THREE SPHINXES

 THREE SPHINXES

I've arranged these in chronological order to illustrate style changes 

Archaic

CLASSICAL 

Roman Empire 120 AD

Sphinxes Griffins and More

A #Mosaic from a #Hellenistic era Greek house with #sphinxes #griggins #lions a #hippocampus and a glorious meander pattern for your viewing pleasure.

Yet another Sphinx Sculpture.

#sphinx #sculpture #classicalgreekart

This one is from Cyprus. The "pinks" are faded reds and possibly other weaker pigments may have eroded off.

Tomorrow is greek new testament bible study day but next week I still have a few more Sphinx images to share before we move to a new topic.

Don't forget to check out older posts on this theme and ...

please consider 

Supporting me via Paypal

Thank You 

More Egyptian and Phoenician Sphinxes

#sphinx #egyptianart #phoenicianart

Having shown you the Delphi #Sphinx last time I want to show you more Egyptian and Phoenician pieces so you can see the interplay and connections between the different but related styles and models for Greek Sphinxes, Archaic or Classical and later.

2 Egyptian pieces 

the top one is ivory and part of a chariot horse's head harness a blinker 

 the bottom an amulet or maybe the Egyptian equivalent of an ornamental piece of bricbrac?

Now for 2 Phoenician / Syrian / Near East works.

Those wings probably had inlay of glass or jewels once.

Metal was also used. 

So Greek travellers and traders to Egypt Assyria Phoenicia and the Near East were seeing and bringing home objects like this as models for.

Next time Some more Greek interpretations of the Sphinx motif.

The SPHINX IN GREEK ART

THE SPHINX IN GREEK ART

#sphinx #greekart #ceramics #sculpture

It is a curious feature of Greek art that the creature with a male head and lion's body becomes female and acquires a body more like that of a cheetah or cat in Greek Art.

We do not know if early Greek visitors to Naucratis or Memphis or Thebes actually saw the Sphinx at Giza or Sphinx figures at temples. It is perhaps more likely the first images Greeks saw of Sphinx were Phoenician ivories like this?

This one is male but the beardless face along with the legend of a female sphinx at Thebes plus the arrival of the first domestic cats lead to images like this:

On this Archaic era vessel the sphinxes appear alongside lions and a feline that may be a leopard or cheetah plus other animals.

Next time the Sphinx of Delphi !