Three reliefs from tombs

This is a group of three reliefs from a tomb discovered in Cyprus. Two of the relieves depict standing sphinxes. The sphinx was a female monster with the body of a lion, the head and breast of a woman, eagle's wings and, according to some, a serpent's tail. She was sent by the gods to plague the town of Thebes as punishment for some ancient crime, preying on its youths and devouring all who failed to solve her riddle. The regent of Thebes, King Kreon (Creon), offered the throne to the one who would destroy her. Oidipous (Oedipus) took up the challenge, and when he solved the Sphinx's riddle, she cast herself off the mountainside in despair. Sphinxes were very popular in ancient art. The relief in the middle depicts a head-portrait of an unknown person with the tongue hanging out, possibly an ancient god. In some ancient cultures tongue out was used as a greeting and a way of revealing to others that you are good and you do not have a black tongue of a demon. At the other end of the spectrum, throughout many cultures of the world, tongue-sticking is a powerful war gesture and an important and often final move in war dances.本数据集收录了塞浦路斯出土古墓中的三件浮雕作品。其中两件浮雕刻画了直立的斯芬克斯（Sphinx）。斯芬克斯是一种女性怪物，躯体为狮身，拥有人首与女性胸部，生有鹰翼，部分说法认为其尾部为蛇尾。众神为惩罚底比斯城邦的某桩古老罪孽，将其派往底比斯，使其为祸城邦：它捕食城中青年，并吞噬所有未能解开其谜题之人。底比斯摄政者克瑞翁（Kreon，即Creon）曾许诺，凡能铲除斯芬克斯者可继承王位。俄狄浦斯（Oidipous，即Oedipus）接受了这一挑战，在解开斯芬克斯的谜题后，斯芬克斯绝望地从山腰纵身坠崖。斯芬克斯形象在古代艺术中极为流行。中间的浮雕则刻画了一位吐舌的未知人物肖像，其身份或为某位古代神祇。在部分古代文化中，吐舌动作被用作问候方式，用以向他人昭示自身品行端正，并无恶魔所拥有的黑舌。而在另一范畴中，全球诸多文化里，吐舌皆是极具力量感的战争姿态，且是战舞中重要且常为收尾的动作。