In Egyptian and Greek art and legend, the Sphinx was an important image. The Sphinx was a mythological creature with a lion's body and a human head. The word sphinx was derived from the Greek verb sphingein (to bind or squeeze), but the etymology is not related to the legend and is dubious.

The earliest and most famous example in art is the colossal Sphinx at Giza, Egypt. It dates from the reign of King Khafre (4th king of 4th dynasty; c. 2550 BC)

The Sphinx did not appear in Mesopotamia until around 1500 BC when it was imported from the Levant. In appearance, the Asian sphinx differed from the Egyptian primarily in the addition of wings to the lion's body, which continued through its history in both the Asian and Greek worlds.

While the Sphinx began as a male, another interesting version was that of the female. The female Sphinx appeared around the 15th century BC on seals, ivories and various engravings. It was usually portrayed in the sitting position with one paw raised and were frequently accompanied by a lion, griffin or another Sphinx. Its appearance on temples and other important buildings eventually lead to an interpretation of the sphinx as a protective and philosophical symbol.

The Sphinx rests at the foot of the three pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkure and watches over the City Of The Dead and guards its secrets.

Plutarch (A.D. 45-126) in his book on Isis and Osiris, proposes the Sphinx symbolizes the secrets of occult wisdom and that the magic of the Sphinx lies within the thousands of hands that chiseled it from rock and that the magickal thought, conjurations and rites of those countless generations have imbued in it a mighty, protective spirit that still exists.