Sphinx in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
（Σφίγξ 1), a monstrous being of Greek mythology, is said to
have been a daughter of Orthus and Chimaera, born in the
country of the Arimi (Hes. Theog. 326), or of Typhon and
Echidna (Apollod. 3.5.8; Schol. ad Enrip. Phoen. 46), or
lastly of Typhon and Chimaera (Schol. ad Hes. and Eurip. l.
.c.). Some call her a natural daughter of Laius (Paus.
9.26.2). Respecting her stave at Thebes and her connection
with the fate of the house of Laius, see OEDIPUS. The middle
which she there proposed, she is said to have learnt front
the Muses (Apollod. 3.5.8), or Laius himself taught her the
mysterious oracles which Cadmus had received at Delphi
(Paus. 9.26.2). According to some she had been sent into
Boeotia by Hera, who was angry with the Thebans for not
having punished Lains, who had carried off Chrysippus from
Pisa. She is said to have come from the most distant part of
Ethiopia (Apollod. l.c. ; Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 1760);
according to others she was sent by Ares, who wanted to take
revenge because Cadmus had slain his son, the dragon (Argum.
ad Eurip. Phoen.), or by Dionysus (Schol. ad Hes. Th. 326),
or by Hades (Eurip. Phoen. 810), and some lastly say that
she was one on the women who, together with the daughters of
Cadmus, were thrown into madness, and was metamorphosed into
the monstrous figure. (Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 45.）
The legend itself clearly indicates from what quarter this
being was believed to have been introduced into Greek
mythology. The figure which she was conceived to have had is
originally Egyptian or Ethiopian; but after her
incorporation with Grecian story, her figure was variously
modified. The Egyptian Sphinx is the figure of an unwinged
lion in a lying attitude, but the upper part of the body is
human. They appear in Egypt to have been set up in avenues
forming the approaches to temples. The greatest among the
Egyptian representations of Sphinxes is that of Ghizeh,
which, with the exception of the paws, is of one block of
stone. The Egyptian Sphinxes are often called ἀνδρόσφιγγες
(Hdt. 2.175; Menandr. Fragm. p. 411, ed. Meineke), not
describing them as male beings, but as lions with the upper
part human, to distinguish them from those Sphinxes whose
upper part was that of a sheep or ram. The common idea of a
Greek Sphinx, on the other hand, is that of a winged body of
a lion, having the breast and upper part of a woman (Aelian,
Ael. NA 12.7; Auson. Griph. 40 ; Apollod. 3.5.8; Schol. ad
Eur. Phoen. 806). Greek Sphinxes, moreover, are not always
represented in a lying attitude, but appear in different
positions, as it might suit the fancy of the sculptor or
poet. Thus they appear with the face of a maiden, the
breast, feet, and claws of a lion, the tail of a serpent,
and the wings of a bird (Schol. ad Aristoph. Frogs 1287 ;
Soph. Oed. Tyr. 391 ; Athen. 6.253; Palaephat. 7); or the
fore part of the body is that of a lion, and the lower part
that of a man, with the claws of a vuiture and the wings of
an eagle (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 7). Sphinxes were frequently
introduced by Greek artists, as ornaments of architectural
and other works. (Paus. 3.18.8, 5.11.2; Eurip. Elect. 471.)-
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology,
William Smith, Ed.
Read More
