Sphinx Research Paper

Justin Buchholz

November 1, 2015

History 134

Sphinx

By: Justin Buchholz

Overtime, man has talked about many mythical beasts, monsters, and demons. For the Assyrians, one of their favorite mythical creatures to talk about was the mighty sphinx. The sphinx is typically shown “with the body of a lion, most often with a human head and sometimes with wings” (http://www.ancient.eu/sphinx/). The sphinx was also recognized as a symbol that was representative of multiple parts of the Assyrian society including trading, displaying the artistic aptitude of the Assyrians, as well as a guardian piece to the royals.

As important as sphinxes were to Assyrian cultures, they were first created by the Egyptians where they typically wore a nemes (head-dress) as worn by Pharaohs. In Egypt, sphinxes with human faces with lion’s mane exist in Nubia, and in the New Kingdom the head was sometimes found with a ram’s head as a

The Empire also expanded their trade networks from, “the northern coast of Africa and the southern coast of Europe to the strait of Gibraltar and beyond to the Atlantic” (http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/press-room/exhibitions/2014/assyria-to-iberia). With this increase of land and trade, the Assyrian’s had a wider influence on the surrounding cultures. This included the image and symbol of the sphinx to be adopted by other countries, known for its mythical and protective powers.

Today this evidence is seen at archaeological sites throughout the Mediterranean. Artifacts that have been found are often embellished with human-headed birds, griffins and sphinxes. These objects were fashioned with influences from the East but are thought to have been locally produced by artisans who used a Near Eastern-style influenced by the Assyrian reign