Egypt, Alexandria. Dattari. Hadrian, 117-138 Drachm circa 133-134 (year 18), Æ 35mm., 27.49g. Laureate, draped and cuirassed bust r. Rev. Sphinx with crown of disc, horns and feathers, with crocodile emerging from chest, walking, r., on serpent; griffin on back; above at right, small Nike standing l.; in l. field, LIH. RPC 5913.2 (this coin). Dattari-Savio Pl. 99, 7914 (this coin)

Extremely rare, only two specimens known. Attractive brown green patina, Very Fine/Good Very Fine.

From the Dattari collection.

The Sphinx was a monstrous creature with the face of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird, who lived on a mountain west of Thebes, where it ravaged the countryside and devoured any mortal who was not able to answer the riddle. It was sent there by Hera to punish Laius who had fallen in love with Chrysippus. “What is that has one name that is four-footed, two-footed and three-footed?” This was the famous riddle that the Sphinx asked Oedipus when he came to Thebes and he was the only one who provided the right answer: the man, who has child crawlson four, as adult walks on two and as hold man walks on three, the third leg being the stick. Therefore the sphynx had killed itself and he became the king of Thebes, receiving the hand of the widowed queen Jocasta, his mother,unbeknownst to him. She gave birth to four children: Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone and Ismene. Later, when the truth surfaced, Jocasta decided to commit suicide, and Oedipus (according to a different version of the story), after blinding himself, went into exile. Oedipus died at Colonus near Athens, where he was swallowed by the earth and became a guardian of the land.