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Sphinx

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Monstrous creature with a woman's head, lion's body, and sometimes eagle's wings who guarded Thebes, devouring those unable to solve her riddle until Oedipus defeated her.

Detailed Definition
The Sphinx devoured those who failed her riddle until Oedipus solved it, causing her to leap to her death. She embodies mystery, fate, and intellectual challenge. Poets reference the Sphinx to evoke enigmatic danger, the confrontation with existential questions, and the thin line between wisdom and destruction.
Example
Example in poetry:
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex centers on the Sphinx’s riddle and Oedipus’s solution; Hesiod’s Theogony describes her as offspring of Echidna and Orthrus; Later allegory uses the Sphinx to symbolize enigmatic fate; In Renaissance emblem books, she represents the peril of unanswered questions; Oedipus’s triumph over her becomes a metaphor for human reason; Her image appears in poetic riddles as test of wisdom.
Additional Notes
The Sphinx, with lion body, woman’s head, and riddle (“What walks on four, two, three legs?”), is defeated by Oedipus. Students should analyze her as symbol of enigmatic fate and the peril of unanswered questions. Her destruction marks the rise of human reason. Later, she embodies mystery and female monstrosity. Related: Oedipus, riddles, Thebes.
Also Known As
Sphinx the Riddler Lion-Winged Guardian Theban Destroyer Devourer of the Unwise
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