A mythological monster, the Greek Sphinx has the body of a lion, head of a human and wings of an Eagle.
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In the ancient world the Eurasian lion still roams the Mesopotamian outback, a symbol of vigor and strength. The Sphinx also features in Egyptian, Assyrian and other mythologies.
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Greek Sphinx
Greco-Roman poet Statius, writing c. 1st century CE, describes the Sphinx as 'a winged monster with pallid cheeks, eyes tainted with corruption, plumes clotted with gore and talons on livid hands.'
Animal iconography in hybrid monsters is focused on qualities of the animals involved. They can be positive or negative, usually a combination. Lions inspire awe and respect from the people. They carry traits of courage and dangerous ferocity.
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These apex predators represent royalty, power and a certain influence over life and death. They inspire awe and respect. As a bird of vision, the Eagle relates to strength, dominance and the all-seeing eye, with mighty wings allowing her to soar higher than any other.
Sometimes the tail of the Sphinx ends in the head of a snake or serpent, another significant animal in mythology. The snake is associated with healing, death, rebirth, sensuality and arcane knowledge. Serpents can also represent the primal dragon.
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The Greek Sphinx can be ruthless and treacherous. She has the head of a woman, body and legs of a lion, and powerful wings. She is summoned by Hera or Ares from her homeland Aethiopia to the gates of Thebes.
In the myth of Oedipus, those who meet the Sphinx must answer a riddle correctly. If not, they become her next meal.
Q. "What goes on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?"
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A. "A person, who crawls on all fours as a child, walks upright as a youth and adult, and uses a cane or third leg in old age."
Oedipus is the first to answer the riddle correctly. Shocked, the Sphinx throws herself into the sea and drowns. In this way Oedipus wins freedom of the Thebans, who have been terrorized by the Sphinx, and the lovely Queen Jocasta as his wife.
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Later he discovers Jocasta is his mother, and he's already killed his father on the road, without recognizing him. In the 20th century Freud names a complex after this.
Egyptian Sphinx
The Sphinx is also the symbol of the ancient city-state Chios, an island in the North Aegean Sea. Her image appears on seals and the obverse side of coins for almost a thousand years, spanning the 6th century BCE to the 3rd century CE.
The Egyptian Sphinx is possibly the most familiar, especially the Sphinx at Giza (c. 2550 BC) with its vast size and broken nose. From chisel marks and other signs it's thought the breakage of the nose is an act of intentional destruction.
The Giza Sphinx is carved from solid rock, a big chunk of limestone. Beneath the Sphinx are rooms thought to be used for ceremony or meetings. No tombs have been detected.
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The Egyptian Sphinx above is thought to be the earliest known, dating to c. 2600 BCE. Made of painted limestone, the Sphinx represents Hetepheres II, daughter of Khufu and royal princess of Egypt. She marries, has a daughter and becomes Queen of Egypt.
She marries again after her husband dies, wedding her ambitious half-brother who covets the throne of the Pharaoh. When he dies, she marries her daughter to her late husband's successor, thus making her mother-in-law of the Pharaoh.
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While the Greek Sphinx has a nasty reputation, the Egyptian variety represent kingship, proud achievement and divinity. The Egyptians think of the Sphinx as a representation of Horemakhet or Horus of the Horizon. The sphinx symbolizes royalty and sacred status or divine connection.
Lamassu - Assyrian Sphinx
The Assyrian Sphinx or Lamassu is originally the Sumerian goddess or goddess group Lamma. She's shown here as a protective winged deity in female form with long ruffled dress, c. 2000 BCE. She wears a horned tiara, the details lost over thousands of years.
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The Lamma goddess figure represents the zodiac or zodiacs, parent-stars or constellations. Her hands are raised in a sign of prayer. With her cosmic connections, wings of protection, a holy tiara and beneficent ambiance, the Lamassu figure could be a forerunner to the perception of angels in Christianity.
Assyrian astrology comes from the earlier Akkadians and is used to chart the movements in the heavens in context of kingship and the destiny of kindoms, rather than applied to the individual as today. Its influence moves into Babylon, and eventually to the Greeks.
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Guardian spirits Lamassu and their male counterparts the shedu had their start in the folklore of Assyria, when they were used as human winged talismans for luck and protection of the household. The idea caught on in royal circles, and became monumental.
The Goddess Lama becomes a hybrid with human head, wings of a bird and body of bull or lion. Lamassu are usually female, with the exception being shedu (šēdu), or male form of Lamassu.
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After the Assyrians the Goddess Lamma is always depicted in a hybrid animal form and her aspect as a winged maiden fades away. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the Lamassu have masculine qualities. Architecturally, the Lamassu unearthed from various sites are predominantly male, with man's head and bull's body.
The massive sculptures are commonly placed as pairs at the entrance to cities and palaces. Some weigh up to forty tons. Gypsum is the favored material for carving Lamassu. It's a soft white rock used to make plaster. The sculptures would be painted bright colors.
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As a male deity Lamassu has the body of a bull with stylized wings of an eagle. He wears the horned crown, the sign of divine status. Symbolically the human head represents intelligence. The bull relates to might and virility, and the eagle wings signify freedom. Lamassu repels evil and has strong protective powers.
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