Describe a Marble Sphinx

In ancient Greece, marble sphinxes often guarded tombs.

The Sphinx was a fearsome monster to the ancient Greeks. Mysterious and violent, she might carry off children or strangle and eat travelers. Sources including the Greek playwright Sophocles wrote of the riddle of the Sphinx: People unable to solve it forfeited their lives. The poet Theognis, though, characterized the Sphinx as wise messenger of divine justice. In mythological terms, the Sphinx is related to the Furies, the Keres, the Harpies and the Sirens.

Marble Sphinxes

Marble sphinxes appeared in Greek art around the eighth century B.C. and became popular over the next 200 years, according to www.ancientworlds.net. Greek sphinx representations decorate urns, drinking vessels, tombs and temples, according to SphinxEgypt.com.

The Sphinx of Corinth

Sculpted as tomb art some 25 centuries ago, the Sphinx of Corinth sits neatly on her pedestal and smiles over her right shoulder at visitors to the Archaeological Museum of Corinth. In Greek mythology, the sphinx had a woman's face, an eagle's wings, the body of a lion and a serpent's tail. This work follows that model. She is about three-quarters of a meter high, with a lean, graceful torso and wavy hair. Her wings are raised, and her smile looks more than a little bit ironic. Perhaps she is thinking about devouring some traveler who cannot answer her riddle.

Archaeology

Twentieth century archaeologists found the Corinth Sphinx as they excavated a drainage area of ancient Corinth. She was created as a cemetery monument, according to a website of the United Methodist Church's Board of Global Ministries. You can still see some paint on her body and wings. Sphinxes were common decorations for graves, and many were made of marble.

The Sphinx of Naxos

As early as 580 B.C., the Naxos Sphinx sat atop a 33-foot tall Ionic column at Apollo's sanctuary at Delphi. Now on display at the Delphi Museum, she is 2.2 meters tall and weighs just under two tons, according to www.ancientworlds.net. Her pose is similar to that of the Corinth Sphinx, but she faces forward. Her sculptor carved her in "severe" mode. She is not smiling.

Egyptian Sphinxes

Many of the bedrock and alabaster sphinxes of Egypt are much older than the marble sphinxes of Greece. Some date back nearly to 2000 B.C.

References

• Ancientworlds.net: The Greek Sphinx
• Sphinxegypt.com: The Sphinx of Greek Mythology
• United Methodist Church's Board of Global Ministries: The Sphinx of Corinth