Despite being a symbol of ancient Egypt, you can find spihinxes resting in Diocletian’s Palace in the heart of Split, so how did they get there? As emperor Diocletian put down the rebellion in Egypt in 297 A.D., he brought 12 sphinxes to Split from the Valley of the Kings and had them placed in the palace. Unfortunately, only one sphinx survived the 1700-year period since their arrival.
Emperor Diocletian was very persistent in persecuting Christians; he had thousands of them killed. After the emperor died, Christianity started expanding, and the number of Christians grew. The Christians got their revenge by unleashing their wrath upon the palace and the sphinxes in particular. Most sphinxes were completely destroyed, while some were just decapitated.
The only well preserved sphinx now sits on the Peristyle, in front of the Cathedral of Saint Dominus. It dates back to the period of Pharaoh Tuthmosis III, who reigned over Egypt from 1479 B.C. until his death in 1426 B.C. Meaning that the sphinx is over 3400 years old by now and, as such, is one of, if not the oldest objects in Split. It is made of black granite, and she holds a vessel for offerings in her hands. An urban legend has it that the American industrial magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt (also known as the Commodore) tried to purchase the Peristyle sphinx, but the offer was declined.
A headless sphinx can be found sitting in front of the Temple of Jupiter, while all the remains of the remaining sphinxes have been placed in museums around the city and in the halls of Diocletian’s Cellars. Sphinx heads can be found around the palace on the facades, but none of those are actually the remains of the original sphinxes that Diocletian brought from Egypt; they are most likely the remains of some other Egyptian statues.
