In Greek mythology, the Sphinx was the monster defeated by Oedipus at the gates of Thebes.
The Greek Sphinx was generally represented as a creature with a woman’s head, a lion’s body, and sometimes bird wings. Hera or Ares sent it to punish Thebes in different accounts. It sat near the city and challenged travelers with a riddle, killing those who failed to answer.
The most famous riddle asked which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at midday, and three legs in the evening. Oedipus answered “man,” explaining that humans crawl as babies, walk upright as adults, and use a staff in old age. After the riddle was solved, the Sphinx died or threw itself from its rocky height, depending on the version.
This Greek figure differs from the monumental Egyptian sphinx, such as the Great Sphinx of Giza. Egyptian sphinxes commonly have a human or royal head on a lion’s body and do not belong to the same riddle-centered story.