Sphinx

"Which creature has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?"

- The Riddle of the Sphinx

The "Sphinx" is a general term first introduced by the Greeks in mythology. Originally found by Greek sailors exploring North Africa and the Middle East, the sphinx of Greek mythology was a lion with the head of a woman and wings, who guarded the gates of Thebes. She would tell riddles to those that wished to enter, and would kill anybody who answered wrong. Because of this, for several years Thebes remained out of contact from the other city-states such as Sparta and Athens. However, one day, a man named Oedipus arrived at the gates of Thebes with the answer. As the Sphinx prowled over him with her riddle, Oedipus wisely replied with "Man", who crawls as a child, walks as an adult, and uses a cane in his elder years. In despair, the Sphinx commited suicide by falling to her own death. However, in Egyptian mythology, the Sphinx represented something much different. Many assumed the Sphinx as a god, a symbol of their shapeshifting deities. The Sphinx's were also often assigned as the guads to the tombs of pharohs, the kings of Egypt. Though there are no notable Egyptian Sphinxes, the creature's elegance was matched only by it's brutal approach to combat.