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Definition: sphinx from Philip's Encyclopedia

Mythical beast of the ancient world, usually represented with the head of a person and the body of a lion. In Greek mythology, Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx of Thebes, so destroying the Spinx's evil power. Although found throughout the Middle East, images of sphinxes were especially popular in Egypt, where thousands were built. The most famous is the Great Sphinx near the Pyramids at Giza.

Sphinx

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Mythological creature, depicted in Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek art as a lion with a human head. The Greek Sphinx of Thebes was winged with a woman's breasts, and was adopted as an emblem of wisdom. She killed all those who failed to answer her riddle about which animal went on four, then two, and finally three legs: the answer being humanity (baby, adult, and old person with stick). When Oedipus gave the right reply, she committed suicide. Representation One of the oldest monuments is the Great Sphinx at El Gîza, Egypt, 58 m/189 ft high, which was probably built about 2900–2750 BC . It is believed to represent King Khafre with the body of a recumbent lion, guarding the royal cemetery and mortuary temples. Subsequently it was imitated on a smaller scale, and avenues of sphinxes frequently flanked the approaches to temples. The Great Sphinx has been buried by sand and dug out on a number of occasions; one such event is recorded by an 18th dynasty inscription. Another example of an…
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Full text Article sphinx

From Word Origins
The original Sphinx was a monster, half woman and half lion, which terrorized the country around Thebes in ancient Greece. According to legend, it would waylay travellers and ask them a riddle; and if they could not solve it, it killed them. One of its favoured methods was strangulation, and its…
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Full text Article SPHINX, THE

From The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters
The Sphinx (Greek for “strangler”) is a monster from ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean culture, with a lion's body, a human head, and, often, a bird's wings. Sometimes ancient and modern authors also describe the creature as having a snake's tail. (Composite monsters having a human head on a…
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Full text Article sphinx

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
It was the form of a recumbent lion with the head of a royal personage, appearing in Egypt in the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 B.C.E.). Originally called hu , or “the hewn object,” the sphinx became Hun-Harmakhu, “the hewn Harmachis (Horemakhet).” This divine being was also addressed as “Horus on the…
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Full text Article sphinx

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
The Great Sphinx at Giza, 4th dynasty Credit:E....
Mythological creature with a lion’s body and a human’s head. It figures prominently in Egyptian and Greek art and legend. The winged sphinx of Thebes was said to have terrorized people by demanding the answer to a riddle taught to her by the Muses —What is it that has one voice and yet becomes…
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Full text Article Sphinx

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Mythological creature, depicted in Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek art as a lion with a human head. The Greek Sphinx of Thebes was winged with a woman's breasts, and was adopted as an emblem of wisdom. She killed all those who failed to answer her riddle about which animal went on four, then two, and…
| 249 words
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Full text Article sphinx

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(sfĭngks), mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra . The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position with the head of a man and the body of a lion, although some were constructed with rams' heads and others with…
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Full text Article sphinx

From The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
sphinx Terracotta incense burner in the shape of...
a hybrid creature, like the chimaera (fire-breathing monster) and the griffin. Illustrations can be traced back to Egypt and Mesopotamia in the mid-3rd millennium bc (impossible to accord priority, although the Egyptian version is known to be a late-comer to local iconography). Basically the Sphinx…
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Full text Article Sphinx

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
The sphinx of Greek mythology, which was quite distinct from the Egyptian sphinx, was a monster with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a dog or lion, the wings of a bird, a serpent's tail and lion's paws. It had a human voice and was said to be the daughter of orthos (the two-headed dog…
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Full text Article Sphinx (“Throttler”)

From Dictionary of Classical Mythology
Oedipus, in travellers’ dress, sits on...
A female monster with the head of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird. Her father was either the monster TYPHON or the two-headed hound of Geryon, ORTHUS , and her mother either the three-headed CHIMAERA or the monster ECHIDNA ; she herself was the sister of the fearsome NEMEAN LION…
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Full text Article Great Sphinx

From Architectural Excellence: 500 Iconic Buildings Full text Article Ancient World to 500 CE
Great Sphinx
Architect: Unknown Completed: Mid-3rd millennium BCE Location: Giza, near Cairo, Egypt Style/Period: Ancient Egyptian The half-human-half-lion Great Sphinx is one of the most famous sculptures on the planet, yet it remains an elusive monument, one that has provoked fierce debate between…
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