Echoes of Egypt: Sphinxes in Croatia

02 November 2025 - 13 November 2025

Alexandria, Egypt

Bibliotheca Alexandrina Main Entrance, Hall of Fame

The Antiquities Museum, affiliated to the  Bibiliotheca Alexandrina Cultural Outreach Sector, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Cairo, organizes the exhibition Echoes of Egypt: Sphinxes in Croatia. The exhibition will be held from 2 to 13 November 2025, at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Main Entrance, Hall of Fame. The event marks the anniversary of Egyptian-Croatian bilateral diplomatic relations established in 1992.
The exhibition traces the legacy of ancient Egyptian symbols in Croatia over the past two millennia, with particular emphasis on how the image of the sphinx was interpreted in artistic, architectural, and cultural contexts. The exhibition aims to highlight the longstanding cultural dialogue between Egypt and present-day Croatia.
The exhibition features ancient Egyptian sphinxes that Emperor Diocletian (284–305 AD) brought to his palace in today’s Split (second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb) during antiquity, alongside 19th- and 20th- century sculptures of the same motif from other major Croatian historical centers.

To offer a more complete perspective, the exhibition also includes depictions of Greek sphinxes from Roman antiquity, as well as Romanesque and 19th century examples. Through this cross-temporal lens, visitors will gain insight into key aspects of Croatian cultural history and the ways in which Egyptian motifs were received and adapted.

It is worth mentioning that this is the second exhibition to be organized in cooperation with  the Embassy of the republic of Croatia, after the success of the Temples Claimed from the Nile: Egyptian Heritage in Croatian Archives exhibition that was held in 2022.