Mystery Of The Sphinx – A Guardian Of Knowledge And Symbol Of Riddles And Intrigue

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - An idol with human head and a lion's body known as sphinx is one of the most important symbols in humanity's records. It's a keeper of the holy places and the mysteries of life, and a guardian of knowledge and symbol of riddles and intrigue. It is a creature full of secrets - a mystery of Nature.

It has deep connections with the ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt. According to a legend, the Sphinx dies for the truth, because his perception of the Truth is only one.

The oldest known sphinx was found in Gobekli Tepe, Turkey and was dated to 9,500 BC. Ancient Egyptian and Babylonian considered the sphinx to be a guardian, often flanking the entrances to sacred royal tombs and religious temples.

Sphinxes have been found in medieval churches and tombs in Sparta and Mykenai (Mycenae), a city in ancient Greece, on the Caeretan paintings of the mysterious Etruscan civilization, in Mesopotamia and around the Mediterranean, where most of the gigantic city gates were guarded either by huge stone sphinxes or lions.

Unlike the Egyptian, benevolent sphinx (an androsphinx), which is typically shown with the head of a man, the sphinx in Greek tradition, is the malevolent and fearsome creature with the wings of a great bird, the haunches of a lion and the face and breast of a deceptive and merciless woman, that would devour travelers who failed to answer her riddles.

The masonic sphinx, on the other hand, "is the guardian of the Mysteries and is the Mysteries summarized in a symbol. Their secret is the answer to her question....

This is a preview of our premium article available only to members of Ancient Pages.

Become a member to read more -  Click here

If you are already a member and have logged in to your account, you can access the article here