A sphinx is a monster with the body of a lion and the head of a human or other animal, sometimes it has wings. It's also described as a creature with the upper parts of a woman, the body of a dog, paws of a lion, wings of a bird, and the tail of a serpent or dragon.

There are three varieties of Egyptian sphinx. The well known andro-sphinx, which is a wingless lion with the head of a man. In this form he represents the union of intellectual and physical power, he is also a symbol for the King and a guardian of temples. The crio-sphinx is a ram-headed lion, and the hieraco-sphinx is a lion with the head of a hawk or falcon.

In Greek mythology, the sphinx was a female creature who perched atop a rock outside the city of Thebes where she waited for passers-by. She would ask each one a riddle, promising safe passage for those who solved it and death for those who failed. No one answered correctly. All were killed and devoured by the sphinx, until Oedipus solved the riddle, and the sphinx destroyed herself.

The riddle: What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?

Oedipus solved the riddle by answering: A man, who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two feet as an adult, then walks with a cane in old age.

When used as a hieroglyph, the figure of the sphinx means "lord" or "master," its present name comes from the Greek word for "the binder" or "strangler."

See Also: Creatures by Type » Hybrids

References

Smith, Thomas. The Scientific Library; or, Repository of Useful and Polite Literature, Volume 3. New York: Samual Wood & Sons, 1818.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, Volume 25. New York: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1911.

Image: Moreau, Gustave. (1826 - 1898) Oedipus and the Sphinx, 1864. Oil on canvas, 206.4 x 104.8 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.