The Sphinx

"What animal walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three at night?"

The Theban Sphinx was a monster sent by Juno to lay waste the neighborhood of Thebes in Boeotia. It had the head and bust of a woman, the body of a dog, the tail of a serpent, the wings of a bird, the paws of a lion, and a human voice.

This terrible monster soon became the terror of the country, by proposing the riddle above quoted, and by devouring all who could not explain it. In the midst of the general consternation, the Oracle told the people that the Sphinx would destroy itself as soon as the riddle was explained. Upon hearing this, Creon, King of Thebes, promised his crown and his sister Jocasta in marriage to him who should explain the riddle, and thus rid the country of this monster.

OEdipus, attracted by the fame of the Sphinx riddle, made a visit to Thebes. He came to the monster, and explained that man "in the morning" of life walks upon his hands and feet, "at noon" he walks upon his two legs erect, and "in the evening" he supports the infirmities of old age with a staff.

As soon as the Sphinx heard this explanation, she dashed her head against a rock, and expired.

OEdipus became King of Thebes, and married Jocasta.

Some writers on mythology wish to unriddle the Sphinx riddle by the supposition that one of the daughters of Laius laid waste the country of Thebes with her continual depredations, because she had been refused a part of her father's possessions. The lion's paw expressed (as they say) her cruelty, the body of the dog her lasciviousness, her wings the despatch she used in her expeditions, and her enigmas the snares she laid for strangers and travellers.