The Greek Sphinx

Classical cultures shaped the common image of the Sphinx. The Greek Sphinx is a female monster living outside of Thebes who has a woman’s head (and many times the breasts), bird’s wings, lion’s body and a dragon’s tail. It is associated with the story of Oedipus. Early examples of this representation can be found during the fifth century and present both Oedipus and the Sphinx (Roberts, 1998, p.317). The Babylonian and Roman Sphinxes were also female, allegedly influenced by the Greek one. However, “the earliest Assyrian, Persian, and Phoenician Sphinxes were male and had beards and long curly hair.” This also true of the Egyptian Sphinx which experts believe to be shaped “in the image of a pharaoh as a funerary offering”. The male version