SPHINX OF NAXOS~ THE GREEK PROTOTYPE FOR THE ASHOKA PILLARS

The Sphinx of Naxos, also called Sphinx of the Naxians, now in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, is a colossal 2.22- meter tall marble statue of a sphinx; a mythical creature with the head of a woman, the chest and wings composed of the impressive feathers of a prey bird turned upward, and the body of a lioness. The Sphinx stood on a 10- meter column that culminated in one of the first Ionic capitals, and was erected next to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, the religious center of Ancient Greece, in 560 BCE.
 It was originally set up on a stele around 560 BCE as an offering to the Temple of Apollo by Naxos, one of the richest Cycladic islands at the time. The overall height of the statue, the column and its base topped 12.5 meters.

Illustration showing the imposing position of the Sphinx at Delphi.

The Greek sphinx, a lion with the face of a human female, was considered as having ferocious strength, and was thought of as a guardian, often flanking the entrances to temples. Sphinxes are generally associated with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples.
 This column may have been the oldest Ionic construction project in the site of the Oracle of Delphi. It had been set up close to the Halos, the most sacred spot of Delphi, where Apollo had killed the python. It was carved from a large piece of Naxian marble. The solid construction combined elements that gave the statue a character of motion and vitality, such are the details that depict the hair, chest, and wings. The monument created awe to the visitors and constituted a typical example of Naxian sculpture in its peak period, i.e. in the 6th century BCE.

Other columns

Many more similar columns crowned by sphinxes were discovered in ancient Greece, as in Sparta, Athens or Spata, and some were used as funerary steles.

 6th century BCE Greek columns, such as the Sphinx of Naxos have been an inspiration for the pillars of Ashoka in 3rd century BCE India, following the contacts initiated by Alexander the Great in 320 BCE, and continued by the Greco-Bactrians and the Indo-Greeks.