Greek Sphyinx

I noticed the sphinxes were appearing in the cultures we have been looking at, but I didnt know how often they were until now.When one hears the name Sphinx one probably thinks of the great half animal half person creature laying in the sands of Egypt but the greeks came up with the name sphinx. Egypt's sphinx  has nothing to do with the mythology like the Greeks. It was named later by archeologists.  They are quite different because Egypt's sphinx is the pharaoh with a lion body and is not posed as an aggressive creature while the Greek's sphinx is half female human, half vulture and has a dog's body. They prey on young men and pose riddles. If you do not answer her riddle accurately she will take you away. Echidna and Typhon were her parents in myth and she had cerberous, Chimaera, hydra, and Nemean the lion as her brothers and sisters.She has such a lovely diverse family.
         The famous riddle the sphinx is known for is "which animal went on four, then two, then three. The anwser was a human. when the human is a baby, adult, and an elder with a cane. She would prey upon the ones who ansered it wrong. Odipous got her riddle right and so she committed suicide by throwing herself against the mountains. ouch that sounds painful but I guess she had too much pride.
       Greek Sphinxes were used as statues on graves of the young and also they are painted on vases with animals in processions.
          The sphinx appears in a lot of the cultures we have studied; very similar.

The Greek Sphinx has the arhaic smile and hair.
Egypt's sphinx

above to the left is an Ancient Near East sphinx. The one below it is a Roman copy                                                                                                                                                  

 Indian Sphinx.


There appearences are very alike but they have a different meaning for most of the cultures.


"Sphinx." Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 1996. Credo Reference. Web. 05 November 2012.

"Sphinx." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide. Abington: Helicon, 2010. Credo Reference. Web. 05 November 2012.