If you ask any tour guide what raises the most questions while sightseeing Split ­- and I can witness that from my experience - sphynxes would probably be among top three. What those ancient Egyptian statues do in Split, who brought them here, are they original, when they will be returned, can we touch it, those are just some of questions curious visitors usually ask. Sphynxes of Split are also probably among top five the most photographed. Who would resist, after all? So, let's try to answer some of those questions.

Presence of Egyptian sphynxes in today's Split is linked with the man who we like to consider as city's founder, Emperor Diocletian. As far as we know, number of Sphynxes were brought to Diocletian's Palace as a war trophy from one of his military campaigns in Egypt. Reason was not just carrying "souvenirs" from wars; Roman Emperors considered themselves as God's given, close to Egyptian pharaohs' concept of ruler and God in one person. Is there a better reason to bring "home" mythical guardian of such majesty, to place them in front of Mausoleum or some of temples? It helped that Diocletian actually owned Egypt, and he could have brought anything from there, at almost no cost. Something like colonial masters did later, to enrich their grand museums. Today, those divine statues are probably the oldest objects in Split, about 3,000 years old.

Nobody knows how many Sphynxes once stood in the Palace, mostly in its ceremonial part at and around Peristyle square. Today, we know for twelve or thirteen of them, judging from their remains, and depending whether head on the house facade in Dominisova street is really a Sphynx head, or bust of some Egyptian king. Most of them were damaged or smashed during Christianization of the Palace. Like elsewhere in Roman Empire, when Christianity became real power, most symbols of previous cults were destroyed or converted. It didn't help that Diocletian was considered an arch-enemy to Christians, with reputation of having them killed by thousands.

The best preserved Split Sphynx is the one in front of the cathedral, the only one which still has a head. Even more important, there are hieroglyphs inscriptions describing Pharaoh Tuthmosis or Tuthmosis 3rd, which would mean it dates back to 15th century BC, around 3,600 years ago. Very popular is its "sister" in front of the Jupiter's Temple/Baptistery, and there are two more outside of museums, in the Palace's substructures. The rest of them are in City Museum, and especially in the Archaeological Museum, among others one made of white marble, probably originating from one of temples in Thebe.

Most of those sacred statues were found by accident, either during excavations, or during infrastructural works in the Palace or Salona. Too bad they are part of countless treasures taken from Egypt, of course. But, wherever they originally stood, why they were brought and wherever they were hidden, it would be hard to imagine today's Split without them, or to see replicas instead of originals. Or, to see production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida at Peristyle without Tuthmosis' Sphynx as a prop.