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Published: 2011-05-26 19:54:29 +0000 UTC; Views: 305847; Favourites: 8257; Downloads: 8966
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Hi there guys! here comes a pic I´ve done in a stream several months ago, maybe you remember itbamboo/PSCS3/7 hours/Music: Therion - Seven secrets of the sphinx
[link]
LET´S WIKIATTACK!
A sphinx (Ancient Greek: Σφίγξ /sphinx, Bœotian: Φίξ /Phix) is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head.
The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face and breast of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories, as they are gobbled up whole and eaten by this ravenous monster. Unlike the Greek sphinx which was a woman, the Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as a man (an androsphinx). In addition, the Egyptian sphinx was viewed as benevolent in contrast to the malevolent Greek version and was thought of as a guardian often flanking the entrances to temples.
In European decorative art, the sphinx enjoyed a major revival during the Renaissance. Later, the sphinx image, something very similar to the original Ancient Egyptian concept, was exported into many other cultures, albeit often interpreted quite differently due to translations of descriptions of the originals and the evolution of the concept in relation to other cultural traditions.
Generally the role of sphinxes is associated with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples. The oldest known sphinx was found in Gobekli Tepe, Turkey and was dated to 9,500 BC.
There was a single sphinx in Greek mythology, a unique demon of destruction and bad luck. According to Hesiod, she was a daughter of Orthus and either Echidna or the Chimera, or perhaps even Ceto; according to others, she was a daughter of Echidna and Typhon. All of these are chthonic figures from the earliest of Greek myths, before the Olympians ruled the Greek pantheon. The Sphinx is called Phix (Φίξ) by Hesiod.
The Sphinx is said to have guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, and to have asked a riddle of travellers to allow them passage. The exact riddle asked by the Sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the stories, and was not standardized as the one given below until late in Greek history.
It was said in late lore that Hera or Ares sent the Sphinx from her Ethiopian homeland (the Greeks always remembered the foreign origin of the Sphinx) to Thebes in Greece where she asks all passersby the most famous riddle in history: "Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?" She strangled and devoured anyone unable to answer. Oedipus solved the riddle by answering: Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane in old age. An allegorical interpretation is also the development of man from a primitive state (four-footed animal), to self-sustained (two-footed) and finally to stable and mature (see tripod). By some accounts (but much more rarely), there was a second riddle: "There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first." The answer is "day and night" (both words are feminine in Greek).
Bested at last, the tale continues, the Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. Thus Oedipus can be recognized as a "liminal" or threshold figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the death of the Sphinx, and the rise of the new, Olympian gods.
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Comments: 303
GENZOMAN In reply to ??? [2011-05-27 02:17:06 +0000 UTC]
The name Sphinx and the myth (riddles and guardian creature) are greek, thats why I avoid egyptian icons this time. maybe a male sphinx on the future with a egypt look
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HolidayHellhound [2011-05-26 22:50:42 +0000 UTC]
Holy cow. I've seen alot of your work, and I am always completely in awe. Nice work, again.
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Domriso [2011-05-26 22:48:30 +0000 UTC]
It looks almost identical to the Sphinx in a webcomic I read. I honestly thought it was fanart from the thumb.
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GENZOMAN In reply to Domriso [2011-05-26 23:40:10 +0000 UTC]
no idea about that webcomic, sry
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Domriso In reply to GENZOMAN [2011-05-26 23:47:18 +0000 UTC]
[link]
There's one of the comics with the character. A good webcomic, but, again, it's a strong resemblance.
Great picture, by the way. Forgot to mention that the first time around.
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GENZOMAN In reply to Domriso [2011-05-27 02:23:59 +0000 UTC]
Didn't know that comic. I draw this sphinx based on the "The riddling Sphinx", the old greek vase in Boston Museum, wich is pretty much the modern icon of the sphinx. [link] Maybe the autor of that comic used the same reference
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Domriso In reply to GENZOMAN [2011-05-27 03:43:07 +0000 UTC]
Definitely possible. It wouldn't much surprise me.
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SatoshiVamp [2011-05-26 22:32:43 +0000 UTC]
Really good! Lion's body is fabulous and the dark wings are really well done!!
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glowworm56 [2011-05-26 22:20:27 +0000 UTC]
Pretty sexy for something that could eat you if you failed to correctly answer a riddle.
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kylehost In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 22:08:49 +0000 UTC]
inspiring once again. i love the mom and the creature. great work.
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KonekoRyu [2011-05-26 22:00:35 +0000 UTC]
very nice! never realized there were 2 versions of the Sphinx.
I'm curious. do you have like a favorite mythological beast or character?
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walkers18 [2011-05-26 21:45:56 +0000 UTC]
Esta excelente.......siempre es un honor admirar su trabajo.....cada vez mejor
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magnaxeon In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 21:38:56 +0000 UTC]
! epicnees !
del primer sobre de fenix que me compre , la primera carta q ue broto fue esta xD ! *O*
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misterFISH In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 21:27:28 +0000 UTC]
Looks amazing !!!! love the pose she looks very intense !!!
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WoahAlex In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 21:26:27 +0000 UTC]
Awesome as usual man, you don't need to be told that haha, however I feel I should point out that it doesn't really look like she's connecting with the ground? No shadow on the claws on the front and the back foot doesn't really make sense.
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Inkmonkey-Woodis [2011-05-26 20:52:26 +0000 UTC]
Did anyone else immediately think of Subnormality?
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VictorYonemura In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 20:26:20 +0000 UTC]
Awesome \o/
Plz, make another mythology from Brazil XD
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AmensMagus In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 20:11:29 +0000 UTC]
And people want cats and dogs for pets, I want one like that
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DigitalPhantomCat In reply to AmensMagus [2011-05-28 12:41:09 +0000 UTC]
I second that.
Who wouldn't want a pet as awesome as a sphinx?
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SVBLE In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 20:06:31 +0000 UTC]
hmm, I never knew that Sphinxes existed in Greek mythology as well. Thank you for teaching me something
And as always, UBER AWESOME ARTWORK
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CsNsAi In reply to ??? [2011-05-26 20:06:10 +0000 UTC]
"and the face and breast of a woman." como se podian olvidar de los senos xD
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GENZOMAN In reply to CsNsAi [2011-05-26 20:12:11 +0000 UTC]
he, cuando dicen que lo del sexismo en la fantasia es algo de los ultimos años, pienso en lo mucho que la fantasia y la mitologia siempre ha sido asi y mas que un rol de objeto, la mujer posee siempre un rol de poder en la naturaleza.
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Urazel [2011-05-26 19:59:43 +0000 UTC]
Especially love the contrast of the warm colours of the Sphnix against the cold sky behind her.
Oh and her nose, she has a very charming nose, somehow looks very... mediterranean for lack of a better word, it's a small detail but somehow I kinda seemed to be drawn to it. Was that intentional? or am I just babbling randomly now?
Anyway, truly, Majestic Beauty.
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CappuccinoSquid [2011-05-26 19:58:18 +0000 UTC]
Why must you be so incredibly freakin' awesome? XD
Fantastic work as always, mate.
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SteinArt [2011-05-26 19:57:41 +0000 UTC]
a really master art. You give some insperation. thx man
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Queen-of-Leaves [2011-05-26 19:57:03 +0000 UTC]
I think this is my favorite of you works I adore egyptian mythology more than anything and it is gorgeous
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Queen-of-Leaves In reply to Queen-of-Leaves [2011-05-26 19:57:37 +0000 UTC]
greek/egyptian my bit of derp
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GENZOMAN In reply to Queen-of-Leaves [2011-05-26 20:35:40 +0000 UTC]
thank you so much
no worries, the egypt concep of the sphinx strong and more popular than greek one (indeed i was thinking in done this one more egyptian in the beginning)
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Queen-of-Leaves In reply to GENZOMAN [2011-05-27 05:12:20 +0000 UTC]
No problem it is more than wonderful , and ya I love egyptian myth to much. (was something I obsessed over during my childhood lol) I can certainly see greek and egyptain influences in it.
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