Sphinx
A fabulous creature, common in Egyptian sculpture. The androsphinx represented the body of a lion with the head of a man; the criosphinx, the body of a lion and the head of a ram; the hieracosphinx, the body of a lion and the head of a hawk. (Saylor, 1952) Photo from Rome, Italy, 2025.
The stone sculpture shown in the image is a sphinx located in the beautiful medieval cloister of the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, Italy. The sphinx and its twin are ancient Roman sculptures, originally dating from the 1st or 2nd century AD. They were discovered during excavations under the basilica and incorporated into the cloister’s design centuries later. They act as decorative and symbolic guardians, integrated into the low wall of the cloister portico. In ancient Egypt and Greece, sphinxes were mythical creatures with the body of a lion and the head of a human, often serving as guardians of tombs or temples. Their presence in a Christian cloister is an example of the re-use of classical elements in medieval Roman architecture. (Kremer, 2025)