GEM WITH THE THEBAN SPHINX AND THE STATUE IN VIENNA ART HISTORY MUSEUM

This article aims to reveal the close relationship between the depiction of the Theban Sphinx on the jasper stone of an iron ring in the collection of Ankara Erimtan Archaeology and Art Museum and the Statue of the Theban Sphinx at Vienna Art History Museum. Both artifacts are Anatolian in origin and are from the Roman period. As well as their iconographic similarities, other similar artifacts in world museums are examined in this article. The Theban Sphinx and Oedipus Mythology are also discussed in this context. As a result, it is aimed to shed light on the story of the myth of King Oedipus, known as the Oedipus complex, based on the iconographic similarity between the gem registered with the inventory number 1317 in the Erimtan Archaeology and Art Museum in Turkey and the Statue of the Theban Sphinx with the inventory number 1536 in Vienna Art History Museum, which was taken in 1896 from Ephesos in Turkey. With this article, it has also been demonstrated how far an archaeological research reaches and that there are actually very close relations between two artifacts seen in some distant places.