Sphinxes. med: 35x52x3 cm. These polychrome glazed brick panels from the palace of Darius I at Susa. of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty. V century BC, are two sphinxes with winged lion's body and a human head. Animals with human heads, hiciero its appearance in the Neo-Sumerian period, later dynastic reliefs as human-headed bulls. These sphinxes, guardian deities, wear a headdress divine, serene and benevolent expressions, confirming its status as beneficial spirits. Inspired by the actual canon, more idealized than realistic, according to the stereotypes all brick reliefs in Susa, and stone reliefs of Persepolis, as image of the greatness of the empire.