http://www.king-tut.org.uk/ancient-egypt/the-great-sphinx.htm (multicultural relationship)
http://www.jstor.org/pss/25111264 (importance in education)
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RiddleOfTheSphinx (humor and relationship to modern culture)
These are just a few websites that I found interesting. Remember to comment about SIGNIFICANCE and to POST your own riddle/guess the answer to the riddles of your classmates:) I hope this is fun and interesting for you
Research the Riddle of the Sphinx and comment regarding your observations; you may post links:) Create your own riddle and post to the blog. Do not post the answer. Print your riddle posting and bring it to class. Also, post your best guess to another person's riddle!
Not only did the sphinx ask Oedipus a riddle in Greek mythology, but there is a riddle surrounding the sphinx in real life. Its purpose is unknown and there is visible water damage even though it’s near the Sahara Desert. I also hadn’t made the connection of the old man walking with a cane being Oedipus using a cane when he is blind.
ReplyDeleteIt has a head but no body.
I turn polar bears white
ReplyDeleteand I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champane bubble.
If you sqeeze me, I'll pop.
If you look at me, you'll pop.
Can you guess the riddle?
I found this one and it is pretty difficult. I did not make it up though
The Greek sphinx is the body of a lion and the head of a woman. Connecting with the feminine roles in Greek mythology, the fact that the sphinx is female is fitting because of her treacherous and evil nature. The Arabs know the sphinx as the father of terror. While they use father, the Greeks knew the sphinx as a woman. The "mother" of terror? After all, the sphinx did quarantine Thebes, bringing the people to near starvation. She also used riddles that no one could solve in order to get her prey. The sphinx thoroughly shows her treachery through these actions as was the nature given to her as a woman.
ReplyDeleteCourtney, my best guess to your riddle is...water? But that doensn't work for the last four lines, or other parts of the riddle for that matter. Oh..well.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, here is my riddle. I don't know how good it is, but if I'm terrible at solving riddles it's fitting that I'm bad at writing them too. ;)
I anxiously await the day I journey outside my four walls.
When I meet the floor,
I begin my relationship with the surface below me.
Throughout my life,
I am friends with the floor, the road, and the grass.
We carry on a conversation day in and day out
each time I am out and about.
I love journeys to new places,
the beach, the mountains, the plains.
Take me there and I'll bond with whatever the substance on the ground.
Then, when I am tired and old,
I got to a new place, underground and cold.
Then I will be replaced by a new me
who will breathe a sigh of relief
at his first touch of the floor.
I really liked this quote from a... college website I believe is what it is.
ReplyDelete"Both the response and the responder to the riddle of the Sphinx is Man and Man turns out to be both the preserver and the polluter of the society. Perhaps this is Sophocles' message to his fifth century audience after all - that man has the power to both preserve and destroy. In order to make the right decision, he must go about his business with both eyes open."
http://people.hsc.edu/drjclassics/texts/Oedipus/sphinx.shtm
The answer to the riddle is a man, and the one who conquered the sphinx is a man. The duality behind man's ability to preserve life and destroy it gives man the attitude that they can act like gods. It goes back to how in myths, when mortals tried to act like gods, they never prevailed and suffered for it. I just thought it was interesting to look at it that way.
Going off of what Kelsey said about the Sphinx being a woman and creating the riddle. It just futhur exemplifies how women were thought of to be sneaky and very tricky. Hellenic society outcasts them because they were thought to want to bring bad unto men and contrive schemes to ruin men. And the story of the Sphinx is a great example of this becuase the Sphinx came up with a riddle that few to no man could solve. Then until someone could solve her riddle she reaked havoic upon the city. Just a little something to add to Kelseys post.
ReplyDeleteI did not write this, but I really like it:
ReplyDeleteIt is greater than God and more evil than the devil. The poor have it and the rich need it. If you eat it, youll die. What is it?
Kelsey, is the answer to your riddle a seed?
ReplyDeleteAnd I've heard yours before Corie! should i say the answer?
Anyways, the definition of the Egyptian sphinx is "a mythical beast of ancient Egypt with the head of a man and the body of a lion, often symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra." This struck me because the sphinx ironically tries to ruin strong heroes and leaders in mythology, bringing terror to all; it's funny that a powerful pharaoh would try to ruin their respected caste in the next life. Also, the Egyptian idea that man can reincarnate into something of godly status stands in contrast with the Greek idea that if a mortal "over-reaches" and thinks too highly of one's self they will be punished and receieve a brutal afterlife.
P.S. Emily, I really like that quote you found. It further proves to me how Oedipus Rex is the "perfect tragedy," exemplifying man's power in positive and negative ways.
Here's a riddle!
What goes around the world and stays in a corner?
Kelsey-- a shoe?
ReplyDeleteHere's my riddle!
ReplyDeleteI am trapped and cannot get out.
I am motionless, yet things move all around me.
My underwater realm is seen by everyone,
And I can be upside down or right side up.
I can be any object imaginable.
What am I?
The Sphinx, in my opinion, represents the disturbance in the natural order. One way in which this is true is that she, a woman, is in charge. Usually men are in charge. Also, she is deciding the fate of the people, instead of the Fates (this could be debatable but I choose to believe this).
These too things cause disorder in the town. Furthermore, because of the Sphinx, Oedipus was honored in Thebes and the people made him the next king, creating even more disturbance in the natural order.
Kelsey- a Caterpillar? I don't know, that doesn't make since
ReplyDeleteBrooke- something on an airplane? like the pilot or a piece of equipment?
Here's a riddle I made up last year:
ReplyDeleteI fly through the air, but have no wings.
I play with a bear and also with strings.
I’m easy to hold, but hard to throw.
I give some the gold and send some to skid row.
My skin is thick, but I am small.
If you give a good kick then I am tall.
What am I?
Corie: I know yours! But I've heard it before... so I won't spoil it.
Kelsey: when I first read your I thought of a car but I feel like that doesn't actually work.
Here's mine (it's pretty long, sorry):
ReplyDeleteThe Earth may be old,
but I'm already ancient.
My survival this far
makes a valuable statement.
I've come oh-so close
to a swift self-destruction,
but some thought me worth saving--
what a novel presumption!
I can be both quite evil
and incredibly good
and I've always been learning
as much as I could.
I may be alone
but if not I don't know it.
Of much I'm still ignorant;
on my bad days, I show it.
Some love me, some hate me,
but one thing's for sure:
I've been through so much
and through much more I'll endure.
Corie: I know it =].
Kelsey: A baby? Little kid? I thought the "four walls" thing sounded like a crib.
Skylar: This is quite a stretch, but maybe the Earth?
Emily Vincent, you're right. It is a shoe/pair of shoes. Good job! Everyone else's guesses are actually really good. I loved your guess, Brooke. That was good.
ReplyDeleteBriggite: Is yours the government?
Ok so here's my riddle hope you like it!
ReplyDeleteI am very important,
But frequently forgotten.
I make my own beat,
But I am no drummer.
I may be broken,
But I still work.
Brooke: I want to say the equator because that goes around the world, but it doesn't really match the corner part.
Rachel: A bullet?
Skylar: It is a reflection?
ReplyDeleteA riddle that i found :)
ReplyDeleteA doctor and a bus driver are both in love with the same woman, an attractive girl named Sarah. The bus driver had to go on a long bustrip that would last a week. Before he left, he gave Sarah seven apples. Why?
One thing that I noticed while reading about the sphinx was that it was mostly defined as man's head with a lion's body. But in the Greek myth, it is a woman's head. I found this very interesting and it can help support Kelsey's comment. The Greeks may have thought that the sphinx should be feminine instead of masculine because it would have shown that a woman was part of all of the turmoil in Oedipus' life. If she had not been asking riddles and tormenting the land then Oedipus would not have been made king. This would only reinforce that women are the downfall of man and are truly evil in nature.
A lot of the Egyptian divinities had animal features, unlike in Hellenic society where the gods were depicted in the likes of man. Many Greeks thought that man was above all other species and therefore deemed the Egyptian view as primitive and humurous. I think that because the Greeks felt this way, they then decided to portray the sphinx as less powerful than their own divinities. The Sphinx kills herself when her riddle is solved, by a mere mortal, and thus is seen as weak in power.
ReplyDeleteNatalie: an apple a day keeps the doctor away
ReplyDeleteNicole, is the answer to your riddle a coin?
ReplyDeleteBrigitte yours is really well written but I have no idea what it is.
ReplyDeleteAriana I think I know what yours is... a heart? A bullet is a good guess but that's not it!
I embrace everything near me
ReplyDeleteBut everything fears me
It's useless to fight me
For I haven't any pity.
Not even the sun can bring me light.
I do not live, and I do not die.
It is said you may find me at the "milky" center.
No one can exit, once they enter.
Alexis: Is it a black hole?
ReplyDeleteIn response to the sphinx stuff:
I agree that the supposed ‘wickedness’ of women normally displayed in mythology is present in the character of the sphinx, but I also feel that in her own way, the sphinx is a very unique and non-conventional female character. Although she is depicted as evil and cruel, she is also incredibly intelligent and powerful: two traits not usually standard of women in these myths.
Also:
Dark as night and bright as sun
A mouth without a face
I have no legs, but still I run,
Though I'm without an even pace.
Both full of life and still as can be,
Others must pay tribute to me.
What am I?
I really like the incorporation of the Great Shpinx into Oedipus Rex. I think it is very ironic how the Sphinx, which in reality is a mystery itself, presents the people of Thebes with a riddle. Furthermore, the tragedy factor of Oedipus Rex in which the audience experiences a katharsis by journeying with and feeling the emotions of the main character relates to the Sphinx. The audience almost lives vicariously through Oedipus, because he can solve the Sphinx's mystery, but in reality people cannot solve the mystery of the Sphinx.
ReplyDeleteHere's my riddle:
In just a few seconds I can make thousands scream;
People up on their feet, it is quite a scene.
I cannot be held for too long, you can’t carry or kick me.
Following these simple rules is key.
I am neither heavy nor light, I am filled with air.
You cannot carry or kick me,
Please handle me with care.
I think it is ironic that although Oedipus is able to "see" the answer to the Sphinx's riddle so easily, he is completely "blind" to the riddles in his own life. The Sphinx incident makes Oedipus seem like a very perceptive man, providing contrast to his inability to see the truth about his past.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting how the riddle of the sphinx is still referenced in a lot of modern movies and games. It has become the classic brain teaser. I really liked what I read in one of Mrs. Edward’s links. While one answer to the riddle is man, the riddle also parallels the fate of Oedipus. In the beginning he is left on a mountain as a baby. Then he becomes a great ruler and has power. In the end, he is left an outcast, exiled and blind, losing everything.
ReplyDeleteMore plentiful than grains of sand,
ReplyDeleteI have never been unique,
Those who wish to gaze upon me,
Only find who I used to be,
Composed of dust and vapor,
I will surely outlive you.
I found the sphinx an interesting creature just because it has so many characteristics in common with the other mythological women. As several other people have said, the sphinx ties into the theme of women being portrayed as the embodiment of evil. I also found it interesting that in addition to having the evil aspect, the sphinx also takes on the role of the nagging, curious women. She poses a question to every traveler that crosses her path and demands answers, or the traveler will be punished by death. Hera would have been proud of the sphinx’s questioning techniques because the sphinx definitely knows how to get answers from men...
My riddle:
ReplyDeleteFrom the moment of my birth I can fly
My subtle colors glinting in the sunlight
You may not notice my round body
As I drift slowly by
But if you come too close
Or dare touch my sticky surface
My frailty will become apparent
As I vanish in an instant.
Melissa- stars?
ReplyDeleteThe sphinx reminded me of Medea. Both are not Greek and therefore have traits that the typical women does not have. Both are powerful and intelligent but are also weak. I thought that it was also interesting how the cultures had different view points about the Sphinx and its signifigance.
ReplyDeleteskylar- a fish tank? the upside down part doesnt really seem to fit though
I didnt make this:
What does man love more than life?
Fear more than death or mortal strife?
What do the poor have, what the rich require,
And what contented men desire?
What does the miser spend, the spendthrift save,
And all men carry to their graves?
this is becky by the way
ReplyDeletehaha I did not realize that so many people already knew mine.
ReplyDeleteEmily Vincent - is yours a bubble?
Also, someone may have already mentioned this but the Sphinx is the embodiment of the evil nature of women. It is created to do evil to man by way of a difficult riddle which will either kill you or make you a king, in Oedipus' case.
Audrey- water? or a river?
ReplyDeleteCourtney- is it no? as in no I can't guess the riddle?
Here's my riddle:
There is no wisdom without me, yet I'm in the heart of dimwits,
I start wars and I end sorrow,
I'm found in water but not in rivers,
What am I?
The Great Sphinx
ReplyDeleteThe Great Sphinx is the body of a lion and the head of a woman. In regards to the lion body, this symbolizes a wild side, strength, and authority. The head of a woman represents evil, as the Greeks believed, because she tricks her victims to solve an impossible riddle and then eat them. It is also mentioned that the Sphinx has a smile on her face suggesting she is hidding something and taunting thus increasing curiosity. Those who wish to know the secret she holds suffer in the end.
Riddle
The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?
Emily - It has to be a bubble!
ReplyDeletejoe- I think I've heard one similar to that, is it a coffin?
ReplyDeletemelissa- a star?
ReplyDeleteHere's my riddle:
ReplyDeleteFirst think of a person who lives in disguise
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next,tell me what's always the last thing to mend,
The middle of the middle and the end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?
Ellen: YOU ARE A 'W'!
ReplyDeleteThis is not a riddle that I wrote but I thought it was interesting:
ReplyDeleteI am the fastest of a race of 3 in the circular world of time.
I can support you and back you up in the crazy world of business.
However, I am never placed first.
What am I?
Emily-
ReplyDeleteIs the answer to yours a bubble?
Joe: The answer to yours is clear. It can't be anything except a Snuggie.
ReplyDeleteAnd Becky, the only thing I can think of for your riddle is wealth, even though the poor really don't have it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I see the Sphinx as similar to the Sirens. Both are only part human, but still bring the downfall to many that pass them, due to the intrigue that surrounds them both. Only the smart survive encounters with them.
Sam: Spider!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that the Greek and Egyptian sphinx portrayal is different. To me, it clearly shows the differences between the two cultures. The Greek sphinx is a horrible beast with the head of a woman, embodying the society's negative view on women as has been mentioned before. The Egyptian sphinx, however, often shown with the head of a pharaoh, sits outside tombs as if to guard them. I thought it was interesting that the Greek sphinx is negatively portrayed and brings about destruction while the Egyptian sphinx is a positive guardian.
ReplyDeleteOk so here's a really corny riddle I came up with:
ReplyDelete(It's actually more of a pun)
What type of ships do students study on?
Here's my riddle:
ReplyDeleteAround the corner there is a tree.
Under the tree there is a school.
In the school there is a desk.
Behind the desk there is a bell.
Behind the desk is a teacher.
What is her name?
I recognized the whole "role of women" theme in the cross-over from the Greek sphynx to the Egyptian sphynx...many strong Egyptian rulers were women (and took the title of "pharaoh" rather than differentiating themselves from men) so obviously women weren't looked at as inferior.
ReplyDeleteBut what was the reason for the sphynx to cross cultures? Was it just an influence that happened by chance?
Kevin: scholarship?
So here's a riddle that my 10 year old brother wanted me to put up here that he thought up:
ReplyDeleteWhat weighs 5000 pounds and wears glass slippers?
And yes Brigitte got my first one right
I made this up last year...
ReplyDeleteI am a friend with highs and lows.
The anticipation of my arrival may be your foe.
I’ll do back flips for you if we stay on track.
You’ll pay if you want my friendship back.
In the end, you must wait
To climb aboard this ride of fate.
What am I?
kaela- is her name isabell?
ReplyDeleteI thought the Egyptian vs. Greek portrayals of the sphinx accurately describe the gender roles in Hellenic society. The Egyptian sphinx has the head of a man, specifically that of a pharaoh. As Kevin said, the Egyptian sphinx could possibly be a symbol of protection or a guardian of the Egyptian society. This reflects how men in control, such as Oedipus, were seen as protectors. However the Greek portrayal of the Sphinx was a woman and terrorized the people of Thebes. Rather than protecting the people like a good leader or the male Egyptian Sphinx, she actually kept the people trapped inside and tormented them. This idea shows the Hellenic view of women as the potential source of downfall of mankind.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has heard it but no one has ever seen it, and it only speaks when spoken to. What is it?
Kevin- is it a second?
I’m named for a great beast
ReplyDeleteAnd in your front yard I feast
I hold a color valiant as the sun
At summers end I am done
With your thoughtful childish wish
My fuzzy hair flies off and I perish
The sphinx was a lion with the head of a woman, and in Greek mythology was a demon associated with destruction and bad luck. giving the beast the head of a woman shows the GReeks association of women with destruction which is also shown in other mythological characters like Pandora.
ReplyDeleteMy riddle is not mine but i like it:
Everyone has heard it but no one has ever seen it, and it only speaks when spoken to. What is it?
Ariana: is it a heart
Emily, I think yours is a rollercoaster?
ReplyDeleteAs for the sphinx in Oepdius Rex I definitely see a parallel toward the hellenic perspective on women. Specifically I noticed that she. like Hera, seems to like to 'test' men. Hera questions Zeus and then punishes her victims swiftly and mercilessly regardless of their true guilt. Likewise, the sphinx questions anyone who stumbles upon her path despite their history and if they cannot come up with the answer she desires she kills them without a second thought. I think the sphinx is very closely related to the godess Hera.
Christine.7
ReplyDeleteI didn't come up with this riddle...
You must keep this thing, its loss will affect your brothers. For once yours is
lost, it will soon be lost by others.
Another riddle:
ReplyDelete1-2-3-4-5-6
I am a 6 letter word.
Letters 6-5-2 spell out a drink.
Letters 4-5-2-3 spell out a fruit.
Letters 1-2-6 spell out a pet.
Letters 3-2-6 spell out a pest, which often gets eaten by 1-2-6.
What am I?
Christine: Your trust? Possibly temper?
ReplyDeleteThe Great Sphinx in Oedipus Rex is of a great symbolic importance throughout much of Greek and Egyptian society. The sphinx is composed of the lion body and the woman head. In the Egyptian society, the body of a lion implied a great authority and importance of a guadian. With this, the Greeks combined tbe figure with the face of a woman; one who embodies all evils of curiousity and temptation. The Great Sphinx, poses a great mystery with her riddle, drawing near those who face a fate with death. This shows the evil within the sphinx, yet shows the guadian-like aspects by allowing only those who can solve it into Thebes and protecting it from those who cannot. The Great Sphinx shows a womanly temptation like much of the Greek mythologies.
ReplyDeletebrooke- is it a letter?
OK guys, here it is:
ReplyDeleteThree men were given $3 to buy things to fill an entire room. The first man bought hay, but did not fill his room. The second man bought sticks, but did not fill his room. The third man succeeded. What did he buy?
A man put on a coat and left for the day. It was neither cold nor raining outside, what happened?
ReplyDeleteAlison
Like most other's opinions on the Sphinx, I also believe that its purpose in mythology is to signify the dangers associated with a female persence in charge over a city. The Sphinx is shown to possess the "negative" qualities of woman in that they use trickery and influence over man to place themselves in positions of power that they normally could not obtain. I see this idea of woman using their influence over higher authority also in the personality of Lady Macbeth, who used her ways of persuasion to convince Macbeth to perform actions that upset the natural order and brought his downfall. The sphinx is a warning to the men in authority to beware the influence of women who seek to be "too ambitious".
ReplyDeleteMy riddle isn't mine either...
Take one out and scratch my head,
I am now black but once was red.
A man left for work one day and left his wife, who was bedridden at home. As he was on the elevator the lights turned out and the elevator stopped. He knew his wife had died. How did he know?
ReplyDeleteThis is my riddle:
ReplyDeleteI fly by faster than you can blink an eye.
I'm a healer but I also have the power to bring about death.
I don't have any wings or feet, but you can never escape or elude me.
This is my riddle; I made it up last year in Clutter's class.
ReplyDeleteI affect all men on the planet
I have no mass, yet I can crush a person’s heart
Truth is the noble accomplishment that I get
Those that ignore me soon fall apart
Though I may be haunting
If one listens to me, I am not that daunting.
What am I?
As for the sphinx, I find it admirable how Oedipus defeats this dastardly and wicked creature, who fittingly with Greek Mythology, has a female head, because women are viewed to be evil enchantresses. However, though he could defeat one woman's evil, he made another woman, his wife and mother, seem evil because of the deed that he did: incest. She vanquished herself, but with this, he did not find peace. Only through blinding himself did he atone for his sins.