A hybrid creature with a feline body, wings and a human head, sometimes wearing a conical cap, a crest or a crown. As an iconographic theme, it was introduced to Minoan Cretan art from Egypt in the Protopalatial period (c. 1900-1700 BC), originally with male features and wingless. In the subsequent periods of the Bronze Age, the sphinx mainly appears on sealstones in Crete and Mainland Greece, probably symbolising religious and secular authority. In the art of the historical period, the sphinx was reintroduced from Egypt alongside other hybrid creatures. Associated with death as a daemonic entity, it was used as an apotropaic symbol to ward off evil. Sphinxes are often found carved in the round or on relief stelai in large sanctuaries and in cemeteries.