Website design By BotEap.comThe Sphinx is best described as a symbol of “arcane wisdom” (Ancient 126) and evil power in ancient Greece around 1200 BC. C. Her disposition is represented by the mythical story associated with her, specifically, her interactions with Oedipus. The Sphinx had also existed long before with other meanings in cultures like Egypt. Since then, its symbolism has become so captivating that its meaning is almost proverbial in today’s Western world (Britannica 16).

Website design By BotEap.comThe Sphinx really fits its title of beast. In Greek legend, the Sphinx is a female symbol with the body and feet of a lion, the head and breasts of a woman, and the wings of an eagle (Scafella 179). Although the sphinx literally described the horrible sounds, the visual representations of ancient Greece are attractive. Such representations appeared most frequently on ivories, painted plates, and pottery (Britannica 16). Although there are many representations of the sphinx, for the purposes of this essay, the example used is the Greek Sphinx seated on a small ionic column before Oedipus. This representation is painted on an Athenian vase from the Archaic period in Greece, between 800 and 500 BC. C. (Boardman 246).

Website design By BotEap.comThe name “Sphinx” is a Greek name derived from the verb sphiggein, which means “to press or bind” (quoted in Scafella 179). Her myth is well described by Albert E. Cowdrey in his fictional tale The Name of the Sphinx: “Her function was to harass and obstruct the tourist trade of Thebes by forcing visitors to answer a riddle. If they were wrong, she would kill them. “(104). She asked this riddle, taught by the Muses: “What is it that has only one voice and yet becomes four and two and three feet?” (Britannica) Although not explicit in ancient myth, the meaning of her name suggests that she may have killed those who responded incorrectly by strangling them. Her role links her directly to another ancient myth, the tragically ironic story of Oedipus.

Website design By BotEap.comOedipus was the prince of Thebes, who was abandoned by his father when he was born due to a prophecy that his son would kill him. His father tied his feet and left him on a lonely mountain (Encarta). Oedipus eventually returned to Thebes, which was plagued by the Sphinx. However, when asked his question, Oedipus correctly answered: “Man, who crawls on all fours in childhood, walks on two feet when he is older, and leans on a cane in old age” (Britannica 16). The sphinx was so distraught that it jumped from its position and committed suicide. The story continues that the Thebans were so grateful to Oedipus that they offered him royalty, which was rightfully his anyway, and unknowingly married his mother, the queen (Encarta).

Website design By BotEap.comThe Sphinx first appeared in Greece around 1600 BC. C., but it was not until later, around 1200 a. C., that the legend acquired an identifiable meaning and became what is commonly known today. However, prior to Greek times, the Sphinx as a symbol had existed for over a thousand years in cultures such as Egypt, where it is more commonly accepted that it originated (Scafella 180). While many features have remained the same on the Sphinx, some core features have changed. The most obvious distinction is the sex of the Sphinx. While the Egyptian Sphinx was exclusively male, the Greek Sphinx was almost always female. The Greek Sphinx was typically used as a symbol of wisdom and evil, while the Egyptian Sphinx, especially in its earliest forms, was often associated with divinities and was used as a symbol of protection. It had no mysterious or deceptive nature. An example of this role is his presence “before the temples of the Nile valley, outside the pyramid of Kaphren” (Suhr 97). Furthermore, in Egypt, the Sphinx was wingless and was often reclining, unlike the Greek Sphinx, which used to be seated, especially on its high perch at Thebes (Scafella 180).

Website design By BotEap.comWhen looking at the deepest symbolisms of the sphinx, it may well be one of the most elusive symbols in human history. While many theories converge and drift like choppy waves, they bear only one similarity, that their meaning is, above all else, enigmatic. However, a prominent idea is the obvious reference to intelligence being combined with animalism: “… the hybridization of man and lion suggests the dominance of human intellect over raw animal power” (Hajar). Friedrich Hegel, a 19th century German philosopher, further clarifies this idea: “The human head that springs from the animal body represents Mind when it begins to rise above Nature … without, however, being able to free itself. completely out of his shackles “(quoted in Scafella 185). These ideas are well suited to the time period in which they are found, in which civilization and war were competing realities of everyday life.

Website design By BotEap.comAnother interesting interpretation is that the sphinx is a purely psychological symbol, representing the complexity and duality of the human mind: “Unlike many mythical creatures, the sphinx was never believed to be more than a thing of the imagination” (Hajar) . In today’s Freudian terms, the Sphinx would be considered an element of the unconscious, of whose presence we are sure only by the tangible consequences of its existence (Cirlot 304).

Website design By BotEap.comFinally, on a very divergent note, one theory eloquently conjectures that “the mask of the sphinx belongs to the mother image and also to the symbolism of nature; but underneath the mask lie the implications of the myth of multiplicity or of enigmatic fragmentation of the cosmos “(Cirlot 304). Although, following the accepted theme of deception, this theory is unique in expressing a superficial maternal side of the Sphinx, evidently derived from her prominent breasts. It is noteworthy that female symbols, which almost always refer exclusively to affection and compassion, are used in the Sphinx, the opposite symbol of anger. It is possible, as Cirlot alludes to, that such symbols are used to dramatize the underlying symbolism using a deceptive physical appearance.

Website design By BotEap.comFrom its slow rise to power from ancient Egyptian myth to Greek legend and current colloquial consciousness, the Sphinx has become the visual embodiment of deception, anger, enigma, and intelligence. His death is a memory of triumph over animal fury. But that memory is a fallacy that haunts the mind. The human triumph did not end the symptom of animalism, nor with the malignancy of intelligence. It ended only with the visual description of a reality that humanity is a victim of forever, its own collective mind. The brilliance of the Sphinx is, therefore, more deceiving in the false disappearance than when it lived.

Website design By BotEap.comCited works

Website design By BotEap.comBoardman, John. Athenian Red-Figure Vases: The Archaic Period. London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1975.

Website design By BotEap.comBritannica, Encyclopedia. “Sphinx.” Encyclopedia Britannica: 200th Anniversary Edition. Flight. 21. United States: William Benton, 1969.

Website design By BotEap.comEncarta Encyclopedia. “Oedipus.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2005. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557812/Oedipus.html

Website design By BotEap.comCowdrey, Albert E. “The Name of the Sphinx”. Fantasy and science fiction. Flight. 107, Number 6 (December 2004): 100-120.

Website design By BotEap.comCirlot, JE A dictionary of symbols. Great Britain: Redwood Books, Towbridge, Wiltshire, 1971.

Website design By BotEap.comHajar, Rachel. “Culture: Popular Wisdom of the Sphinx”. World and me vol. 14, Number 2 (February 1999): 228.

Website design By BotEap.comMajor, Steven. Symbolism: a comprehensive dictionary. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1986.

Website design By BotEap.comSoans, Catherine and Alan Spooner, eds. “Sphinx.” Oxford Thesaurus. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2001.

Website design By BotEap.comScafella, Frank A. “The Sphinx”. Fabulous and Mythical Creatures: A Reference Book and Research Guide. Ed. Malcolm South. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1987.

Website design By BotEap.comSuhr, Elmer G. “The Sphinx”. Folklore. Flight. 81, No. 2 (Summer, 1970): 97-111.

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