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As an infant, he crawls on all fours.
In the middle of life, he walks upright on two legs.
In old age, he uses a cane for assistance.
The riddle comes from Sophocles' tragic play, "Oedipus the King." It was posed by the Sphinx and answered correctly by Oedipus, the prince and future king of Thebes.
Oedipus' entire life was spent trying to escape the oracles, which ultimately proved futile. His father, King Laius of Thebes, heard from an oracle that he would be killed by his own son, who would then go on to marry his mother. Laius told a servant shepherd to leave the baby Oedipus on a mountain to die, but the shepherd took pity on him and raised him as his own. When Oedipus heard the oracle of his life, he ran away from his adopted parents to avoid fulfilling it. On his travels, he got into an argument over the right-of-way at a crossroad. He ended up killing the other man, not knowing it was his father Laius. The first part of the oracle had been fulfilled.
Upon reaching the gates of Thebes, Oedipus encountered the Sphinx, a creature with a lion's head and body, and the torso of a woman. Thebes had been cursed with the Sphinx because the gods were unhappy that King Laius' murder had gone unavenged. No one could enter or leave the city without correctly answering her riddle; and as no one had, Thebes was cut off from all outside contact and trade. Oedipus answered the riddle correctly and freed Thebes from the Sphinx, who threw herself off the city wall. In gratitude, Thebes made Oedipus king and gave him the widowed Jocasta (his own mother) as his wife; thus, fulfilling the second half of the prophecy.
Subsequently, Oedipus pursues a vigorous investigation of Laius' murder to appease the gods, only to discover that he is the murderer. The tragedy ends with Jocasta hanging herself, and Oedipus gouging out his eyes and going into exile until his death.
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Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_the_King , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_the_King
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alphalioness's Recommendations
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Oedipus answered this riddle correctly with the answer, "Man." For a man "walks" on four feet when he crawls as a baby, walks on two feet in the "noon" of his life, and in the evening of his life he uses a cane to help steady his steps which adds a third leg.
The asker was the Sphinx which is a monster of old that is part lion and part woman. She was blocking the entrance to the city of Thebes when Oedipus came across her. She had devoured all who could not answer her riddle. When Oedipus answered the riddle correctly the Sphinx was so distraught that she threw herself from the city wall and died. The Thebans were so happy to be free of the sphinx that they made Oedipus their new king and gave to him as wife the widow of their old king. Funny thing is that the widow was Oedipus’s mother and the old king was Oedipus’s father that he has slain himself. The Sphinx was actually a curse brought upon Thebes by the gods because of Oedipus’s slaying in the first place.
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Lady_Wolf_waves_hi's Recommendations
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She quizzed everyone who tried to enter Thebes and ate the losers. It’s ’man’. Or woman, whatever. When he is young he crawls. in his prime he walks on two feet and in old age he utilizes a walking stick.
I should get points like crazy because I did not have to look any of this up, it is in my brain, catalogued under Useless Dreck You’ll Want to Know Someday. Biggest file I have.
One of my fave renditions by one of my fave artists.
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Sources: the ol' grey matter, man!
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"The Sphinx was the daughter of Typhon. As was her father, she too was a strange looking creature. She had the body of a lion, wings of a bird, and the face of a woman. Hera, or Hades, sent the Sphinx to plague the city of Thebes. She sat on a rock of Mt. Phicium, north of Thebes. The Sphinx was told to tell a riddle to every passerby and if they could not answer it correctly then she would eat them. The riddle was, "What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet at midday, and three in the evening?" No one could answer this question except Oedipus. Oedipus answered, "a man because a man crawls as a baby, walks upright as an adult, and needs the aid of a cane in old age." This was the correct answer and the Sphinx was so distraught by the correct answer that she threw herself from the rock refusing to use her wings where she sat. Oedipus was proclaimed the king of Thebes."
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Sources: http://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/mythology/2creatures/sphinx.htm
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Mr_M_told_U_so's Recommendations
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Ulysses and his crew were sailing home to the Island Of Ithica following the conclusion of the Trojan war when confronted by the sphynx. The answer to the question is man who crawls on all fours as a child (morning). walks on 2 feet as an adult (noon) and hobbles with a aid of cane in old age(evening). If he didn’t answer the question correctly he would have been eaten.
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Bonvivant's Recommendations
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Bonvivant's Recommendations
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