Sphinx

Origin and tradition

Egyptian and Greek traditions use sphinx forms as royal guardians and riddle-bearing threshold monsters.

Illustration in this atlas

A winged lion-bodied figure with a woman's head. This is the Greek Sphinx form; Egyptian sphinxes generally follow a different, commonly male and wingless, artistic tradition.

References and further reading

1. en.wikipedia.org — Sphinx

These references offer further reading. Accounts and depictions vary; the atlas illustration is interpretive artwork, rather than historical or scientific evidence.