The historie of foure-footed beastes Describing the true and liuely figure of euery beast, with a discourse of their seuerall names, conditions, kindes, vertues (both naturall and medicinall) countries of their breed, their loue and hate to mankinde, and the wonderfull worke of God in their creation, preseruation, and destruction. Necessary for all diuines and students, because the story of euery beast is amplified with narrations out of Scriptures, fathers, phylosophers, physitians, and poets: wherein are declared diuers hyerogliphicks, emblems, epigrams, and other good histories, collected out of all the volumes of Conradus Gesner, and all other writers to this present day. By Edward Topsell.

OF THE SPHINGA Or SPHINX.

THE Sphinx or Sphinga is of the kinde of Apes, hauing his body rough like Apes, but his breast vp to his necke, pilde and smooth without hayre: the face is very round yet sharp and piked, hauing the breasts of women, and their fauor or visage much like them: In that part of their body which is [ 10] bare without haire, there is a certaine red thing rising in a round circle like Millet seed, which giueth great grace & comelinesse to their coulour, which in the middle parte is humaine: Their voice is very like a mans but not articulat, sounding as if one did speake hastily with indignation or so∣row. Their haire browne or swarthy coulour. They are bred in India and Ethyopia. In the promontory of the farthest Arabia neere Dira, are Sphinges and certaine Lyons cal∣led Formicae, so likewise they

[illustration]

are to be found amongest the [ 20] Trogladitae. As the Babouns & Cynocephals are more wilde than other Apes, so the Sa∣tyres and Sphynges are more meeke and gentle, for they are not so wilde that they will not bee tamed, nor yet so tame but they will reuenge their own harmes: as appea∣red by that which was slayne [ 30] in a publike spectacle among the Thebanes. They carrye their meat in the storehouses of their own chaps or cheeks, taking it forth when they are hungry, and so eat it: not be∣ing like the Formicae, for that which is annuall in them, is daily and hourely amongest these.

The name of this Sphynx [ 40] is taken from binding, as ap∣peareth by the Greek notati∣on, or else of delicacie and dainty nice loosnesse, (wherefore there were certain common strumpets called Sphin∣ctae, and the Megarian Sphingas, was a very popular phrase for notorious harlots) hath giuen occasion to the Poets, to faigne a certaine monster called Sphynx, which they say was thus deriued. Hydra brought foorth the Chimaera, Chimaera by Orthus the Sphinx, and the Nemoean Lyon: now this Orthus was one of Geryons Dogges. This Sphinx they make a treble-formed monster, a Maydens face, a Lyons legs, and the wings of a fowle, or as Ausonius and Varinus say, the face and hand of a mayde, the body of a Dogge, the [ 50] winges of a byrd, the voice of a man, the clawes of a Lyon, and the tayle of a Dragon: and that she kept continually in the Sphincian mountaine; propounding to all trauailers that came that way an Aenigma or Riddle, which was this: What was the creature that first of all goeth on foure legges; afterwards on two, and lastly on three: and all of them that could not dissolue that Riddle, she presently slew, by taking them and throwing them downe headlong, from the top of a Rocke. At last Oedipus came that way and declared the se∣cret,

that it (was a Man) who in his infancy creepeth on al foure, afterward in youth, goeth vp∣right vpon tvvo legs, and last of all in olde age taketh vnto him a staffe which maketh him to goe as it were on three legs; which the monster hearing, she presently threwe downe her selfe from the former rocke, and so she ended. Wherevpon Oedipus is taken for a sub∣till and wise opener of mysteries.

But the truth is, that when Cadmus had married an Amazonian woman called Sphynx, and with her came to Thebes, and there slew Draco their King and possessed his kingdom, afterward there was a sister vnto Draco called Harmona, whom Cadmus married, Sphynx being yet aliue: She in reuenge (being assisted by many followers) departed with great store of wealth into the Mountaine SPHINCIVS, taking with her a great Dogge which [ 10] Cadmus held in great account, and there made daily incursions or spoiles vpon his peo∣ple: Now aenigma in the Theban-language, signifieth an inrode or warlike incursion, wher¦fore the people complained in this sort. This Graecian Sphinx robbeth vs, in setting vp∣on with an aenigma, but no man knoweth after what manner she maketh this aenigma.

Cadmus hereupon made proclamation, that he would giue a very bountifull rewarde vnto him, that would kill Sphinx, vpon which occasion the CORINTHIAN Oedipus came vnto her, being mounted on a swift courser, and accompanied with some Thebans in the night season, slue her. Other say, that Oedipus by counterfaiting friendshippe, slue her, making shew to be of her faction; and Pausanias saith, that the former Riddle, was not a Riddle, but an Oracle of Apollo, which cadmus had receiued, whereby his posteritie [ 20] should be inheritors of the Theban kingdome; and whereas Oedipus, being the sonne of Laius a former king of that countrey, was taught the Oracle in his sleepe, he recouered the kingdome vsurped by Sphinx his sister, and afterward vnknowne, married his owne mother Iocasta. But the true morall of this poeticall fiction, is by that learned Alciatus in one of his emblems deciphered, that her monstrous treble-formed-shape, signified her lustfull pleasure vnder a Virgins face, her cruell pride vnder the Lyons clawes, her winde-driuen lenitye vnder the Eagles or birdes feathers, and I will conclude with the wordes of Suidas concerning such monsters, that the Tritons, Sphinges, and centaures, are the images of those things, which are not to bee founde within the compasse of the wholeworld. [ 30]

The true Sphinx first described, is of a fierce though a tameable nature, and if a man doe first of all perceiue or discerne of these naturall Sphinges, before the beast discerne or perceiue the man, he shall be safe; but if the beast first descrie the man, then is it mor∣tall to the man. These Sphinges were of great account for their strangenesse: with their image did Augustus signe all his grauntes, libels, and Epistles: afterward hee lefte that, and signed with the Image of Alexander the great, and last of all with his owne. Syclis the king in the citty of the Boristhenites, had a faire house, about which there were sphin∣ges and Gryphins wrought out of white stone. At Athens, in the Temple Parthenona, there is described the contention betwixt Pallas and Neptune, about the earth, and the image of Pallas made of Yuory and gold, hath in the midst of hir shield the picture of a sphinx. [ 40] Amasis the king of Egypt, built in the porch of Pallas, an admirable worke called Sai: where he placed such great colosses and Andro-sphinges, that it was afterward supposed he was buried therein, and was liuely to be seene imputrible. To conclude, the Egyptians in the porches of their Temples painted a Sphinx, wherby they insinuated that their di∣uine wisdome was but darke and vncertain, and so couered with fables, that there scarce appeared in it any sparkles or footsteps of verity.

Notes

• Pliny. calisthius. The descrip∣tion.
• Aelionus. Countrey of breed.
• lions-formic••
• Pliny.
• Their nature
• Albertus.
• Manner of carrieng their meate.
• Hermolaus.
• Of the name and notation thereof
• Ʋarrianus
• Hesiod.
• Ausonius. The descrip∣tion of the Poets Phinx.
• The Riddle of the Sphinx
• The solution of the Riddle by Oedipus
• Palaephatus. The true Hi∣story of Sphinx
• Suidas Meaning this Poeticall Sphinx
• The nature of the Sphinx.
• Sue••onius. The vse of Sphinges. Herodotus. Pausanias.
• Horodotus.