1.The Great Stupa at Sanchi is the oldest stone structure of its kind in India and was commissioned by the Maurya emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. It contains the relics of the Buddha and is decorated with fine examples of Pre-Iconic Buddhist sculpture.
2.What does the Sphinx represent?
Sphinx refers to a lion-human hybrid. It derives either from Greek sphingein “to squeeze” or from Ancient Egyptian sšp‘nḫ “living image”. It is used to denote two different things: the Egyptian and the Greek Sphinx.
Egyptian Shpinx: Indeed there are many Egyptian Sphinges (yeah, the plural form of Sphinx is Sphinges rather than *Sphinxes). They’re all sculptures of a lion with human (or ram or falcon) face.
The most famous Egyptian Sphinx is the Great Sphinx of Giza, a huge sculpture representing a man-headed lion. It was presumably built by Egyptian Pharaoh Chephren, but other theories exist.
The Great Sphinx is possibly a hypostasis of Sun-god Ra, as told by the famous Sphinx Stele. According to the Stele, Sphinx was found by Prince Thutmoses who later became a Pharaoh.
Greek Sphinx: The Greek Sphinx is a mythological hybrid monster. It looks like a winged lion with the head of a woman. It dwelt near the city of Thebes. It asked the passers-by to solve riddles.
If the person solved the riddle, the Sphinx allowed him to enter Thebes; if s/he did not, the Sphinx would eat him/her. Nobody was able to solve these riddles, except for a man named Oedipus.
As Oedipus solved the riddle, the Sphinx committed suicide. Oedipus was made king of Thebes and married the queen Epicaste (or Jocaste). He later discovered she was his own mother, but that’s another story.
