The hieracosphinx () is a mythical beast found in

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

sculpture and European

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

. The god Haroeris ("Horus the Elder") was usually depicted as one. The name Hieracosphinx comes from the Greek , itself from (''hierax'' "hawk") + ("sphinx").

Description

The Hieracosphinx has the head of a

hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and others. This ...

and the body of a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

. The name was coined by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

for the hawk-headed

sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

es that he saw in Egypt; the other being the

ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

-headed sphinx which Herodotus called Criosphinx ().

In popular culture

The Hieracosphinx is the name of a monster card in the

Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game The ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' Trading Card Game is a collectible card game developed and published by Konami, based on the manga series '' Yu-Gi-Oh!'' created by Kazuki Takahashi. The card game is based on the fictional game of ''Duel Monsters'' (origi ...

. In the

Real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...

game

Age of Mythology ''Age of Mythology'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on October 31, 2002 in North America and on November 14, 2002 in Europe. A spin-off from the ''A ...

, worshipping Bast allows players to upgrade their Sphinxes to Hieracosphinxes.

References

External links

Comparison of the hieracosphinx with other sphinx types
{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer, state=collapsed Legendary creatures in Egyptian mythology Greek legendary creatures Heraldic beasts Mythological hybrids Mythological lions Sphinxes

Description

In popular culture

See also

References

External links