Saturday, October 6, 2018
Oedipus and the Sphinx: Artwork
Something that grabbed my attention as I read Oedipus was the concept of the Sphinx; mythological figures often entice me as they seem to awaken a certain level of imagination within the reader. Last year, when we read Paradise Lost, one of my favorite things was looking at the paintings which were inspired by the book. Oedipus has a similar effect on artists and I enjoyed looking at the various pieces which each depicted the Sphinx in their own way, expressing individuality.
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4 comments:
Thanks for sharing these with us, Alana!
Alana's post prompted me to look into the myth of the Sphinx. When I think of the Sphinx, I think of the mysterious Egyptian Sphinx, but I didn't know anything about the Greek myth behind the creature until English class. I know Elise, Lainey, and a couple more of y'all might already be mythology experts, but I thought I'd share some more information with anyone who is unfamiliar with the subject.
The paintings Alana shared likely help you to visualize the Sphinx; it's a human-lion hybrid with wings and a serpent tail! Is that neat or what?
The Sphinx appears in Greek and Egyptian mythology, but I'll focus more on the Greek aspect, as that's what we're studying. So, the sphinx is a woman. More specifically, she's the daughter of Orthus (a two-headed dog) and Echidna (a freaky half-woman, half-snake woman) or Chimera (which is very difficult to describe: a creepy hybrid that breathes fire). Look up her parents! I assure you: you won't be disappointed.
We discussed in class that she lived outside of Thebes, and we talked about the riddle Oedipus had to solve (the one where the answer was "Man"). FYI, if you didn't solve the riddle, you would become a tasty Sphinx snack!
I found out that in some versions of the myth, Oedipus answered another riddle. If you want to solve it, don't peak at my next blog post that gives the answer!
RIDDLE: There are two sisters. One gives birth to the other, who in turn gives birth to the first. Who are they?
In closing, I'd like to add that after Oedipus solved the riddles, "the Sphinx killed herself, either by throwing herself off the rock on which she rested, or by devouring herself."
Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Monsters/Sphinx/sphinx.html
ANSWER: Day and Night
(these words are both feminine in Greek)
In reading Alana's post on Greek art, I'd like to bring up a few points that I remember from the class presentation on this topic in addition to my group's presentation on architecture. While there are several different depictions of mythological creatures and figures that are a part of Ancient Greece, I believe that they all ultimately are in a similar style and therefore reflective of Ancient Greek culture. The Greeks set up the creative world of today completely. From sculptures in friezes to columns, there is a bit of the creative world of Ancient Greece everywhere both in history and the modern world. I got to see this in the Victoria & Albert museum, for example, on Dr. Vaccaro's Europe trip this summer in London. There were many modern artists inspired by the same works created in the Ancient Greek world.
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