The Sphinx Unriddled (2015-2018)
The sphinx and related composite creatures. A motif of political-religious legitimation during the dynamical period of cultural changes appearing in the Late Bronze (1600-1200 BC) and the Early Iron Age (1200-800 BC) in the Eastern Mediterranean. (Doctoral research: Nadine Nys)
Probably the motif was used first in Egypt from which it was distributed across large parts of the Mediterranean area. This phenomenon, of course, begs different questions; e.g. did the creature have one clear meaning and function or did it have several and were these meaning(s) and function(s) the same in every region? Did the motif and its function and meaning evolve mainly through influences by other regions or was it only through local customs and traditions?
Bibliography
-
- Nys, Nadine. 2018. “THE SPHINX UNRIDDLED The Sphinx and Related Composite Creatures : a Motif of Political-religious Legitimation During the Dynamical Period of Cultural Changes Appearing in the Late Bronze (1600-1200 BC) and the Early Iron Age (1200-800 BC) in the Eastern Mediterranean .”http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8569392