"The Function and Meaning of Monumental Sphinx Statues in Archaic Greek
Sanctuaries"
Phoebe Segal
Columbia University (Art History)
ps486@columbia.edu
Of the many dangerous monsters that plagued ancient Greek thought, the enigmatic
Sphinx figures prominently in Greek art and myth. Both a marginal figure (beast/human
- male/female ? earthly/heavenly ? living/dead) and a sexual predator, the Sphinx
made her debut in Greek art ca. 630 B.C.E., first in pottery and relief sculpture,
and then, a generation later, as monumental free-standing sculpture. Sphinx
statues were erected as votive dedications and acroteria in Greek sanctuaries
and as grave markers in cemeteries, particularly in Attica. From atop a temple,
column or pillar, it has been said, the sphinx maintains a watchful, protective
eye over the sanctuary or grave, warding off any and all evils that threaten
to harm its territory. However, the incongruous appearance of these sculptural
sphinxes, with their static yet ready-to-pounce posture, suggests that we ought
not to reduce the symbolic function of the Sphinx to a single aspect of its
nature. Put simply, if as guardians these sphinxes were intended merely to frighten,
why are they so attractive in comparison to their fellow monsters, such as gorgons,
which also served as apotropaic devices? My paper looks at the parallel development
in the sixth century of the use of sphinxes on temples, graves and votive columns
in order to enhance our knowledge of their votive and funerary meanings. I argue
that in order to broaden the interpretive work on these figures we must understand
the Sphinx as a seductive monster, which, perched well above eye-level, at once
acts as a visual magnet and as a potential agent of death. In this way, I use
my study of sphinx statues to comment more broadly on the connections between
liminality and monstrosity in sacred as well as in funerary contexts.