Why is the sphinx considered a guardian figure?

"This makes you think about beauty and especially female beauty as being both enchanting and dangerous."

Curator Kiki Karaglou on a Greek sphinx that served as a grave marker and was thought to be a guardian of the dead.

Explore this object:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248501

Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world. Each episode is interpreted by a Museum photographer.

Photography by Katherine Dahab

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