The Sphinx, the mythical half-man half-man, is considered a symbol of secret knowledge and the desire of man to comprehend the unknown. Unlike many fellow legends, the sphinx has not lost its popularity today: it flaunts on advertising tourist booklets, guards the bridges of St. Petersburg.
Sphinx in different cultures
A mysterious creature with a lion's body does not have a registry for a specific culture and a certain gender. The most famous Egyptian sphinx, guarding the pyramids of Giza, is male.
In Egyptian mythology, the heads of the sphinxes were not only human. Sphinxes with the head of a falcon were dedicated to the god Horus, and sphinxes with the head of a ram to the solar deity Amon. There are even sphinxes with the head of a crocodile, apparently glorifying Sebek, the god of the Nile. All Egyptian sphinxes are depicted on the walls of temples or guard tombs, sacred places for people. It can be concluded that the male Egyptian sphinx was a positive figure, protector and guardian of the mysterious world of the gods. The hieroglyph by which the sphinx was designated also meant "master", "ruler".
A contemporary of the Egyptian sphinx is a monster from the Sumerian legend whom the supreme goddess Tiamat gives birth to avenge the death of her husband. Here the sphinx is the embodiment of anger, anger and horror.
The image of the sphinx, migrated from Egypt to Greece, has undergone significant changes. Firstly, he changed sex and, instead of the crown of the pharaoh, acquired a naked female breast. Secondly, his wings grew. It is such a sphinx that has become widespread in world culture along with a master from Egypt. Even the word "sphinx" comes from the Greek "sphincter" - to compress, "sphinga" - strangler. According to legend, the Greek sphinx was the daughter of the ancient monsters of Typhon and Echidna, a creature of the abyss and chaos.
