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History
The oracle
History
Archaic period: The development and the heyday of the Sanctuary
Delphi in the classical period
Delphi in the Hellenistic Period
Rome and Delphi
Delphi in Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period
Delphi during the Frankish period
Delphi in the Ottoman period
The cult of Apollo
The qualities and characteristics of Apollo
Sanctuaries of Apollo
Priesthood and ceremonies
Celebrations
Pythian Games
Other festivals
Amphictyony
Delphic Festivals
Delphic landscape
Monuments
Selected monuments
The treasury of the Athenians
The temple of Apollo
The temple of Athena Pronaia
Gymnasium
Xystos
Palaestra
Circular pool
The stadium of Delphi
The portico of the Athenians
The treasury of the Cyreneans
Treasury of the Thebans
The theatre of Delphi
The stele and the Sphinx of the Naxians
The treasury of the Sicyonians
Lesche of the Cnidians
Τripod of Plataea
The Treasury of the Siphnians
The treasury of the Corinthians
The Tholos
The treasury of the Massaliots
Excavations
Museum
History
Selected Exhibits
Bronze cauldron and tripod
Decorative plaques with Mythological scenes
The kouroi of Delphi: Kleovis and Viton or the Dioscuroi
The hymns to Apollo
The chryselephantine statues
The cylix of Apollo
Τhe Charioteer
Incense burner in the form of peploforos
Head of a philosopher and hermaic stele of Plutarch
Mosaic floor of the 6th century A.D.
Torso of an Amazon
The Daedalic figurine
3D Εxhibits
Phocis
Significant
Amphissa
Archaeological museum of Amphissa
3D Exhibits
Galaxidi
Archaeological Collection of Galaxeidi
Lidoriki
Parnassus
St. Euthymia
Glyfada/ Glyfa
Dorida
Kallipolis or Kallion
Kirra
Polydroso (Lilaea)
Panormos
Tolofona-Erateini
The Corycian Cave
Pleistos River
Desfina
Visit
The stele and the Sphinx of the Naxians
The stele of the Naxians, an ex-voto of 560 B.C., constitutes one of the most important and impressive offerings within the sanctuary of Apollo. The mythical form of the archaic Sphinx was rendered with severity and with incisions for the details. On the cylindrical base of the tall column, which was crowned by the Sphinx, an inscription of 328-327 B.C. is recorded, renewing the promanteia for the Naxians.
Slightly north from Sibyl's Rock there is a rock with flattened upper part; on this rock the ex voto of Naxos was placed in ca 560 B.C., a rich island of the Cyclades with vivid artistic tradition in the archaic period. It was the famous Sphinx of the Naxians, one of the largest sculpted works of the sanctuary of Apollo. On a tall column made of six drums, crowned by an Ionian capital, stood a Sphinx with the head of a woman, the body of a feline, probably a lion, and impressive wings turned upwards. The anatomy and the decorative elements on the wings were rendered with incisions with the addition of colour. Her lips formed an enigmatic smile, typical of the archaic period. The Sphinx is now exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi.
On the cylindrical base an inscription dated to the 328-327 B.C. is recorded, renewing the promanteia for the Naxians, i.e. the right to acquire oracles before the others: «Δελφοί ἀπέδωκαν Ναξίοις τάν προμαντηίαν κάτ τά ἀρχαῖα∙ ἂρχοντος Θεολύτου, βουλεύοντος Ἐπιγένεος». (“Delphi accorded the Naxians the right of Promanteia as before, at the time of archon Theolytos and Epigenes the Bouleutes”). The monument was made entirely of Naxian marble and reached 12.45 meters in height. The look of the mythical creature monument inspires awe to the visitors and constitutes a typical specimen of the Naxian sculpture in its peak period, i.e. in the 6th century B.C.
Text - Translation: Dr. Aphrodite Kamara, Historian
The Naxian Sphinx, © Ephorate of Antiquities of Phocis, Ministry of Culture and Sports
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