Sphinx
Σφίγξ
A riddling monster that devoured anyone who could not answer.
With a lion's body, a woman's face, and bird's wings, she blocked the road to Thebes.
Her riddle: "What has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?" Oedipus answered, "Man."
When he got it right, she threw herself to her death.
SourcesApollodorus, Library
Commonly confused
Not the same as the Egyptian sphinx. The Egyptian kind is usually male and asks no riddles.