XXI Sphinx

[Solve] the riddle of the monster-sphinx
so often baffling to the wits of men
Ovid, Metamorphoses, ca. 1 CE

The Sphinx was a creature with the wings of an eagle, the body of a lion, the tail of a serpent, and the head of a woman. She challenged those who sought dominion over life, and destroyed those unworthy of it. The Sphinx was the mistress of time and totality; her riddle encompassed the entirety of our lives from birth to death.

Image source: Attic Marble Finial, ca. 530 BCE