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Oedipus overcomes the Sphinx by solving the riddle that the beastly bully asks of all travelers to and from Thebes. The Sphinx requests the identity of a life form that moves on fours in the morning of youth, on twos in the afternoon of adulthood, and on threes in the evening of old age. Only Oedipus knows that the answer is the man who crawls as an infant, strides when mature, and needs a walking stick in old age.

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How did Oedipus' encounter with the sphinx save thebes?

Oedipus answered the sphinx's riddle and sphinx killed herself. Once the sphinx was gone the people of Thebes were safe.


Who solved the Sphinx's riddle in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Oedipus solved the Sphinx's riddle in the play Oedipus Rex ("Oedipus the King"). He alone understood that a people-killing Sphinx would pose an apparently unanswerable riddle about people.


How did Oedipus liberates Thebes?

Oedipus liberated Thebes by solving the Sphinx's riddle. The Sphinx had placed a heavy tax on the Thebans and forced them into poverty. Oedipus was able to conquer and banish the Sphinx.


How did Oedipus once liberate thebes?

Oedipus liberated Thebes by solving the Sphinx's riddle. The Sphinx had placed a heavy tax on the Thebans and forced them into poverty. Oedipus was able to conquer and banish the Sphinx.


How Oedipus once liberated Thebes?

Oedipus liberated Thebes by solving the Sphinx's riddle. The Sphinx had placed a heavy tax on the Thebans and forced them into poverty. Oedipus was able to conquer and banish the Sphinx.


Who killed the Sphinx?

Oedipus


What happens to the Sphinx when Oedipus solves the riddle in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Suicide is what happens to the Sphinx when Oedipus solves the riddle in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Sphinx demands upon pain of death the answer to an impossible riddle. Oedipus figures out the answer and thereby deprives the Sphinx of her food supply. In despair, she throws herself over a nearby cliff.


Hero who answered the riddle of the sphinx?

Oedipus answered the riddle of the sphinx


How did Oedipus bring the city of Thebes fortune in the book Oedipus Rex?

by answering the riddle of the sphinx and saving Thebes from the rule of the sphinx.


What is Oedipus famous for in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Defeating the Sphinx is what Oedipus is famous for in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the monstrous Sphinx camps outside the city of Thebes. She kills and eats all Thebans who cannot answer her seemingly unanswerable riddle. But Oedipus knows the answer and beats the Sphinx at her own game.


Why did the sphinx kill herself?

oedipus solve the riddle


When did Oedipus encounter the sphinx?

Oedipus encountered the Sphinx after he had left Corinth, while traveling to Thebes. The Sphinx was terrorizing the city by posing a riddle to its inhabitants, and those who could not solve it were killed. Oedipus successfully answered the riddle, which led to the Sphinx's demise and his eventual ascension to the throne of Thebes. This encounter is a pivotal moment in Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex."