Tradition: Greek Mythology
Alternative Names: Phix, Theban Sphinx
Category: Lion
The Myth
The Sphinx was a fearsome female monster with the body of a lion, the head and breast of a woman, and the wings of an eagle. Some traditions also gave her a serpent’s tail. She dwelled on Mount Phicium near Thebes, where she terrorized the surrounding land and preyed upon travelers. According to different accounts, she was sent by the goddess Hera to punish Thebes for an ancient wrongdoing, although other traditions attributed her arrival to different gods. Her parentage also varies, with some accounts naming Typhon and Echidna, while others describe her as the offspring of Orthus and the Chimera.
The Sphinx challenged those who approached her to solve a mysterious riddle: what creature walks on four feet in the morning, two at midday, and three in the evening? Anyone who failed to answer correctly was seized and devoured. Many people perished, including Haemon, the son of King Creon. Desperate to free Thebes from the monster, Creon promised the kingdom and the hand of Queen Jocasta to whoever could solve the riddle and defeat her.
Oedipus accepted the challenge and answered that the creature was a human being. As an infant, a person crawls on four limbs; as an adult, they walk on two legs; and in old age, they may use a staff as a third support. Realizing that her riddle had been solved, the Sphinx cast herself from a high cliff and died. Her defeat ended the terror she had brought upon Thebes, and Oedipus received the promised reward. The Sphinx’s image also appeared in Greek art, including sculptures placed upon the tombs of those who died young.
Sources
“The Sphinx.” Theoi Greek Mythology. https://www.theoi.com/Ther/Sphinx.html