Mythological Story: Œdipus and the Sphinx
Long ago, the great city of Thebes fell under the shadow of a strange and terrifying creature called the Sphinx. She had the face of a woman, the body of a lion, and mighty wings that let her perch on the cliffs above the road leading into the city. No traveller could pass her by unchallenged, for the Sphinx demanded that every stranger answer a single riddle — and any who failed were never seen again.
For a long while, no one who attempted the riddle could solve it, and the road to Thebes grew emptier and more feared with each passing week. Trade slowed, travellers turned back, and the people of the city lived in dread of the creature on the hill.
It was then that a traveller named Oedipus arrived at the base of the cliff, having journeyed a long way from his own homeland. Unshaken by the Sphinx's fearsome appearance, he agreed to hear her riddle, just as every traveller before him had done.
"What creature," the Sphinx asked, "walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?" It was a puzzle that had defeated every mind that came before Oedipus, but he considered it carefully and answered with confidence: "It is a human being — who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks upright on two legs through the prime of life, and leans on a walking stick in old age."
The answer was exactly right, and the Sphinx, who had never once been defeated, was so astonished that her long reign of terror over Thebes came to an immediate end. The road into the city opened once more, and Oedipus was welcomed as a hero for freeing Thebes from the shadow that had hung over it for so long.
Who's Who in This Story
- Oedipus — the clever traveller who solved the Sphinx's riddle and freed the city of Thebes
- The Sphinx — a creature with the face of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle, who guarded the road to Thebes
Did You Know?
- The riddle of the Sphinx is one of the oldest and most famous riddles in the world, still retold in classrooms and puzzle books today.
- Sphinx-like creatures also appear in Egyptian mythology, most famously as the Great Sphinx of Giza, though the Egyptian version is usually shown as calm and watchful rather than dangerous.
- The word "riddle" in this story gives us the English phrase "riddle me this," still used when someone poses a tricky question.
Oedipus's triumph over the Sphinx is one of Greek mythology's clearest lessons in the power of calm, clear thinking — proving that a sharp mind can overcome even the most fearsome of challenges.