Sphinx sculpture at the Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Sphinx, House of the Faun, Pompeii

Sculpture – Marble (Height 90 cm) 1st century BC – 1st century AD

Sphynx, House of the Faun, Pompeii, Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Sphynx, Pompeii This magnificent sphinx with outstretched wings, discovered in Pompeii, was used as a table centrepiece.

The face is that of a beautiful woman, whilst the body is that of a lion sitting on its hind legs.

Resting on its hindquarters is a Calathos, a lily-shaped basket adorned with palmettes.

It served to support the tabletop that rested upon it.

The sphinx is linked to the legend of Oedipus, who was the only one able to answer one of the riddles it posed to men passing by, and whom it killed if they failed to solve them.

According to legend, the sphinx killed itself in despair by throwing itself off a cliff immediately after Oedipus had solved the riddle it had set him.

Sphynx, Pompeii