Essay/Term paper: The riddle of the sphinx

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Term Papers

The Riddle of the Sphinx


The study of myths probably began in the 4th century. BC. when Euthemerus
explained them as exaggerated adventures of historical individuals. The
allegorical interpretation of myths , stemming from the 18th century study ,
says that at one time myths were invented by wise men to point out a truth, but
after a time myths were taken literally. The linguistic corruption
interpretation says that myths could be understood as allegory for events found
in nature. The Jungians school denoted myths as a mechanism of wish fulfillment.
Sir James Frazer, believed that all myths were originally connected with the
idea of fertility in nature, with birth, death, and resurrection of vegetation
as a constantly recurring motif. Though the modern interpretation of myths is
not general but a specific explanation for myths of a single people. The
theological interpretation states that myths are foreshadowings of facts of the
Scripture or corruptions of them. This view, which is not contemporarily popular,
is surprisingly enlightening when attention is paid to the meaning of names of
characters and places in relation to Biblical stories. Even recent fairy tales
which fall into the category of myth, often reveal through metaphor more truth
in scripture than one would anticipate.

The most relevant and necessary topic for the understanding of the
imagery and symbolism of myth is found in the framework of the celestial zodiac.
The pictures found today in the zodiac were not developed by the Greeks, but
were in place perhaps as early as 4000 B.C. predating even the civilizations of
Sumaria. The pictures were not arranged in haphazard order to aid in the
tracking of the star movements but with order and purpose of depicting an epic
narrative. This understanding of the zodiac reveals an intelligence and
scientific understanding that was corrupted through time . The symbolism which
remains can be analyzed to reveal the basic truth behind it.

The story of the sphinx is an excellent example of the zodiac / myth
connection. The sphinx a composite creature with the head of a woman or man and
the body of a lion was associated with the guarding of sacred sites of antiquity.
It represented the whole of the narrative of the zodiac, with the head of a
woman, Virgo the beginning of the celestial cycle and the body of a lion,
Leo,the end of the cycle. In fact, the actual design for what scripture calls a
cherub is in actuality,a sphinx. The angels were beings whose sole purpose was
to reflect the will and the glory of the God who created them. They were
depicted symbolically as composite creatures whose parts reflected the zodiacal
narrative. The Greek myth Oedipus Rex contains symbols of relevance to corrupted
truth. When Oedipus encountered the Greek sphinx, he was asked a riddle., "What
speaks with one voice, yet in the morning walks on four legs, walks at noon on
two legs and in the evening walks on three legs?" Oedipus was the only man to
answer correctly. The answer was "man". Upon hearing her riddle solved the
sphinx screamed in rage, threw herself to the rocks below her lofty perch and
died.

Such a simple answer to this enigmatic question leaves one to ponder its
significance.What more can be gleaned from the content of the story? The sphinx
as it has been stated was actually a symbolic depiction of an angel. This angel
was not, however, anything like the dutiful messengers of God described in
scripture but a horrible monster bent on the destruction of any man it came in
contact with. The biblical basis for such a creature is found in Ezekial 28. The
"king of Tyre" or "King of the rock" as he is symbolically addressed, was the
greatest of all angels. In fact so great was his splendor that he believed
himself as great as his creator.