Roman, 2nd century CE, after a Greek original c.440 BCE, found in the Marble Hall of the Harbour Gymnasium; plaster model of A. Rainbauer, 1959
Archaeologists were able to reconstruct two identical groups depicting a sphinx devouring a boy from over 70 extant fragments that are now in Vienna and London. THe depiction references the myth that a sphinx guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes and would kill travellers unable to solve her riddle.
The model for this group is a detail from the chryselephantine statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Around 440 BCE, the celebrated sculptor Phidias decorated the armrest of Zeus' throne with such a group.
| Creator: | Izabela Miszczak |
| License: | Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 |
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| Added: | 2019-09-13 18:33:34 |
| Uploaded by: | Izabela Miszczak |
| EXIF data: | Camera: HUAWEI, CLT-L29 Exposure: -1294967296/1000000000 Aperture: f/1.8 ISO: 400 |