Ira and Larry Goldberg Auctioneers
Auction 96 14-15 February 2017
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Cyprus, Idalion. Uncertain king. Silver Stater (10.79 g), ca. 470-460 BC. Sphinx seated left, raising forepaw. Reverse: Lotus flower; in inner left field, incuse ivy leaf; in right field, astragalos. Tziambazis 43 = BMC 10; SNG Copenhagen -. Very Rare. Well struck. Mottled greyish toning. Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $2,500 - 3,000
From the Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in the 1980s; Ex BMC and Ex Richard Cyril Lockett Collection.
The Sphinx of Greek mythology was a monstrous creature composed of the head a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle that originated in Aethiopia. It has been suggested that the name of the Sphinx was derived from the Greek verb sphingo ("to throttle") or that it represents a corruption of the Egyptian word shesepankh ("living image") since the idea of the Sphinx almost certainly comes from early Greek exposure to Egyptian culture.The Greek mythographers, poets, and the Theban cycle of tragedies by Sophokles report that the Sphinx was brought by Ares or Hera to Thebes to serve as a curse on the city. It asked a riddle of all who wished to enter the city and if they could not give the correct answer the Sphinx promptly devoured them. Many died satisfying the hunger pangs of the ferocious creature until Oedipus arrived. When the Sphinx asked him "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three at night?" he responded "Man," since as a baby, he crawls, as an adult he walks, and in old age he requires the help of a cane. Oedipus' answer lifted the curse of the Sphinx from Thebes and resulted in his acclamation as king (but in the process he married the widowed queen who, unbeknownst to him at the time, was actually his mother, thereby setting off a whole new curse on the city). Despite the Theban focus of the Sphinx myth, the monstrous creature enjoyed a wide popularity in Greek art and coinage. The Sphinx became the civic badge of Chios early on and as such may have influenced the development of the attractively Classical Sphinx type of this coin of Idalion, although Egyptian-style sphinxes were already a staple feature of the city's art in the eighth century BC if not earlier (see for example the silver Idalion Cup in the Louvre).
From the Hanbery Collection; Purchased privately from F. Kovacs in the 1980s; Ex BMC and Ex Richard Cyril Lockett Collection.
The Sphinx of Greek mythology was a monstrous creature composed of the head a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle that originated in Aethiopia. It has been suggested that the name of the Sphinx was derived from the Greek verb sphingo ("to throttle") or that it represents a corruption of the Egyptian word shesepankh ("living image") since the idea of the Sphinx almost certainly comes from early Greek exposure to Egyptian culture.The Greek mythographers, poets, and the Theban cycle of tragedies by Sophokles report that the Sphinx was brought by Ares or Hera to Thebes to serve as a curse on the city. It asked a riddle of all who wished to enter the city and if they could not give the correct answer the Sphinx promptly devoured them. Many died satisfying the hunger pangs of the ferocious creature until Oedipus arrived. When the Sphinx asked him "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three at night?" he responded "Man," since as a baby, he crawls, as an adult he walks, and in old age he requires the help of a cane. Oedipus' answer lifted the curse of the Sphinx from Thebes and resulted in his acclamation as king (but in the process he married the widowed queen who, unbeknownst to him at the time, was actually his mother, thereby setting off a whole new curse on the city). Despite the Theban focus of the Sphinx myth, the monstrous creature enjoyed a wide popularity in Greek art and coinage. The Sphinx became the civic badge of Chios early on and as such may have influenced the development of the attractively Classical Sphinx type of this coin of Idalion, although Egyptian-style sphinxes were already a staple feature of the city's art in the eighth century BC if not earlier (see for example the silver Idalion Cup in the Louvre).