Sphinx-shaped finial
A sphinx-shaped finial of a funerary stele.
Since the Archaic period, sphinxes appear as symbolic guardians of funerary monuments. These hybrid creatures - winged lions with human head - were adopted by the Greeks from the Near East in the seventh century BC. Other motifs of eastern orign, such as sirens bewailing death, enjoyed equal popularity.
Attica, Greece. 410-400 BC.
Sk.886
Altes Museum
Sphinx-shaped finial
A sphinx-shaped finial of a funerary stele.
Since the Archaic period, sphinxes appear as symbolic guardians of funerary monuments. These hybrid creatures - winged lions with human head - were adopted by the Greeks from the Near East in the seventh century BC. Other motifs of eastern orign, such as sirens bewailing death, enjoyed equal popularity.
Attica, Greece. 410-400 BC.
Sk.886
Altes Museum