Sphinx
creatureA creature with the body of a lion, wings of an eagle, and head of a woman. The Sphinx terrorized Thebes with her deadly riddle until Oedipus solved it.
The Myth
The Sphinx was sent to Thebes by Hera (or Ares) as punishment. She perched on a rock outside the city and posed a riddle to every traveler: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?" Those who answered incorrectly — and all did — were devoured.
Thebes was paralyzed with terror. The regent Creon offered the throne and his sister Jocasta's hand to anyone who could defeat the Sphinx. Oedipus, a young wanderer, accepted the challenge.
When the Sphinx posed her riddle, Oedipus answered: "Man — who crawls as a baby, walks upright in his prime, and uses a cane in old age." The Sphinx, enraged and humiliated, threw herself from her rock and died. Oedipus became king of Thebes and married Jocasta — not knowing she was his own mother, setting in motion one of tragedy's greatest stories.
Parents
Typhon and Echidna (or Orthrus and Echidna)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt, though different from the Greek Sphinx, shares the basic form — demonstrating how widely this mythical creature traveled.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth: