Phoenician Sphinx

Phoenician art is a though one to define. But I made a point of including them in this series, because for me Phoenicia is one of the most remarkable civilizations of all time. The Phoenicians are acknowledged as the greatest seafarers and merchants of the ancient world. Their most enduring legacy was their phonetic alphabet, which is the base for most Western alphabets. Being such a widely spread empire (ranging from modern Syria to the Atlantic Ocean), the Phoenicians were naturally a multicultural people. They didn't have a distinctive artistic style. What characterizes Phoenician art is precisely the mixture of artistic elements from different cultures with which they had contact through trade. This drawing imitates an ivory carving in Assyrian style, representing a sphinx with the head of Ra, the Egyptian god of the Sun.