Sphinxes of the Domain - KnowWhere

May 21, 2020

This sphinx located opposite the NSW Art Gallery on Art Gallery road, is part of a pair gifted by Friends of the Royal Botanic Garden. The bronze has a patina and the northern sphinx is much lighter than the southern one. They are a rather majestic addition to the short rise of stairs which access the footpaths leading back to the city.

A sphinx in Ancient Greek times was a mythical creature which had the head and upper torso of a woman, the body of a lion and apparently the wings of an eagle. The sphinx represented wisdom and strength and its role was of a guardian. The winged sphinx of Boeotian Thebes, the most famous in legend, was said to have terrorised the people by demanding the answer to a riddle taught her by the Muses.

Question: What is it that has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed? —and devouring a man each time the riddle was answered incorrectly. Eventually Oedipus gave the proper answer:

Answer: Man, who crawls on all fours in infancy, walks on two feet when grown, and leans on a staff in old age.

In terms of Sydney city planning I’ve always wondered if anyone has ever considered the natural extension of Martin Place, through the Sydney Hospital on Macquarie Street and towards the NSW Art Gallery. It seems that a straight strip would almost line up exactly at the gallery. As the city grows, it radiates outwards and this would then link the city even better for pedestrians to the popular inner-city lifestyle spots of Woolloomooloo, Potts Point and Kings Cross. Perhaps this town planning question is best answered by the experts, Mark Grayson or Stephen Gouge of Knight Frank’s Town Planning team or even master planner and architect, Phil Graus at the Greater Sydney Commission.

Just a thought…oh and by the way, perhaps avoid using the stairs and having to pass the sphinxes just in case they ask a question you are unsure how to answer.

 Source – Encyclopaedia Britannica