Riddle of the Sphinx. The meaning of the word "Sphinx" A riddle for the future king Oedipus

Sentences containing SPHINX

Yes, the riddle will be revealed, the sphinx will speak, the problem will be solved.
I immediately dug up a granite sphinx on a limestone pedestal.
She drew a cross-shaped line across the sphinx and told him to tell him that the cross was the answer.
He once gave her a ring with a sphinx carved in stone.
Before open door The sphinx stood frozen in the crypt with its paw raised.
With enthusiasm, she began to tell the story of the creation of the Sphinx.
So he sat for some time in complete stupor, silent and motionless, like a sphinx.
Approaching one of them, the old priest leaned his whole body on the head of the sphinx.
They were hollowed out in the same rock from which the sphinx itself was carved.
They ran along the sphinx's tail as if it were a treadmill.
Meanwhile, the sphinx, swiftly cutting through the air, rushed its stern rider to the west.
At times her face took on an impenetrable, completely incomprehensible expression, like that of a sphinx.
The Egyptian Sphinx is a statue with the body of a lion and a human head, half man and half lion.
To this list you can add the four-headed ram and the sphinx with a ram's head.
The Sphinx looks with dead eyes into distances unknown to mankind, smiling mysteriously with sensual lips.
Her gaze was like the gaze of a sphinx, looking into the distance, over the eternal and endless sands of the desert.

Architectural Dictionary

Sphinx

A fantastic animal with the body of a lion and the head of a man.

(Terms of Russian architectural heritage. Pluzhnikov V.I., 1995)

Dictionary of mythology by M. Ladygin.

Sphinx

Sphinx- in ancient Greek mythology, a monster with a woman’s face and breasts, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird; asked travelers riddles, killing and devouring those who could not give the correct answer.

Sources:

● M.B. Ladygin, O.M. Ladygina Brief Mythological Dictionary - M.: Publishing House NOU " polar Star", 2003.

Efremova's Dictionary

Sphinx

m.
1. A stone statue of a reclining lion with a human head, personifying the power of the pharaoh (in Ancient Egypt).
2. A winged monster with the body of a lion, with the head and chest of a woman, who asked unsolvable riddles and strangled those who could not solve these riddles (in ancient Greek mythology).
3. trans. decomposition A person characterized by mystery and enigma.
m. Large butterfly of the hawk moth family.
m. Narrow-nosed monkey from the genus of baboons.

Ozhegov's Dictionary

SPHINX, A, m.

1. In Ancient Egypt: a stone sculpture of a lying lion with a human head; generally a sculptural image of such a figure.

2. In ancient Greek mythology: a winged creature with the body of a lion, with the head and chest of a woman, who asked people unsolvable riddles.

3. trans. About an incomprehensible, mysterious creature, a strange person (book). This person is for me.

encyclopedic Dictionary

Sphinx

in Greek mythology, a winged half-woman, half-lioness who lived on a rock near Thebes; asked passers-by an unsolvable riddle and then, receiving no answer, devoured them. Riddle of the Sphinx ( "who walks on 4 legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening") was solved by Oedipus (his answer: "man - in childhood, maturity and old age"); after which the sphinx threw herself off the cliff.
In Dr. Egypt, a statue of a fantastic creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man, less often an animal.

Encyclopedia "Biology"

Sphinx

A breed of hairless cats. Originally from Canada. The result of a mutation of a short-haired domestic cat. Kittens are born with velvety fur, but as they grow, it falls out and remains in the form of a “fluff” only on the face, the outside of the ears, paws and upper limbs. Fitted wool length. There is 3 cm at the tip of the tail. The skin is pigmented, can be of any color and pattern (markings on various parts body). The body is strong and muscular. The muzzle is wedge-shaped, the nose is short, the eyes are slightly slanted, golden or copper in color. The ears are large, with rounded ends. Bred mainly in North America; in Russia it is less common.

Antiquity from A to Z. Dictionary-reference book

Sphinx

in Greek mythology, a monster born of Typhon and Echidna, with the face and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. Sent by Hero to Thebes as punishment for Laius’s seduction of young Chrysippus, the Sphinx settled on a mountain near Thebes and asked everyone who passed by a riddle (for example, “Which living creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?”). The Sphinx killed the one who could not solve it and thus killed many noble Thebans, including the son of King Creon. Dejected with grief, Creon announced that he would give the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocasia to the one who would rid Thebes of the Sphinx. Oedipus solved the riddle - the Sphinx, in despair, threw herself into the abyss and fell to her death. The image of the Sphinx is reflected in Aeschylus's drama "The Sphinx".

Ushakov's Dictionary

Sphinx

sphinx, sphinx, husband. (Greek sphinx).

1. In ancient Egypt - a stone sculpture of a lying lion with a human head.

2. The ancient Greeks had a mythical winged creature with the body of a lion or dog, with the head and chest of a woman.

3. trans. About someone incomprehensible, mysterious ( books). “For those intelligent eyes and mysterious smile, she was nicknamed the sphinx.” Goncharov.

4. A monkey from the genus of baboons living in Africa ( zool.).

5. Butterfly from a group of hawk moths ( cm. at 2 meaning; zool.).

Dictionary of forgotten and difficult words of the 18th-19th centuries

Sphinx

, A , m.

1. In Ancient Egypt, a stone figure of a lion with a human head as the personification of the power of the pharaoh.

2. The ancient Greeks had a mythological winged monster with the body of a lion, with the head and chest of a woman; a similar figure carved or carved into something.

* He once gave her a ring with a sphinx carved on the stone.. // Turgenev. Fathers and Sons //; Natasha lay straight and motionless looking ahead at one of the mahogany sphinxes carved on the corners of the bed. // Lev Tolstoy. War and Peace // *

3. Mysterious creature, incomprehensible person ( portable).

Dictionary of Greek Mythology

Sphinx

A monster born Typhon and Echidna, with the face and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. Sent by Hero to Thebes as punishment for the seduction of young Chrysippus by Laius, S. positioned herself on a mountain near Thebes (or in the city square) and asked everyone who passed by a riddle (“Which living creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?” ?). S. killed the one who was unable to give a solution and thus killed many noble Thebans, including the son of King Creon. Creon, overwhelmed with grief, announced that he would give the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocasta to the one who would save Thebes from S. Oedipus solved the riddle, S., in despair, threw herself into the abyss and fell to her death. This version of the myth supplanted the more ancient version, in which the original name of the predator who lived in Boeotia on Mount Fikion was Fix (her parents were named Orphus and Echidna). Ancient Fix was a ferocious monster capable of swallowing prey; she was defeated by Oedipus with a weapon in his hands during a fierce battle.

Ancient world. Dictionary-reference book

Sphinx

(Greek Sphinx)

in Greek mythology, a winged monster with a lion's body and the head of a woman. S. lived on a rock near Thebes and killed travelers who could not solve the riddle about the three ages of man: “Who walks in the morning on four legs, in the afternoon on two, and in the evening on three?” Oedipus solved the riddle, after which S. threw himself off the cliff and died.

(I.A. Lisovy, K.A. Revyako. The ancient world in terms, names and titles: Dictionary-reference book on history and culture Ancient Greece and Rome / Scientific. ed. A.I. Nemirovsky. - 3rd ed. - Mn: Belarus, 2001)

In Greek mythology, a monster born of Typhon and Echidna, with the face and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird. Legends about the sphinxes came to Greece through the Middle East from Egypt, where they were half-lion, half-man. The Sphinx was sent by Hero to Thebes for the sins of Oedipus' father, King Laius. He asked all passers-by his famous riddle: “Who walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?” - and those who could not give the correct answer were killed by the monster. In this way many noble Thebans died. And only Oedipus solved the riddle: “A man who crawls in infancy on all fours, walks on two legs in adulthood and leans on a stick in old age,” and then the Sphinx threw himself into the abyss, and the Thebans elected Oedipus as their king for his wisdom.

Images of sphinxes were very popular in ancient art; they were most often placed on the friezes of palaces, sometimes with wings. Gradually they lost their undeniable bad reputation, becoming mysterious fatal creatures with beautiful female faces and female breasts - like in the paintings of Ingres or Moreau. Tyutchev gave an unexpected interpretation of the image, comparing nature with the Sphinx:

Nature - Sphinx. And the more faithful she is

His temptation destroys a person,

What may happen, no longer

There is no riddle and she never had one.

(Modern dictionary-reference book: Ancient world. Compiled by M.I. Umnov. M.: Olimp, AST, 2000)

This name may come from the Egyptian phrase “shesep ankh” (“living image”). The first and most famous of these statues is the Great Sphinx of Giza, carved from a monolithic rock and measuring about 60 meters in length. She has the body of a lion and a human head, whose headdress indicates royal dignity. The figure of the sphinx guards the funerary complex of Pharaoh Khafre. There is no evidence to suggest that the Sphinx itself was an object of worship, although all sorts of legends and stories developed around it, including the Greek myth "Oedipus and the Riddle of the Sphinx."

(Egyptian mythology: Encyclopedia. 2004)

Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Sphinx

(Σφίγξ) - in Greek mythology demon- strangler in the form of half woman, half lion; the personification of inevitable fate and inhuman torment. The name S. is of Greek origin (from the chapter σφίγγω - to strangle), but the idea was probably borrowed from the Egyptians or Assyrians, for whom S. is one of the usual mythical figures. According to Hesiod (Theogony, 326 et seq.), S. was the daughter of Chimera and Orfra, according to others - Typhon and Echidna. The Theban legend, developed by Greek tragedians, who embodied in S. the idea of a person’s struggle with fate, was especially widespread. Near Thebes they showed a cave in Mount Fikion or Sphingion, where, according to legend, this monster lived. According to Theban legend, S. was sent by Hero, or Ares, or Dionysus to devastate the country as punishment for Cadmus killing Ares's dragon (or for the crimes of Laius). Taking refuge in a cave of the named mountain, S. lay in wait for those passing by and asked a riddle: “Who walks in the morning on four legs, at noon on two and in the evening on three?” (the answer is a person at three times of his life: in childhood, adulthood and old age). At the same time, the sphinx agreed to kill herself if the riddle was solved; Those who did not solve the riddles he devoured (or threw them off the cliff). To get rid of this misfortune, Creon, who had ruled the country since the death of Laius, offered the hand of his sister Jocasta and with her royal power to the one who would solve the riddle. The riddle was solved by Oedipus, who became king and married Jocasta, his mother, and S. threw himself off a cliff. Images of S. in art were different: usually he had a bust of a woman and the back part of the body of some animal (lion, snake, dog, etc.), or the front part of the body of a lion and the back part of the body of a man, with the claws of a kite and the wings of an eagle. IN newest poetry S. became a symbol of the mysterious, as well as the embodiment of the idea of the contiguity of suffering with pleasure (cf. Heine’s poem “Das ist der alte M ä rchenwald!” in the preface to the third edition of his “Book of Songs”). Wed. Jeep, "Die Griechische Sphinx" (B., 1854); Ilberg, "Die S. in der Griechischen Kunst und Sage" (Lpts., 1896).

BUT.

The Sphinx (in Egyptian seshep - shining, sky - lord, etc.) is a figure of a fantastic animal with a human head on the body of a lion. The Egyptians considered this figure to be the embodiment of a guardian spirit who protected sacred places from demons, and they placed stone sculptures of S. in long alleys along the dromos of temples, as well as at tombs. This guardian spirit was then identified with the main deity of the temple, as a result of which S. began to take on his appearance; So, for example, the Theban S. were considered the incarnations of Amun, Ra-Harmakhis and other solar deities and often instead of a human head they had the head of a ram - the sacred animal of Amun. The human heads of S. for the most part convey facial features and have the headdresses of the kings who dedicated and built them. Little by little, the figures of the sphinxes themselves began to serve as personifications of royal power, combining the power of the lion with the mind of man. S., built by queens, have female heads; Representing the incarnations of goddesses, they sometimes have female breasts (especially the later ones, dedicated to Isis). In the Berlin Museum there is, for example, S., representing the wife of Psametikh I (see) Shepenupet, presenting gifts to God. Under Asian influence, winged birds appeared in the New Kingdom, and even later, Greek ones; but they received a purely decorative meaning and did not find a place for themselves in the cult. Usually S. is depicted lying down; sometimes instead of front paws it has human hands; Between them are placed various kinds of gifts, symbols, and figurines of deities. The largest of the S. - the so-called. the Great S. of Giza - carved from a solid rock near the Pyramid of Khafre; it was erected under Amemeig III (XII dynas), was repeatedly covered with sand, and in 1378 was defaced by Mameluke fanatics. The sphinxes, erected in 18 3 2 on the banks of the Neva opposite the Academy of Arts, were built by Amenhotep III (18 dyn.); the inscriptions on them give his title: “Living, Horus, calf, crowned Maat, connector of both lands, establisher of the law, organizer of Egypt, golden Horus, bull of kings, curber of barbarians, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, ruler of both lands Amenhotep III, likeness of Ra ".

B.T.

Sentences containing "sphinx"

The dissection was followed by a businesslike arrangement of two, almost symmetrical pieces, strictly opposite each other, like the Egyptian sphinxes.

On the side of the pyramid, like a sphinx about Egyptian pyramids, multivitamins and alcohol are included.

Riddle of the Sphinx– the expression itself is mysterious. Not everyone will immediately remember who he is (or what he is) sphinx. Secondly, why is there some kind of mystery associated with this very creature?

In Greek mythology sphinx is a monster with a woman’s face, a lion’s body and large bird wings. According to legend sphinx was located near the gates of the Greek city of Thebes and asked everyone passing the same question riddle- “Who walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?” The one who didn't guess riddle of the sphinx, waited terrible death in the clutches of a monster.

The son of the mayor of Thebes, Oedipus, guessed right riddle of the sphinx: “A small child crawls on all fours, an adult walks on two legs, and an old man also leans on a stick.”

Shocked that it riddle solved sphinx Out of frustration, he fell down the cliff and crashed to his death on the rocks.

By the way, the expression riddle of the sphinx has nothing to do with Egyptian to the sphinx, whose image is familiar to everyone from history textbooks and tourist brochures about Egypt. Although the Egyptian sphinx such a mysterious expression on his face and a gaze directed into eternity that one might think that he is hiding some kind of universal mystery from humanity.

In a word, the expression riddle of the sphinx we use it in cases where we are talking about a difficult problem that is not easy to solve.

Other interesting expressions from Russian speech:

Know by heart - this expression is familiar to everyone from school. Know on

The expression tit for tat is quite simple and understandable, like Newton’s third law. Means

One of the main versions of the origin of the expression If the mountain does not go to Mohammed,

Expression There is life in the old dog yet with a high degree of probability it went

One more, last legend, and my chronicle is finished...