The Sphinxes In Diocletian's Palace
In Diocletian’s Palace, the sphinxes were most likely the keepers of the Emperor’s last resting ground. Just like the pharaons of Ancient Egypt, the Emperor was attributed with divine origin and power. The Emperor called himself the son of Jupiter and that is exactly why he wished to decorate his last resting place-mausoleum with divine symbols, made of the same precious materials that the pharaohs once favoured. Unlike other Roman provinces, Egypt was considered as the private property of the Emperor. The Roman Emperor was seen as the successor of pharaohs and thus owned both the land and quarries. It is most likely that the palace architects commissioned pillars and sphinxes from Egypt. But, it is also possible, according to Joško Belamarić’s
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One of them is found above the Iron Gate: the relief of Victoria was recarved into the cross that thus assumed an apotropaic function. In the earlier periods, this transformation was usually dated to the 8th-9th centuries, but Dyggve agrees with Karaman on his original dating of these transformations to the 5th-6th centuries.
Karaman compared the form of the cross and the decorative roses with the decorative motifs on the sarcophagi of Ravenna, dated to the 5th-6th centuries. According to the most recent sources, the Ravenna sarcophagi are dated to the 6th-9th centuries. There are many other similar examples of such adaptations – transformations, like the one of the carved Diocletian’s head with the cross engraved in its forehead. The ureus on the head of the sphinx on Gotovac House was recarved into the cross, which was, by no means, inadvertent. The ureus was the symbol of a ruler, and its destruction meant also, however symbolically, the destruction of a ruler’ very essence: his power, honour, status, and, for some, his divinity.
Apart from the sphinx, all other symbols were considered pagan by the Christians who wanted to destroy their persecutor, by destroying not only his sarcophagus, but also the decorations that surrounded his last resting place. All of that happened, however, much before
One of them is found above the Iron Gate: the relief of Victoria was recarved into the cross that thus assumed an apotropaic function. In the earlier periods, this transformation was usually dated to the 8th-9th centuries, but Dyggve agrees with Karaman on his original dating of these transformations to the 5th-6th centuries.
Karaman compared the form of the cross and the decorative roses with the decorative motifs on the sarcophagi of Ravenna, dated to the 5th-6th centuries. According to the most recent sources, the Ravenna sarcophagi are dated to the 6th-9th centuries. There are many other similar examples of such adaptations – transformations, like the one of the carved Diocletian’s head with the cross engraved in its forehead. The ureus on the head of the sphinx on Gotovac House was recarved into the cross, which was, by no means, inadvertent. The ureus was the symbol of a ruler, and its destruction meant also, however symbolically, the destruction of a ruler’ very essence: his power, honour, status, and, for some, his divinity.
Apart from the sphinx, all other symbols were considered pagan by the Christians who wanted to destroy their persecutor, by destroying not only his sarcophagus, but also the decorations that surrounded his last resting place. All of that happened, however, much before