Curso:
C1 Advanced
LESSON 37: The riddle of the Sphinx: An unsolved ancient mystery
An Unsolved Ancient Mystery
Before you can face the Great Sphinx, you must prove your intellect. Hover over the ancient tablets to reveal the answers to these classic riddles. How many can you and your partner solve?
"I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?"
"The more of this there is, the less you see. What is it?"
"I have cities, but no houses. I have forests, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?"
In today’s and tomorrow’s class we’ll be reading about the Sphinx. Discuss with your team:
What have you heard or read about the Sphinx?
Do you have any theories about why it was built or what it means?
Nobody really knows the actual purpose of the Sphinx. It is the oldest giant structure in Egyptian history, and is thought to have been built around 4,500 BC. Many believe that the Great Sphinx was built to watch over the plateau of Giza, serving a symbolic purpose.
The Sphinx was built facing due east, meaning that it aligns with the rising sun every day. Some later Egyptians would worship it, calling the Sphinx “Hor-Em-Akhet” meaning “Horus of the Horizon.” Today, the origin, the purpose and the legends of the Sphinx have left us puzzled.
A sphinx (or sphynx) is a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human, with some variations. It is a prominent mythological figure in Egyptian, Asian, and Greek mythology.
In ancient Egypt, the sphinx was a spiritual guardian and most often depicted as a male with a pharaoh headdress—as is the Great Sphinx—and figures of the creatures were often included in tomb and temple complexes. For instance, the so-called Sphinx Alley in Upper Egypt is a two-mile avenue that connects the temples of Luxor and Karnak and is lined with sphinx statues.
Sphinxes with the likeness of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut also exist, such as the granite sphinx statue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the large alabaster sphinx at the Ramessid temple in Memphis, Egypt.
From Egypt, the sphinx imported to both Asia and Greece around 15th to 16th century BC. Compared with the Egyptian model, the Asian sphinx had eagle wings, was frequently female, and often sat on its haunches with one paw raised in depictions.
In Greek traditions, the sphinx also had wings, as well as the tail of a serpent—in legends, it devours all travellers unable to answer its riddle.
The Great Sphinx of Giza before excavation had revealed more of the statue, photographed circa 1860. © P. Dittrich / New York Public Library
According to Greek mythology, the Sphinx sat outside of Thebes and asked this riddle to all travellers who passed by. If the traveller failed to solve the riddle then the Sphinx would kill them. If the traveller answered the riddle correctly, then the Sphinx would destroy herself.
THE FIRST RIDDLE
Ask the students if they can answer the riddle. Do not open the answer panel until they have discussed it.
Answer: Man goes on 4 feet in the morning (crawling as a baby), 2 feet at noon (walking upright throughout most of life), and 3 feet in the evening (using a cane in old age).
Legend has it that Oedipus was the first person to answer it correctly. No one was ever capable of answering correctly until one day, Oedipus came along. Oedipus was promised the hand of the princess should he interpret the riddle correctly.
As he was famous for his wisdom, Oedipus found the answer to the riddle with ease, replying: “Man, who as a baby crawls on four legs, then walks on two legs as an adult and in old age walks with a cane as his third leg…”
The Sphinx became so frustrated about this answer that she committed suicide immediately, throwing herself from a high rock.
But it was not the only riddle of Sphinx Oedipus had to solve. In Sophocles’ play, probably the most famous retelling of the story, there’s mentioned only this riddle, but some versions of the Oedipus story have a second riddle for him to solve.
A Gascon version of the myth, for instance, has the Sphinx posing this follow-up question:
THE SECOND RIDDLE
Again, ask the students if they know the answer to this riddle or get them to think about it, before you reveal the text. If they can’t give the answer, tell them to think about it and tell you the next day.
The answer to this second riddle was also simple, which Oedipus easily solved saying:
(In Greek, both words—Hemera and Nyx—are feminine, hence "sisters").
Discuss these deep-dive questions with your expedition team.
How does the Egyptian Sphinx (a guardian) differ from the Greek Sphinx (a monster)? Which version do you find more interesting?
Why do you think ancient cultures used riddles to represent tests of life or death?
What do you think about the answer to the first riddle? Is it a good metaphor for human life?
If you were faced with the Sphinx, how confident are you that you could survive her riddles?
Encourage your students to express their opinions or comments. Tell them that you’ll continue the next day.
The Sphinx was defeated, but her legacy lives on! For the last 5 minutes of class, work with your partner to write your own riddle in English. Read it to the class and see if anyone can survive your test!
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