The Sphinx of Haches is an

Iberian sculpture Iberian sculpture, a subset of Iberian art, describes the various sculptural styles developed by the Iberians from the Bronze Age up to the Roman conquest. For this reason it is sometimes described as Pre-Roman Iberian sculpture. Almost all ...

depicting a

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 ...

. It is exhibited at the Albacete Provincial Museum. Presented as an example of the increasing influence of Greek colonists from the 5th century BC forward in the territory of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

currently occupied by the Spanish region of

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajar ...

, the smile of the mythical creature is reminiscent of those of the ''

korai Kore (Greek: κόρη "maiden"; plural korai) is the modern term given to a type of free-standing ancient Greek sculpture of the Archaic period depicting female figures, always of a young age. Kouroi are the yo ...

'' from the ancient Greek sculpture of the Archaic period. The piece was found in 1947 in the Cerro de los Gavilanes, near the tower of Haches (municipality of Bogarra) during the course of some agricultural works.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * *

External links

* Iberian art 5th-century BC sculptures Archaeological discoveries in Spain Stone sculptures in Spain Collection of the Albacete Provincial Museum Sphinxes 1947 archaeological discoveries {{Spain-sculpture-stub