Also called Phix.
Their story
The Sphinx, called Phix by Hesiod, was a daughter of Echidna who plagued Thebes, sent by Hera. Sitting on a mountain, she asked travellers a riddle and devoured those who failed. When Oedipus answered that it was man, she threw herself down, and he became king of Thebes, marrying his own mother without knowing it.
Best times to give to them
- When stuck on a problem
- None traditional
What they like being given
- None are traditional; a riddle written and solved is fitting
- A candle lit while reading or retelling the story
How to honour them
- Reflect on her riddle: what walks on four feet, then two, then three? It is you, at each stage of life.
- Remember Oedipus: solving one riddle does not mean you know yourself.
How they can help you
- Problem-solving
- Self-knowledge
- Accepting the stages of life
Symbols
- lion body
- woman's face
- wings
- riddle
The Greek sphinx is female and winged, unlike the Egyptian male sphinx.
Sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 326-327
- Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 35-39, 391-398
- Apollodorus, Library 3.5.8