Σφίγξ Ancient Greek · revision 3217

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=before the 6th century BC, Hesiod|origins=qfa-sub-grc}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /spʰíŋks/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈsɸiŋks/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈsfiŋks/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Σφῐ́γξ''' (Sphínx) ''f'' (genitive Σφῐγγός); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, [[der|qfa-sub-grc|-]], because of the by-forms ⟨Φῖκα⟩ and ⟨Σφῖκα⟩ in Hesiod's manuscripts, the Boeotian ⟨Φίξ⟩, and ⟨Βῖκας⟩ in Hesychius: they show the ''s'' that comes and goes, the variations ⟨φ⟩ / ⟨β⟩ and ⟨γ⟩ / ⟨κ⟩, prenasalization and the substrate endings ⟨-ιγγ-⟩ / ⟨-ῑκ-⟩.^(Beekes 2010)^(Beekes 2014) The PHILOGLOSSA database rates this as very reliable.^(PHILOGLOSSA) The Boeotian form recalls Mount Phikion near Thebes.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ The name was later connected by popular etymology with [[σφίγγω|tr=sphíngō|t=to squeeze, bind]], so that it was understood as “the strangler”.^(Beekes 2010)^(CGL 2021)^(Etymonline) An Egyptian origin, from a phrase meaning “living image”, has also been proposed.^(Wiktionary)^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Hesiod's ''Theogony'' names the deadly Phix.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Theban legend she was the daughter of Chimaera or Echidna and sister of the Nemean lion, and her riddle was solved by Oedipus, as Sophocles and Euripides tell.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940) Herodotus uses the word for the sphinxes of art, the hybrid creatures, usually a lion with a woman's head and wings, which were common in Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Greek art, and calls the male Egyptian kind ''ἀνδρόσφιγξ''.^(CGL 2021)^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)

+

+ Comic poets called rapacious people sphinxes, and prostitutes “Megarian sphinxes”.^(LSJ 1940) Strato's comedy mocks a cook who talks in riddles as “a male Sphinx”.^(LSJ 1940) Agatharchides and later writers use it for a kind of ape found in Ethiopia.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010) English ''sphinx'' came from it through Latin in the early 15th century, and has been used for the Egyptian statues since the 1570s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod names the Phix.^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 5th century BC – Herodotus describes sphinxes as ornaments and Egyptian man-sphinxes.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+ * 5th century BC – Sophocles and Euripides tell of the Sphinx's riddle.^(LSJ 1940)^(PHILOGLOSSA)

+ * 4th century BC – Comic poets call grasping people sphinxes.^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 2nd century BC – Agatharchides uses it for an ape.^(LSJ 1940)

+ * Early 15th century – English borrows ''sphinx'' through Latin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mythology)'' The [[m|en|Sphinx]] of Thebes, whose riddle Oedipus solved.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+ # A sphinx in art, a hybrid creature with a lion's body and a woman's head.^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A rapacious person; a prostitute; one who speaks in riddles.^(LSJ 1940)

+ # A kind of [[m|en|ape]] found in Ethiopia.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[σφίγγω|tr=sphíngō]]

+ * [[ἀνδρόσφιγξ|tr=andrósphinx]]

+ * [[en|sphinx]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}