek). This second riddle is also found in a Gascon version of the myth and could be very ancient. Bested at last, the Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died; or, in some versions Oedipus killed her. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. In both cases, Oedipus can therefore be recognized as a "
liminal Liminal is an English adjective meaning "on the threshold", from Latin ''līmen'', plural ''limina''. Liminal or Liminality may refer to: Anthropology and religion * Liminality, the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle ...
" or threshold figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the death of the Sphinx, and the rise of the new,
Olympian Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...
gods.


= The riddle in popular culture

= In Jean Cocteau's retelling of the Oedipus legend, '' The Infernal Machine'', the Sphinx tells Oedipus the answer to the riddle in order to kill herself so that she did not have to kill anymore, and also to make him love her. He leaves without ever thanking her for giving him the answer to the riddle. The scene ends when the Sphinx and Anubis ascend back to the heavens. There are mythic, anthropological, psychoanalytic and parodic interpretations of the Riddle of the Sphinx, and of Oedipus's answer to it. Sigmund Freud describes "the question of where babies come from" as a riddle of the Sphinx. Numerous riddle books use the Sphinx in their title or illustrations. File:Marble stele (grave marker) of a youth and a little girl 530 BCE Greece.jpg, Funerary stele, 530 BC, Greece File:Sphinx CdM Paris DeRidder865 n2.jpg, Sphinx. Attic red-figure pyxis, 2nd half of the 5th century BC. From Nola (Italy). File:Limestone funerary stele (shaft) surmounted by two sphinxes Greece 530 BCE.jpg, Limestone funerary stele (shaft) surmounted by two sphinxes. Greece, 5th century BC. File:Marble capital and finial in the form of a sphinx.jpg, Marble capital and finial in the form of a sphinx, 530 BC File:Carved tomb in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum - panoramio.jpg, Sphinxes on the Lycian sarcophagus of Sidon (430–420 BC)


Asia

A composite mythological being with the body of a lion and the head of a human being is present in the traditions, mythology and art of
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and Southeast Asia. Variously known as ''puruṣamr̥ga'' (Sanskrit, "man-beast"), ''purushamirugam'' (Tamil, "man-beast"), ''naravirala'' (Sanskrit, "man-cat") in India, or as ''nara-simha'' (Sanskrit, "man-lion") in Sri Lanka, ''manussiha'' or ''manutthiha'' (Pali, "man-lion") in Myanmar, and ''norasingh'' (from Pali, "man-lion", a variation of the Sanskrit "nara-simha") or ''thep norasingh'' ("man-lion deity"), or ''nora nair'' in Thailand. Although, just like the "nara-simha", he has a head of a lion and the body of a human. In contrast to the sphinxes in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, of which the traditions largely have been lost due to the discontinuity of the civilization, the traditions related to the "Asian sphinxes" are very much alive today. The earliest artistic depictions of "sphinxes" from the South Asian subcontinent are to some extent influenced by Hellenistic art and writings. These hail from the period when Buddhist art underwent a phase of Hellenistic influence. Numerous sphinxes can be seen on the gateways of Bharhut stupa, dating to the 1st century B.C."Sphinxes of all sorts occur on the Bharhut gateways" In South India, the "sphinx" is known as ''puruṣamr̥ga'' (Sanskrit) or ''purushamirugam'' (Tamil), meaning "human-beast". It is found depicted in sculptural art in temples and palaces where it serves an apotropaic purpose, just as the "sphinxes" in other parts of the ancient world. It is said by the tradition, to take away the sins of the devotees when they enter a temple and to ward off evil in general. It is therefore often found in a strategic position on the gopuram or temple gateway, or near the entrance of the sanctum sanctorum. The ''puruṣamr̥ga'' plays a significant role in daily as well as yearly ritual of South Indian Shaiva temples. In the shodhasha-upakaara (or sixteen honors) ritual, performed between one and six times at significant sacred moments through the day, it decorates one of the lamps of the diparadhana or lamp ceremony. And in several temples the ''puruṣamr̥ga'' is also one of the '' vahana'' or vehicles of the deity during the processions of the
Brahmotsava Sri Venkateswara Swami vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The feast lasts for one month during the ...
or festival. In Kanya Kumari district, in the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent, during the night of
Shiva Ratri Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, devotees run 75 kilometres while visiting and worshiping at twelve Shiva temples. This Shiva Ottam (or Run for Shiva) is performed in commemoration of the story of the race between the Sphinx and
Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...
, one of the heroes of the epic '' Mahabharata''. The Indian conception of a sphinx that comes closest to the classic Greek idea is in the concept of the '' Sharabha'', a mythical creature, part lion, part man and part bird, and the form of Sharabha that god Shiva took on to counter Narasimha's violence. In
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
the sphinx is known as ''narasimha'' or man-lion. As a sphinx, it has the body of a lion and the head of a human being, and is not to be confused with Narasimha, the fourth reincarnation of the deity Vishnu; this avatar or incarnation is depicted with a human body and the head of a lion. The "sphinx" narasimha is part of the Buddhist tradition and functions as a guardian of the northern direction and also was depicted on banners. In Burma (
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
), the sphinx-like statue, with a human head and two lion hindquarters, is known as ''
Manussiha Manussiha ( my, မနုဿီဟ, shn, မၼုၵ်ႉသီႇႁႃႉ, pi, manussīha, lit=man-lion), is a Burmese half-man half-lion mythical creature believed to be created by Buddhist missionary monks to protect a new-born royal bab ...
'' (''manuthiha''). It is depicted on the corners of Buddhist stupas, and its legends tell how it was created by Buddhist monks to protect a new-born royal baby from being devoured by ogresses. Nora Nair, Norasingh and Thep Norasingh are three of the names under which the "sphinx" is known in Thailand. They are depicted as upright walking beings with the lower body of a lion or deer, and the upper body of a human. Often they are found as female-male pairs. Here, too, the sphinx serves a protective function. It also is enumerated among the mythological creatures that inhabit the ranges of the sacred mountain Himapan.


Freemasonry

The sphinx imagery has historically been adopted into
Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
ic architecture and symbology. Among the Egyptians, sphinxes were placed at the entrance of the temples to guard their mysteries, by warning those who penetrated within that they should conceal a knowledge of them from the uninitiated. Champollion said that the sphinx became successively the symbol of each of the gods. The placement of the sphinxes expressed the idea that all the gods were hidden from the people, and that the knowledge of them, guarded in the sanctuaries, was revealed to initiates only. As a Masonic emblem, the sphinx has been adopted as a symbol of mystery, and as such often is found as a decoration sculptured in front of Masonic temples, or engraved at the head of Masonic documents.


Similar hybrid creatures


With feline features

*Gopaitioshah – The Persian ''Gopat'' or ''Gopaitioshah'' is another creature that is similar to the Sphinx, being a winged bull or lion with human face. The Gopat have been represented in ancient art of Iran since late second millennium BC, and was a common symbol for dominant royal power in ancient Iran. Gopats were common motifs in the art of Elamite period, Luristan, North and North West region of Iran in Iron Age, and
Achaemenid art The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
, and can be found in texts such as the '' Bundahishn'', the '' Dadestan-i Denig'', the ''
Menog-i Khrad The ''Mēnōg-ī Khrad'' () or ''Spirit of Wisdom'' is one of the most important secondary texts in Zoroastrianism written in Middle Persian. Also transcribed in Pazend as Minuy-e X(e/a)rad and New Persian ''Minu-ye Xeræd'', the text is a Zoroastr ...
'', as well as in collections of tales, such as the ''Matikan-e yusht faryan'' and in its Islamic replication, the ''
Marzubannama The ''Marzbān-nāma'' ( fa, مرزبان‌نامه, lit=Book of Marzban) is an early 13th-century Persian prose work. It consists of "various didactic stories and fables used as illustrations of morality and right conduct", and belongs to the " ...
''. *Löwenmensch figurine – The 32,000-year-old
Aurignacian The Aurignacian () is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with European early modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the Levant, where t ...
Löwenmensch figurine, also known as "lion-human" is the oldest known
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
statue, discovered in the Hohlenstein-Stadel, a German cave in 1939. * Manticore – The
Manticore The manticore or mantichore (Latin: ''mantichōra''; reconstructed Old Persian: ; Modern fa, مردخوار ) is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in western European medieval art as well. It has the ...
(Early Middle Persian: ''Mardyakhor'' or ''Martikhwar'', means: Man-eaterPausanias, Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.21.4) is an Iranian legendary hybrid creature and another similar creature to the sphinx. * Narasimha – Narasimha ("man-lion") is described as an incarnation ( Avatar) of Vishnu within the Puranic texts of Hinduism who takes the form of half-man/half- Asiatic lion, having a human torso and lower body, but with a lion-like face and claws.


Without feline features

*In ancient Assyria, bas-reliefs of shedu bulls with the crowned bearded heads of kings guarded the entrances of temples. * Many Greek mythological creatures who are archaic survivals of previous mythologies with respect to the classical Olympian mythology, like the
centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
s, are similar to the Sphinx.


Gallery

File:Maned sphinx of Amenemhat III. 12th Dynasty, c. 1800 BC. State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich.jpg, Maned sphinx of Amenemhat III. 12th Dynasty, c. 1800 BC. State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich. File:Egyptian sphinx from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli. 1st century AD. State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich.jpg, Egyptian sphinx from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli. 1st century AD. State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich. File:Column base in the shape of a double sphinx. From Sam'al. 8th century BC. Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul.jpg, Column base in the shape of a double sphinx. From Sam'al. 8th century BC. Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul. File:Hittite sphinx. Basalt. 8th century BC. From Sam'al. Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul.jpg, Hittite sphinx. Basalt. 8th century BC. From Sam'al. Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul. File:Sphinx Darius Louvre.jpg, Winged sphinx from the palace of
Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...
during
Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
at
Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
(480 BC) File:Persian sphinx at Halicarnassus.jpg, Achaemenid sphinx from Halicarnassus, capital of Caria, 355 BC. Found in Bodrum Castle, but possibly from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. File:Head from a Female Sphinx, ca. 1876-1842 B.C.E.,56.85.jpg, Head from a female sphinx, c. 1876–1842 BC, Brooklyn Museum File:The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx.jpg, The
Great Sphinx of Giza 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, E ...
in 1858 File:Museo Egizio di Torino-631 o.jpg, Typical Egyptian sphinx with a human head (Museo Egizio, Turin) File:Hatshepsut-SmallSphinx MetropolitanMuseum.png, Sphinx of Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut with unusual ear and ruff features, 1503–1482 File:028MAD Sphinx.jpg, Sphinx of Naxos, Ancient Greek sphinx from Delphi File:Sphinxes.jpg, 3000-year-old sphinxes were imported from Egypt to embellish public spaces in Saint Petersburg and other European Capital (political), capitals. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 170-770, Potsdam, Sanssouci, Sphinx im Park Sanssouci.jpg, Park Sanssouci in Potsdam File:Queluz Palace sphynx statue and ballroom wing.JPG, Queluz National Palace, Queluz wingless rococo sphinx File:Enghien CHSph1JPG.jpg, Classic Régence garden Sphinx in lead, Château Empain, the , Belgium File:Sphinx - Park Schönbusch.jpg, Park Schönbusch in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria, 1789–90 File:IngresOdipusAndSphinx.jpg, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Ingres, ''Oedipus and the Sphinx (Ingres), Oedipus and the Sphinx'', 1808, 1827 File:Oedipus and the Sphinx MET DP-14201-023.jpg, ''Oedipus and the Sphinx'' by Gustave Moreau, 1864 File:Jardin El Capricho Sfinxs at Plaza de los Emperadores05 cropped.jpg, Sphinx at Plaza de los Emperadores (Parque de El Capricho, Madrid) File:Marble sphinx on a cavetto capital.jpg, Marble sphinx on a cavetto capital, Attic, c. 580–575 BC File:Asmara, museo nazionale, la sfinge di adi gramaten 03.jpg, The Sphinx of Adi Gramaten, Eritrea File:Wings of sphinges, Neapolis.JPG, Wings of sphinxes from the Thinissut sanctuary, c. 1st century AD (Nabeul Museum, Tunisia) File:Sphinx of Hetepheres II - fourth dynasty of Egypt.jpg, An early Egyptian sphinx, Queen Hetepheres II from the Fourth Dynasty (Cairo Museum) File:Elamite Gopat.jpg, Picture of an Iranian Elamite Gopat on a seal, currently in the National Museum of Iran File:A Luristan Bronze in the form of a Gopat.jpg, An Iranian Luristan Bronze in the form of a Gopat, currently in the Cleveland Museum of Art File:Picture of a Gopat on a rython from Amarlou.jpg, Picture of a Gopat on a golden rhyton from Amarlou, Iran, currently in the National Museum of Iran File:Sculpture model of an Egyptian sphinx. Late Period, 664-332 BCE. From Egypt. Neues Museum. Berlin.jpg, Sculpture model of an Egyptian sphinx. Late Period, 664-332 BC. From Egypt. Neues Museum, Berlin.


See also

* Mythological hybrid, Hybrid creatures in mythology * List of hybrid creatures in mythology Similar hybrid creatures * Anzû (mythology), Anzû (older reading: Zû), Mesopotamian monster * Chimera, Greek mythological hybrid monster * Centaur and Ichthyocentaur, Greek horse and human hybrid, or horse, human, fish hybrid * Cockatrice, snake with rooster's head and feet and bat's wings * Dragon, European and East Asian reptile-like mythical creature * Griffin or griffon, lion-bird hybrid * Harpy, Greco-Roman mythological bird monster with woman's face * Siren (mythology), Siren, Greco-Roman mythical creature with the combined features of a woman and bird, often a woman's head and breasts and a bird's body * Lamassu, Assyrian deity, bull/lion-eagle-human hybrid * Hippogryph, half eagle, half horse *
Manticore The manticore or mantichore (Latin: ''mantichōra''; reconstructed Old Persian: ; Modern fa, مردخوار ) is a Persian legendary creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in western European medieval art as well. It has the ...
, Persian monster with a lion's body and a humanoid head. * Nue, Japanese legendary creature * Pegasus, winged stallion in Greek mythology * Phoenix (mythology), Phoenix, self-regenerating bird in Greek mythology * Pixiu or Pi Yao, Chinese mythical creature * Qilin, Chinese/East Asian mythical hybrid creature * Satyr, or Faun, a Greek or Roman mythical creature that is half human half goat * Sharabha, Hindu mythology: lion-bird hybrid * Simurgh, Iranian mythical flying creature * Sirin, Russian mythological creature, half-woman half-bird * Snow Lion, Tibetan mythological celestial animal * Yali (Hindu mythology), Yali, Hindu mythological lion-elephant-horse hybrid * Ziz, giant griffin-like bird in Jewish mythology * Komainu to compare its use in Japanese culture * Chinthe similar lion statues in Burma, Laos and Cambodia * Shisa similar lion statues in the Ryukyu Islands * Nian to compare with a similar but horned (unicorn) mythical beast * Haetae to compare with similar lion-like statues in Korea.


Notes


References

* Caldwell, Richard, ''Hesiod's Theogony'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (1 June 1987). . * Clay, Jenny Strauss, ''Hesiod's Cosmos'', Cambridge University Press, 2003. . * Timothy Gantz, Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Kallich, Martin. "Oedipus and the Sphinx." ''Oedipus: Myth and Drama''. N.p.: Western, 1968. N. pag. Print. * Glenn W. Most, Most, G.W., ''Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia,'' Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most, Loeb Classical Library No. 57, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Stewart, Desmond. Pyramids and the Sphinx. [S.l.]: ''Newsweek'', U.S., 72. Print. *


Further reading

* Dessenne, André. ''La Sphinx: Étude iconographique'' (in French). De Boccard, 1957.


External links


Sphinx Head Found in Greek Tomb
{{Authority control Sphinxes, Ancient Egyptian symbols Ancient Greek art Egyptian artefact types Egyptian legendary creatures Fantasy creatures Female legendary creatures Greek legendary creatures Horned deities Human-headed mythical creatures Monsters in Greek mythology Mythological hybrids Mythological lions Mythological monsters Riddles Archaeology