A female monster with the head and breasts of a woman, the feet and tail of a lion, and the wings of a bird of prey
, she was the daughter of \b \cf4 \ATXht10500 Echidna\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 and the dog \b \cf4 \ATXht11510 Orthrus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . Sent by Hera to \b \cf4 \ATXht12006 Thebes\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 to punish King \b \cf4 \ATXht11203 Laius\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 for his
passion for the son of \b \cf4 \ATXht11612 Pelops\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , the Sphinx terrorized the country, devouring human beings who were unable to answer her riddles. The most celebrated of these was ôWhat goes on four feet, on two feet, and three, but th
e more feet it goes on the weaker it be?ö It was solved by \b \cf4 \ATXht11503 Oedipus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , who responded ômanö (because man, as an infant, crawls on all fours, then walks upright on two feet, and finally supports himself with a staff in old
age). In despair at her defeat, the Sphinx killed herself by jumping from the rock on which she stood.
