Riddle of the Sphinx

In Greek Legend, the Sphinx was a female being who guarded the entrance to Thebes in Greece.
She strangled all the unfortunate souls who failed to give the correct answer to her famous Riddle.

The Sphinx had the head of a human, the body of a lion and sometimes the wings of a bird.
In Greek mythology the Sphinx was a woman, and considered to be ruthless.
In Egyptian mythology the Sphinx was a man, and considered to be benevolent.

In Greek Mythology, Hesiod in the Theogony, describes how Hera sent the Sphinx from Ethiopia to Thebes in Greece.
The Sphinx sat on the Acropolis, and brought Drought and Famine.
The Sphinx would only leave if the Thebans could answer her riddle. Those who failed to answer correctly were strangled (in the same way that a lion kills its’ prey by biting its neck and eating it).

The Riddle according to Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE): ‘Library and Epitome’ Book 3, Chapter 5, Section 8:
- ‘What creature speaks with one voice, yet walks first on four legs, then two legs then three legs?’.
Prince Oedipus, the son of the King and Queen of Thebes, gave the correct answer:
- ‘A Man: he walks on four legs as a baby, on two legs as a man, and with a walking stick, three legs in old age’.
The Sphinx then destroyed herself by leaping off the Acropolis.

On his way to Thebes, Prince Oedipus got into an argument over who had the right of way with a man in a chariot. In the ensuing fight, Oedipus killed the man.
After the Sphinx destroyed itself, the Thebans invited Oedipus to become King, and he married the Queen.
What he didn’t know was that the man in the chariot was his father, and the Queen he had married was his Mother.

Legend tells of a second Riddle:
- ‘There are two sisters. The second sister is born by the first, then the first is born by the second. Who are they?’
Answer:
- ‘Day and night.’

Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE): ‘Library and Epitome’ Book 3, Chapter 5, Section 8.

Thebes, Greece