The Sphinx of Greece: its history, mythology & art

Greek Sphinx figure is riveting. Whenever I see its beautiful wings and lion’s paws, it puzzles and inspires me to create. The sphinxes look mystical, enigmatic and surreal. When I went to Greece I revived my interest in this art symbol. I’ve found that the Greek sphinxes are different from the Egyptian ones. Moreover, the Greek art has some near east influences as a similar bird-the griffin- shows up in the archeology of Greece. Let’s discover their history together to understand how ancient cultures developed, mixed and created art with various meaning and symbolism.

Spata sphinx at airport copy — **Sphinx from Spata, a stele crown, 570-550 BCE**, this is a copy of the original displayed in the Athens National Museum. This copy is on view at the airport in Athens.

The enigmatic world of Greek sphinx: its history & artistic influences

Both griffins and sphinxes are mythical creatures that show up in the archeological museums in Greece. The Greek sphinx figure shape seems to be a combination of the Near East griffin and the Egyptian sphynx visually.

1. The Griffins of Greece

The griffin originated in the Near East and got adopted by the Greeks in art. Griffins are frequently shown as protectors or guardians. They might be flanking entrances or royal figures.

golden griffin in Delphi museum-veronica winters blog — Golden figure of a griffin, Delphi archeological museum, Greece, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters.

SHAPE: The griffin has the body of a lion (sometimes winged) and the head and wings of an eagle. The griffins have a powerful stance and curled tongues.

Panel with a griffin, Byzantine art of 1250, marble, at the Met | Made for Christian use, the panel shows the mythical **griffins as guardian figures of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ**, **and symbols of power and authority**. The panel probably comes from a tomb. According to the Met, griffins may have meant both **to protect** the people buried within the tomb and to **symbolize their royalty status**. The fleurs-de-lis on the griffin’s shoulder and haunch typify the era’s complex cultural interplay, as similar motifs are found in contemporary Islamic and Crusader depictions of animals. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/472849

Griffin figure in Knossos-Crete-veronica winters blog — **Griffin figures in Knossos** **Palace**, Crete, Greece, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters. | The fresco of high-relief Griffins tethered to columns decorated the “Great East Hall” of the palace of Knossos. The decoration of the hall also included religious emblems and representations in relief of boxing and bull-leaping games. According to Arthur Evans, this hall, located next to the “Grand Staircase”, was used for official ceremonies by the palace rulers. Knossos Palace, Neopalatial period (1600-1450 BC). Griffins in Knossos don’t look menacing, rather they appear decorative and kind.

griffin heads in Delphi archeological museum-veronica winters art blog — Examples of the bronze heads of griffins, Delphi archeological museum, Greece, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters.

bronze griffin — **Bronze head of a griffin**, Olympia, Greece, third quarter of the 7th century BCE, the Met. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/255367 . According to the museum’s description, bronze cauldrons were set on tripods or conical stands. **Cast in bronze, griffins’ heads decorated the cauldron rims that stood in Greek sanctuaries between 8-6th centuries B.C.** Some of the cauldrons were colossal as Herodotus mentions the giant cauldron made for King Kroisos of Lydia that could hold 2,700 gallons. Over six hundred similar griffins exist nowadays, with most of them found at the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and at one of Hera on Samos.

Greek Sphinxes and griffins — I took this picture at the archeological museum in Delphi. It looks like a demonic sphinx figure, although it could also be a griffin or a fleeing gorgon. The facial expression and multiple hands remind me of the Indian gods as well. There were several golden plaques like this one in the museum, showing these demonic creatures.
Mythological creatures like gorgons and sphinxes often functioned as apotropaic images (had the power to avert evil or bad luck) that protected the grave.

2. The Egyptian Sphinxes

The Sphinx of Tanis, Louvre, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters

Vatican Egyptian statue of lion-veronica winters blog — This is the Egyptian statue of a lion I saw displayed in the Vatican museums. pH๏τo: Veronica Winters

SHAPE: The Egyptian sphinx is a creature with a lion’s body and a human (male) head. The Egyptian sphinx typically possesses a pharaoh’s face, blurring the lines between the human and the divine to symbolize the enduring power of the ruler. Egyptian sphinxes had no bird features and were ᴀssociated with protection and power.

Sphinx de Tanis — The **Sphinx of Tanis**, 2620-1866 , the Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes, A 23 – https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010010062 – https://collections.louvre.fr/CGU

The **Sphinx of Tanis**, 2620-1866, Height: 183 cm; Length: 480cm; Width: 154 cm, pink granite, place of discovery: Tanis, currently displayed in the Louvre. **Sphinx de Tanis**, du Louvre, Département des Antiquités égyptiennes, A 23 – https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010010062 – https://collections.louvre.fr/CGU

These figures served as guardians of the dead, often flanking tombs or standing watch at temples. Over time, the sphinx evolved as a concept, with variations featuring the head of a ram or a falcon depending on the specific deity being honored. Egyptian sphinxes were primarily crafted from limestone but granite was also used to carve detailed figures.

**Sphinx of Hatshepsut**, New Kingdom, 1479–1458 B.C. the Met, NY. It was one of at least six granite sphinxes that stood in Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544442

seals found in Knossos palace, Crete — Seals found in Knossos palace, Crete, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters. **SEALS:** Egyptian scarabs and seals with scenes rendered in the typical naturalistic style of the Neo palatial and Final Palatial periods (1650-1350 BC). Many scenes with animals like wild goats, bulls, lions and caprids were popular depictions of the natural world. A distinctive example is the rare gold seal depicting a barking guard dog sitting on a garden enclosure. The seals’ craftsmanship reaches technical and aesthetic perfection. Artists used semiprecious stones- sard, cornelian, agate, amethyst, jasper, rock crystal, hemaтιтe, sardonyx, chalcedony, lapis and bronze tools – small chisels, burins, drills and polishing materials. The hole was made before the final engraving. Many tools, raw materials, unfinished, broken seals and processing debris of the seal-carvers’ workshops have been found at Poros, the harbor-town of Knossos.

These are various Greek figures created in the Egyptian style I saw in Greece. Look at the awkward anatomy of these figures. It seems to me that the Greeks were inspired by the Egyptian art but learning the human anatomy and proportion took time to master. From left to right: Egyptian-style figures (Athens); Archaic period figures, 7th century BC (Heraklion, Crete), Egyptian-style figure (Eleusis), and the 6th-century BC statues displayed in Delphi from the temple of Apollo. By looking at these sculptures as an example we can say that the ancient Greek art was strongly influenced by the Egyptian art.

3. The ᴀssyrian Sphinxes

These are the examples of the ᴀssyrian sphinxes I found on the website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although they have the sphinx shape, their heads can vary.

Openwork furniture plaque with a striding ram-headed sphinx — Openwork furniture plaque with a striding **ram-headed sphinx, ᴀssyrian,** 9 BCE, the Met. NY. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/325666

Plaque with a striding sphinx ᴀssyrian 8c bce met — Plaque with a striding sphinx, ᴀssyrian, 8 BCE, the Met, NY

The British Museum, London. PH๏τo: V.Winters

Golden Bracelet with the image of winged griffin, The British Museum, London. PH๏τo: V.Winters

how to color like an artist_coloring book_veronica winters

The Greek Sphinx emerges: history & symbolism

SHAPE: The sphinx was a mythical being with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a woman. Some could have a long tail. Sphinxes are depicted in a seated position, often with a strange smile and facial features resembling ancient near eastern art.

sphinx 540 bc parian marble-veronica winters blog — Archaic Sphinx, 540 BC, Parian marble, Greece. PH๏τo: Veronica Winters

The Greeks adapted the sphinx concept (guardians of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ) from Egypt through trade and cultural contacts. Greek sphinxes appeared before the 12th century BCE. After a hiatus of about 400 years, the sphinx reappeared in Greek art around the 8th century BCE. It appeared on coins, pottery, and funerary monuments as grave stelai.

Grave Stele

grave stelai 600-500 BC — **GRAVE STELE** or STELAI, 600-500 BC. Greece. PH๏τo: Veronica Winters. Below you’ll find a museum’s description that I’ve adapted for better reading experience in English.

Funerary monuments appeared on the graves of important people starting from the Mycenaean period. Such example is the discovery of the stelai in the Grave Circle A at Mycenae, Greece. There is little information available on the early Geometric period in Greece based on today’s research. There’s more archeological information available dating from the late Geometric period. The excavations in Attica region (Athens) revealed the findings of large vases, amphoras and crates that depicted the mourning scenes and other epiphora of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ that functioned as the funerary monuments. Grave marks were small, plain stones during that time period.

From the end of the 7th century B.C. the tombs got marked with a **monumental stele**, which was either incised, painted or done in relief. The early grave markers were tall and narrow. One side of it represented the deceased. They were crowned by a finial in the shape of a concave molding, influenced by the Egyptian art. In the first quarter of the 6th century BC, the finial was low. Later, it became taller and more elaborate with incised or relief decorations with leaves, rosettes, guilloche, lotuses and rare human figures. **The finial toped the demonic figure of a sphinx, the guardian of a tomb.**
Around 550 BC, the form of the finial becomes even more elaborate with double volutes that ᴀssume the shape of an inverted lyre. The Sphinx remains the principal element of the crowning. This stele type dominates Greece until about 525BC.

Around 530 B.C, the overall form of the stele changes again. It becomes lower and narrower, and the Sphinx usually placed on the finial gets replaced by two single or double volutes with the **Anthemion (design consisting of a number of radiating petals)**, influenced by the Ionian and Egyptian art. Many of these grave markers had a painted decoration representing the deceased and various animals like horses, roosters, dogs, etc. The name of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ appeared written in the possessive case at the bottom of the stele or on its base.

The largest and most important group of the Archaic funerary steles comes from Attica with representations of athletes and warriors. It’s rare to find other figures depicted on steles. Besides Attica, other places manufactured the grave markers in Greece. The grave steles were smaller found in the Aegean islands and Ionia. In the 6th century, they were also crowned with the anthemion and showed various figures, such as the youth, young women, children or elderly men.
The islands, lonia and other areas of Greece produced grave steles without interruption. In Attica, however, the production of funerary stones ceases around 6th century BC. Possibly after a prohibition by Kleisthenes aiming at curtailing the use of luxurious memorials. The reintroduction of the funerary monuments in Athens takes place during the Peloponnesian War around 430-420 BC.

Marble stele, grave marker of a hoplite foot soldier, 525 BCE, the Met

The Anthemion shape

Marble-stele-grave-marker-with-a-youth-and-little-girl-and-a-capital-and-finial-in-the-form-of-a-sphinx-530bce-met — **Marble stele (grave marker) with a youth and little girl, and a capital and finial in the form of a sphinx, Greek, Attic, ca. 530 BCE, the MET. 13 feet high.**
“The youth on the shaft is shown as an athlete, with an aryballos (oil flask) suspended from his wrist. Athletics were an important part of every boy’s education, and oil was used as a cleanser after exercise. He holds a **pomegranate—a fruit ᴀssociated with both fecundity and death in Greek myths**—perhaps indicating that he had reached puberty before his death. The little girl, presumably a younger sister, holds a flower. **The sphinx crowned a funerary stele as a symbolic protector for the deceased Megakles from the powerful clan of the Alkmeonidai**.” The monument stood in Attica (the region around Athens) where people could see it from a great distance. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248500

Marble-stele-grave-marker-with-a-youth-and-little-girl-and-a-capital-and-finial-in-the-form-of-a-sphinx-530bce, the met — Marble stele (grave marker) with finial in the form of a sphinx, Greek, Attic, ca. 530 BCE, the Met, NY.

attic funerary monuments in Greece with description — ATTIC FUNERARY MONUMENTS

The reappearance of private funerary monuments in Attica in the first decade of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), after a long hiatus that began with the prohibitive law of Kleisthenes, is ᴀssociated with the destructive effect of the plague that broke out in Athens in the beginning of the great war with Sparta. Full of fear and sorrow, the Athenians cremated their ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in mᴀsses, in an attempt to limit the fast spreading of the plague that lasted until 425 BC. Perikles himself was among the victims of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly illness. The political and economic upheaval brought about by the war and the concomitant changes in the population’s moral and religious beliefs as a result of the plague strengthened the conservative powers, which succeeded in restoring the ancient custom of erecting private memorials. This practice lasted until 317 or 307 BC, when the erection of luxurious funerary monuments ceased again, after a law issued by Demetrius of Phaleron.
In contrast to the Archaic period, in the Classical period statues are uncommon as funerary monuments. Their place is taken by grave stelai and marble funerary vases. The form and decoration of funerary monuments varies according to the Sєx, age, social class and origin of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Towards the end of the fifth century BC, grave reliefs adorn primarily the graves of women, youths and children. On the contrary,
memorials for male citizens are mostly plain; they give emphasis on the personal name of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, the name of their father as well as that of their deme of origin, which indicates their civil rights. Memorials for foreigners record their personal and ethnic names, whereas those for slaves provide only their personal name. In the numerous cemeteries of the city and the coastal and inland demes of Attica, the large grave plots of prominent families point to the importance acquired in this period by the family a fact also indicated by contemporary drama.
The center of the plot is occupied by a tall stele crowned by an anthemion and decorated only with rosettes. The stele lists the names of the family ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in succession and is framed by other monuments -stelai, gravestones in the shape of naiskoi, and marble funerary vases decorated in relief or in paint.
The commonest theme is the so-called dexiosis, where the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is shown in handshake with his or her kin. Another typical theme is the representation of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ man with his young attendant, or the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ woman with her maid. Children are depicted with their pets and toys. The Athenians selected a marble funerary loutrophoros for youthful, unmarried ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, symbolically offering them a nuptial bath.
Characteristic of Classical funerary imagery are the idealistic rendering of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ with controlled emotions, and the avoidance of immediate references to death. An exception is formed by the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in war, women who died in childbirth, as well as foreigners. Differences are observed in the imagery of marble vases, which are influenced by the sepulchral themes of white-ground lekythoi.

The Naxian Sphinx

**The base of the giant Naxian Sphinx, marble, Halos, Delphi**. PH๏τo: Veronica Winters.

The colossal Naxian Sphinx stood on a 12-meter high ionic column in ancient Greece. Today the giant sphinx is on display at the Museum of Delphi. Mentioned in the myth of Oedipus, the Sphinxes **were linked to the primitive cults. They were considered to be the guardians of tombs and sanctuaries placed as funerary monuments and votive offerings.** A highly popular image in ancient Greece, the demonic Sphinx was a loan from the East to ancient Greek art. This colossal statue of the Sphinx of Delphi was offered by the Naxians in the 6th century BC.

sphinx figure closeups in Delphi-veronica winters art blog — Close up views of the giant Naxian Sphinx figure in Delphi, pH๏τo: V.Winters

Limestone-funerary-stele-shaft-surmounted-by-two-sphinxes-cypriot-5cbce-met — Limestone funerary stele shaft surmounted by 2 sphinxes, Cypriot, 5th century BCE, the Met, NY.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/242050

Limestone-statue-of-a-sphinx-greek-550-bce-views-met — Beautiful views of a **limestone statue of a Greek sphinx**, 550 BCE, the Met, NY.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254504

What does the Greek Sphinx mean? A lot of ancient Greek sphinxes are found as grave offerings in tombs, funerary monuments and sacred vessels in palaces. While the meaning of a Greek sphinx appearing on an ancient vase can probably vary some, most of the monuments seem to be connected to the world of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. The demonic creature was supposed to be warding off the evil, being the guardian of tombs and sanctuaries placed as funerary monuments.

For example, the Spata Sphinx is one of the most beautiful, well-preserved Greek sphinxes seen in Athens today.

archaic sphinx 570 bc pentelic marble-spata — Originally found in the Athens airport area, **the Statue of a Sphinx was erected as finial of a grave stele in Attica.** One of the earliest known Archaic Sphinxes, it was made of a Pentelic marble around 570 B.С.

“A series of vases of the early and late Geometric period (9th-8th Century B.C.) came from a cemetery at the northern area of the airport. These were the first artefacts to inform us about the inhabitants of the land of that period. A network of dirt roads ran next to a cemetery, which crisscrossed fields, olive groves, vineyards, and linked the rural communities of the Attica. The family tombs of local aristocracy, who owned the best land in the area, dotted the landscape in the 6th century B.C. Powerful “Spata Sphinx,” now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, belonged to one of such luxury funerary monuments. A replica of this sphinx is exhibited at the airport’s museum.”

Limestone funerary stele with anтιтhetical sphinxes, Cypriot, 450 century BCE, the Met, NY.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/242406

The Greeks placed the statues of a Sphinx as finial of a grave stele or as luxury grave monuments to be the guardians of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, similar to how sphinxes were viewed in Egypt. The Greek sphinx was also ᴀssociated with riddles and challenges, as seen in the myth of Oedipus. The demonic statues were also decorative elements in small vases and perfume boxes.

Here are some Sphinxes and Griffins incised on tombs’ decorations I saw in Eleusis, Greece. Eleusis was an important ancient Greek cult center that got destroyed with the rise of Christianity.

Ancient Greek Vessels showing the statue of a Sphinx:

Greek vase amphora -sphinx-Tampa art museum- — **Black-figure Amphora showing the sphinx figure (Storage Vessel):** Attributed to the Phineus Painter South Italian or Greek, “Chalcidian” (probably made in Rhegium [modern Reggio Calabria], South Italy), ca. 520-510 BC, Ceramic. Tampa Museum of Art, US. PH๏τo: V. Winters
This elegant, large sphinx is painted in the shape and **“Chalcidian” painting style** of black-figure vases. The name of this style comes from the Greek town of Chalcis but thought by many scholars to have been produced in South Italy.

A Greek vase showing two sphinxes, pH๏τo: V. Winters

sphinx on vase-eleusis — Large **Sphinx figure is painted on a vase exhibited in Eleusis**, the cult center. In the 7th century, the population of Eleusis declined, probably due to drought and famine. With high child mortality, the majority of the burials consisted of infants and toddlers buried in jars. **This amphora depicting a winged sphinx was used for a toddler burial.** Archaic artisans were experimenting with new decorative patterns and techniques coming from the East. Note the optical illusion on the neck of the vessel! The opposing heads of the panther and the lion create a face that stares right at us.

Terracotta-stand-greek-520-bce-met — **Terracotta stand,** Greek, Attic, ca. 520 BCE, On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 157.

A lot of Attic pottery was manufactured and exported to Etruria. “Indigenous Etruscan shapes were reinterpreted in Athenian workshops; the Hellenized variants then sold to Etruscan patrons in the west and often buried in their tombs. The Etruscan prototypes generally exist in the sturdy black ware called bucchero. This pair of stands represents the phenomenon of adaptation with a shape unique in Attic vase-painting. They probably held floral or vegetal offerings.” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/255195

Ancient Greek vase with two sphinxes, pH๏τo: V. Winters

Ancient Greek vase with some sphinxes and animals, pH๏τo: V. Winters.

Similar designs on a pottery can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Terracotta dinos, 630 BCE, the Met, NY. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/256846

Terracotta pyxis, cosmetic box, Greek, 550 BCE, the Met, NY http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/239949

Color

Color: “Polychromy” means “many colors” in Greek. Artists painted the statues of the sphinx figures and other sculptures using very bright colors including blue (azurite) and red. Traces of hues are left on the archaic limestone sphinxes dating from the early 6th century BCE. The sphinx displayed at the Met shows traces of cinnabar red, yellow ochre, carbon-based black, and blue pigments. According to the researchers at the Met, they identified 2 blue pigments – Egyptian blue (synthetic color developed in Egypt in the Late Bronze Age) and Azurite blue. Expensive Cinnabar Red was imported from Iberia (Spain). Red ochre was made of hemaтιтe.

All scientific findings were shared with Vinzenz Brinkmann and the Liebieghaus Polychromy Research Project. https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/articles/2022/8/new-research-greek-sphinx

ancient colors -pigments in Greece — These are the colors used in ancient Greece to color their monuments as as seen in the archeological museum in Athens. The display shows the original pigments coming from various regions beyond Greece itself. Fragments of a white stone show colored wings dated at 570 BC! Lapis (blue color) consists of many minerals, mainly lazurite from Afghanistan. Conichalcite (green), Malachite & Azurite pigments come from the Laurion mines. White comes from Western Melos Island and consist of kaolinite, alunite, тιтanium dioxide. Ochre (yellow) comes from the copper mine in Cyprus and consists of jarosite. Red hemaтιтe mixed with iron hydroxides comes from the islands in Greece. There is a display of synthetic pigments- white and blue. Lead white is cerussite+ hydrocerussite. The Egyptian blue is marble powder+ quartz+ copper + alkali cooked at 860 degrees Celsius.

Other popular materials:

Ivory
Elephant ivory: this raw material and the Hippopotamus ivory (also in use during the Mycenean era) came from Near East & Egypt. Elephant ivory was reserved for large and expensive art pieces. In the palatial period (14th-13th centuries BC), artisans worked ivory in specialized workshops to make luxury objects, like the elaborate male or female figurines made for religious purposes, jewelry boxes, ivory handles for bronze mirrors, combs and musical instruments. They also produced mᴀssive amounts of ivory plaques-inlays in luxury furniture (beds, chairs, footstools) and even the chariot parts. Groups of plaques were in the shape of bull heads, figure-of-eight shields, columns, lilies or ivy leaves. According to the Linear B texts, ivory had inlays with gold, silver or kyanos (blue glᴀss). Ivory objects or plaques depicted the human figures, griffins, sphinxes or animals in relief. Rosettes, half-rosettes or spirals had the decorative intent.

The figure of a small sphinx, Mykines, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters

Miniature art in bronze and gold:

**Minoan miniature metal sphinxes (525-500 BC & 475-450BC)** and pomegranate (6th BCE), Heraklion, Crete.

During the Neo palatial period, Minoan artists specialized in miniature art, producing works in gold and ivory plaques and mold-cast inlays in vitreous materials such as **faience and glᴀss paste**. Their artistic motifs included images of nature and sacred symbols (like the double axe and the seated ivory child from Palaikastro). The arms of a figurines have traces of the veins showing artistic precision captured in miniature art.

**Bronze statuette of a sphinx, Greek, 5th century BCE**, the Met
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/256231

This is one of the bronze vessels I saw in the museum in Athens. The vase shows strong Egyptian influences in art depicting the sphinxes, figures and animals.

Bronze vase handle in a shape of a sphinx figure.

Bronze mirror with a sphinx figure, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters

Bronze mirror with a winged figure, pH๏τo: Veronica Winters

Bronze mirror supported by a female figure with two sphinxes, 520 BC. pH๏τo: Veronica Winters

Gold earring with a sphinx, Greek, 4th century BCE, the Met

Gold pendant in the form of a sphinx, Greek, 5th century BCE, the Met, NY.

Oedipus and the Sphinx Mythology:

Amphora with Oedipus and the Sphinx of Thebes 450BCE -MFA Boston — **Two-handled jar (amphora) depicting Oedipus and the Sphinx of Thebes, the Achilles Painter,** Greek, Classical Period, 450–440 B.C, Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens, on view at Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Embodying danger, destruction, and riddles, the most famous Greek sphinx is the one guarding Thebes in the story of Oedipus. This sphinx presented a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly riddle to travelers, devouring those who couldn't answer it. No one could until the day Oedipus showed up. The riddle: "What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed, two-footed, and three-footed?" Oedipus gives the answer that it's a man. He's four-footed as a baby. He walks on two feet as an adult and gets the third foot- a cane when he gets old.

Oedipus, king of Thebes, is a classic Greek tragedy of fate and free will.

A Doomed Prophecy: King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes learn from an oracle that their son will kill Laius and marry Jocasta. Horrified, they try to prevent this by piercing the infant’s ankles (hence the name “Oedipus,” meaning “swollen foot”) and abandoning him on a mountain.
Twist of Fate: A shepherd finds the baby and takes him to the king and queen of Corinth, who raise him as their own.
Fleeing Fate: Years later, Oedipus consults an oracle and receives the same chilling prophecy – he will kill his father and marry his mother. Believing his Corinthian parents to be his true ones, he flees Corinth to escape this fate.
Unknowingly Fulfilling the Prophecy: On his journey, Oedipus gets into an argument with an older man (Laius) at a crossroads and unknowingly kills him. He then arrives at Thebes, where the city is plagued by the Sphinx, a creature who devours travelers who cannot answer her riddle. Oedipus solves the riddle, defeating the Sphinx.
Reward and Unwitting Marriage: As a reward, Oedipus is declared the new king and marries the widowed queen – Jocasta, his biological mother, thus unknowingly committing the sin of incest. They have children together.
Unraveling the Truth: A plague falls upon Thebes. Seeking the cause, Oedipus uncovers the truth of his past through a series of revelations, including a blind prophet and a shepherd.
Tragic Consequences: Realizing the horror of his actions, Jocasta takes her own life and Oedipus, in despair, blinds himself. He is ultimately exiled from Thebes, condemned to wander with his daughters as his guides.

Attic cup: Oedipus and the Sphinx
Oedipus and the Sphinx, interior of an Attic red-figured kylix (cup or drinking vessel), c. 470 BCE; in the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, the Vatican Museums, Rome. — Attic cup: Oedipus and the Sphinx, interior of an Attic red-figured kylix (cup or drinking vessel), c. 470 BCE; in the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, the Vatican Museums, Rome.

The tragic end of Oedipus, when the truth was revealed, served as the ultimate lesson in Delphic theology. It means that all humans should live a life of virtue, knowing that their fate has been predetermined by the gods. This is something that even Socrates, the wisest of men according to Pythian Apollo, admitted in Plato’s Apology, just before meeting his own end.

The Oracle; Camillo Miola (Biacca) (Italian (Neapolitan), 1840 – 1919); 1880; Oil on canvas; 108 x 142.9 cm (42 1/2 x 56 1/4 in.); The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has a painting called The Oracle by Camillo Miola (Biacca), 42x56in, 1880 that depicts the Oracle of Delphi chosen by Apollo-the Pythia. The painting includes the **omphalos**, a sacred object at Delphi that was considered the center of the world. The ancient Greeks consulted the Delphic Oracle as she spoke the truth channeling prophecies coming from God Apollo.

The story explores themes of fate versus free will, the power of knowledge and self-discovery, and the devastating consequences of defying the gods’ will. The sphinx mythology remained a popular motif in Greek art and literature for centuries and was revived in the 19th-century European art. The examples of which I’m including below.

Oedipus and the Sphinx, g. moreau 1864-the met-best art museums — **Oedipus and the Sphinx, Gustave Moreau, French,1864, The Met.** The legendary Greek prince Oedipus confronts the malevolent Sphinx, who torments travelers with a riddle, remains of which who answered incorrectly litter the foreground:
“What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?” (The solution is the human, who crawls as a baby, strides upright in maturity, and uses a cane in old age.)

Moreau exhibited this painting at the Paris Salon of 1864. Despite the emergence of new painting ideas and style in art at that time, the artist focused on painting surreal, mythological, and imaginary stories. His mystical art inspired many artists, including Odilon Redon and Oscar Wilde.

Gustave Moreau French, 1864 — **Oedipus and the Sphinx, Gustave Moreau, French,1864, The Met.** Closeup.

The Silent Councillor from the Portfolio, engraving done after painting by Tadema http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/668073

**Ingres, Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1864, the Walters Museum of Art. and Ingres in The National Gallery, 1826, London.**
Ingres painted the story of Oedipus several times refining composition and even reversing the figures in a mirror-like image. One of the paintings is in The National Gallery, London and a reversed one is in The Walters Art Museum. Can you see the difference? 🙂 The London one looks like a developed sketch but not a finished painting. There’s also another (finished) painting on view in the Louvre dated to 1808.

**Claude Ferdinand Gaillard, engraving done after Ingres, the Met, NY.**

This black-and-white image is an engraving – a form of printmaking that allowed to make hand-pulled copies of art for mᴀss distribution. Printmakers usually made engravings of famous paintings thus giving them a much wider reach.

Scottish National Gallery, a closeup of a painting depicting a golden chair with a sphinx figure.

Conclusion

When I decide to write an article about any subject, it quickly spirals into a rabbit hole of endless information. While I start with my basic knowledge on the subject, it becomes an extensive research based on my travel pH๏τography, books and descriptions at the art museums. I hope you enjoyed reading about the origins and artistic development of this enigmatic sphinx figure that will inspire you to both create and share this article with your friends!