What is the famous riddle of the Sphinx?

Asked by: Michaela Ford

The riddle? “What being has four legs, then two, and then three?” Some accounts write it, “What has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?” After many people guessed incorrectly and were killed, the king of Thebesking of ThebesPrior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx).

What are the 3 Sphinx riddles?

‘What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? ‘ The answer? Man, who crawls as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a walking stick in his twilight years.

What was the riddle of the Sphinx that Oedipus solved?

The riddle was: “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?“. Oedipus answered: “Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old age, he uses a walking stick”.

What is the second riddle of the Sphinx?

By some accounts (but much more rarely), there was a second riddle: “There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the two sisters?” The answer is “day and night” (both words—ἡμέρα and νύξ, respectively—are feminine in Ancient Greek).

How many riddles of the Sphinx are there?

Form for All: The Three Riddles of the Sphinx.

What is the most famous riddle?

William Shakespeare: The Riddle of Venice

• On the gold casket: “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.”
• On the silver casket: “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves.”
• On the lead casket: “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.”

What is the first riddle of the Sphinx?

Riddle: Never resting, never still; moving silently from hill to hill; it does not walk, run or trot; all is cool where it is not.

What line is the Sphinx riddle in Oedipus?

An important element in Sophocles, Oedipus Rex is the Sphinx and her riddle. To be sure, the content of the riddle is never specified in the play. There are, however, a number of specific references or allusions to the Sphinx in the play, viz., H&P, p. 650, line 37; p.

Can you name the answer to the riddle that the Sphinx asked Oedipus What goes on four legs in the morning two at noon and three in the evening?

Oedipus’ answer to the riddle of the Sphinx:
And the answer is: a man. A man is a baby in the morning of his life and he crawls on four feet. A man is an adult in the noon – the middle part – of his life and he walks on two feet. But when a man is old, in the evening of his life, he walks with a cane, on three feet.

What walk on 4 legs in the morning 2 in the afternoon and 3 at night?

The answer is a human. 4 legs in the morning is a baby crawling. 2 legs in the afternoon is an older child or adult that walks using its legs. 3 legs in the evening is an elderly person who uses a cane or walking stick to help them walk.

What riddle does the Sphinx pose to all who would enter the city of Thebes?

Whenever a traveler tried to enter or leave Thebes, that person knew the Sphinx would be waiting on her high rock. The monster would say, “I am going to eat you unless you can correctly answer this riddle: ‘What is it that walks on four feet in the morning, on two feet at noon, and on three feet in the evening? ‘”