Terror Of The Sphinx

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Hera, Goddess of Marriage, took offence at the abduction of the boy Chrysippus at the hands of the Theben king Laius. In retaliation for Laius’ profligacy, the Sphinx was sent to terrorize the city. A plague in the shape of a lioness, with a woman’s face, a bird’s wings, and a serpent for a tail, the creature haunted the roads and pathways leading to Thebes, though she was known to snatch up Thebans from the streets and from their homes as well, so she could pose a riddle to her victims; ‘What goes on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at dusk?”. Paralyzed with fear, none were able to find their wits, and in turn would be torn limb from limb, and what didn’t please the Sphinx to eat, would be left for the maggots, flies, vultures, and other scavengers. The dead were left unburied, funeral rites were unobserved, grief hung heavy over the city, and the population’s hearts and minds were throttled in the monster’s vice like jaws.