The Sphinx was a winged monster of Anatolian origin with the head of a woman and the body of a lion. The Sphinx was settled near the city of ancient Thebes, spreading destruction and bad luck to the entire district.

To anyone who passed by she was asking the same riddle that was going as follows:

"What goes on four legs at dawn, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"

Would the traveler fail to solve the riddle, he was cursed to die.

No one was ever capable of answering correctly until Oedipus came along, who was promised the hand of the princess should he interpret the riddle correctly. As he was famous for his wisdom, Oedipus found the answer to the riddle with ease, replying:

"Man, who as a baby crawls on four legs, then walks on two legs as an adult and in old age walks with a cane as his third leg..."

The Sphinx became so frustrated about this answer that she immediately committed suicide, throwing herself from a high rock.