Sphinx

The sphinx is a legendary creature most commonly depicted with the head of a human and the body of a lion, and in many cultural traditions it also possesses the wings of a bird. Although the image of the sphinx appears across a wide chronological and geographical range, its symbolic meanings differ considerably between civilisations. In Greek mythology the sphinx is portrayed as a malevolent and deadly being, while in ancient Egypt it is revered as a protective and benevolent guardian. Across later European art and architecture the motif underwent continuous adaptation, emerging as a popular ornamental form during the Renaissance and reappearing in the Symbolist and Decadent movements of the nineteenth century.

Etymology

The term sphinx derives from Greek and is often linked through folk etymology to the verb sphíngō, meaning “to squeeze” or “to bind”, sometimes explained with reference to the lion’s method of dispatching its prey. Earlier scholarship has suggested that the name of the Greek sphinx, sometimes rendered as Phix, may have been a given name, although this is not universally accepted. Another scholarly proposal holds that the Greek term was a corruption of the Egyptian shesep-ankh, meaning “living image”, which referred to large sculpted figures carved directly from the living rock, such as the monumental Egyptian sphinxes that served as embodiments of royal power.

The Sphinx in Ancient Egypt

The Egyptian sphinx is typically depicted as male and is known as an androsphinx. It was regarded as a protective and beneficent figure associated with the strength and divine authority of the pharaoh. Unlike Greek and Near Eastern sphinxes, Egyptian sphinxes were not winged. Statues of sphinxes frequently stood as guardians at the entrances to temples or sacred precincts, symbolising the defence of holy spaces and the presence of divine power.
The most prominent example is the Great Sphinx of Giza, located on the Giza Plateau beside the pyramids and facing east. Although its precise date remains uncertain, the prevailing view among Egyptologists assigns its construction to the reign of the pharaoh Khafre, around 2600–2500 BC, since the facial features resemble representations of this ruler. Claims that water erosion proves a far earlier date are not accepted by mainstream scholarship.
Egyptian sphinxes also appear in various forms:

• The granite sphinx of Hatshepsut, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• The Sphinx of Memphis, carved from alabaster.
• Long avenues of guardian sphinxes leading to temples, including those at Karnak, where ram-headed sphinxes called criophinxes honoured the god Amun and were paired with statues of pharaohs.

The Great Sphinx became a national emblem of Egypt and frequently appears on coins, stamps and official publications. Excavations continue to reveal new sphinxes, including a limestone example discovered in 2023 at the Dendera Temple complex, thought to portray the Roman emperor Claudius.

The Sphinx in Ancient Greece

In Greek culture the sphinx assumed a darker character. Depicted as a creature with the head of a woman, the wings of a bird and the body of a lion, it appeared as a figure of destruction and cunning. According to myth, the sphinx presented travellers with a riddle and devoured those who failed to answer correctly. This encounter is central to the story of Oedipus, who solved her riddle and thereby freed the city of Thebes from her predation. Although Hellenic civilisation had sustained contact with Egypt from the Bronze Age onward, the Greek interpretation diverged significantly, emphasising the perilous and enigmatic qualities of the creature. Greek writers such as Herodotus described Egyptian sphinxes, testifying to longstanding cross-cultural awareness.

The Sphinx in Europe

During the Renaissance, the rediscovery of ancient Roman decorative schemes stimulated renewed interest in mythological hybrids. The sphinx emerged as a favoured motif within the grotesque decoration inspired by the Domus Aurea in Rome. These representations resembled Egyptian prototypes in early phases but soon evolved into forms specific to European artistic tastes.
In sixteenth-century France, sphinxes appeared prominently in the School of Fontainebleau, where they acquired the elegant coiffure and feminine attributes associated with the so-called French sphinx. The motif subsequently spread across Europe in the gardens and architectural ornamentation of Baroque and Rococo palaces, such as the Belvedere in Vienna, Sanssouci in Potsdam, La Granja in Spain and Queluz in Portugal.
In the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the sphinx gained symbolic importance in Neoclassical, Romantic and Symbolist art. These movements drew heavily on Greek mythological associations, especially the story of Oedipus. Writers of the Decadent movement, whose themes often addressed societal decline and transgression, adopted the sphinx as an emblem of seduction, mystery and destruction. In literature:

• Oscar Wilde’s poem The Sphinx presents the creature as a hybrid of mythologies, steeped in sensuality and death.
• James Thomson’s The City of Dreadful Night invokes a monstrous sphinx-like figure embodying existential dread.
• In nineteenth-century American literature, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps employed the sphinx motif to explore social constraints on gender and artistic identity.

Cultural Significance and Symbolism

Across civilisations the sphinx serves as a guardian figure, whether benign or deadly. In Egypt it represents royal authority, divine power and the safeguarding of sacred places. In Greece it symbolises enigma, intelligence and danger. In Europe it evolves into both a decorative motif and an allegorical figure expressing cultural anxieties, artistic ideals and philosophical reflections.