学文网The winged Sphinx of Thebes was probably the best-known monster1 in Greek mythology. Her upper part was woman, lower part lion. According to Greek legend, the Sphinx was an omniscient（无所不知的） creature, and even today "the wisdom of the Sphinx" is still proverbial（出名的）.
The Sphinx learned a riddle from the nine Muses,which is known as the"riddle of the Sphinx":What animal has 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and 3 legs at night? The monster enjoyed the riddle so much that everyday she perched2 on the top of a rock and stopped travelersforananswer. Thoseunfortunate passersby （过路人） who failed to solve this puzzle were either devoured3 or torn to pieces by her. No one had yet come up with the right answer until one day a young man advanced to the monster and replied:"Man is the answer. He crawls（爬） on hands and feet in childhood, walks erect with two feet in manhood（成年）, and walks with a walking cane in old age." The young man was none other than Oedipus, adopted4 son of Corinth king Polybus.Oedipus's answer was sound and perfect. The monster thereupon （随即） jumped down from the rock and perished5.She just couldn't bear the fact that she had met her match in this mental（智力的） contest.
The metaphorical （比喻的） meaning of the idiom "Sphinx riddle" is the mystical（神秘的）person or thing that is hard to be understood.
注释：
1．monster n. 怪物
2．perch vi. (在较高处)稍坐，暂歇
3．devourvt．吞食
4．adoptedadj．被收养的an adopted son养子
5．perishvi．丧生
古希腊底比斯城长着双翼的斯芬克斯也许是希腊神话中最知名的怪物。她的上体是女人，下体是狮子。根据希腊传说，斯芬克斯是个无所不知的妖怪。即使是今天，还流传着“斯芬克斯的智慧”这样的谚语。
斯芬克斯从9位缪斯（司文艺和科学的女神）那儿学得一个谜语，即“斯芬克斯之谜”：什么动物上午有4条腿，下午有2条腿，而晚上有3条腿？这怪物非常喜欢这个谜语，她每天都坐在一块岩石上，拦住过往行人要他们解谜。那些答不上来的不幸之人就被她吞食或者撕成碎片。起初没有人答出正确的谜底，直到有一天，一个年轻人走向怪物，回答说：“谜底是人。人在幼年时期四肢爬行，成年后用两腿直立行走，垂暮之年，人们拄杖而行。”这年轻人不是别人，正是科林斯王波力玻斯的养子俄狄浦斯。俄狄浦斯的答案无懈可击，怪兽难以忍受在智力竞赛中竟有人与她势均力敌，就羞恨地坠崖身亡。
习语“斯芬克斯之谜”比喻令人费解的神秘之人或事物。