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"What living being gets around on fours in the morning, twos in the afternoon and threes in the evening?" and "This day shall be thy birthday, and thy grave" are the two (2) riddles to be found in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, the first riddle is the one that Oedipus must solve in order to become King of Thebes. He realizes that it is a human that crawls on fours in the morning of youth, walks on both feet in the afternoon of maturity, and on both feet through the help of a cane in the evening of life. But it is not so easy for him to understand and solve the second riddle.

The second riddle is presented by the blind prophet Teiresias, who refers to Oedipus having an incorrect self-image. The day that Teiresias make his enigmatic statement Oedipus is born into the knowledge that those whom he considered his parents were not biologically so, that he whom he so casually murdered was his father and his sovereign, and that she whom he considers his wife was first and foremost his mother. On that same die, Oedipus becomes a dead man to decent society and to divine favor because of his serious offenses as murderer and sex offender.

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Q: What riddle is found in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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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.


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.


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.


How is the Sphinx's riddle solved in 'Oedipus Rex'?

With Oedipus' answer of "man" is the way in which the Sphinx's riddle is solved in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Sphinx's riddle asks which life form moves on all fours in the morning of life, on twos in the afternoon and on threes in the evening. Oedipus alone knows that it is man who crawls as a baby through infancy, gets by on his own as an adult and needs a cane in old age. It is ironic that clever, results-oriented Oedipus nevertheless cannot solve the riddle of his own existence.


What was the purpose of the riddle of the Sphinx in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Control was the purpose of the riddle of the Sphinx in the play Oedipus Rex ("Oedipus the King"). The Sphinx asked an apparently unanswerable question in order to establish authority over Thebes, guarantee food sources, instill fear, limit population, and monitor communication, enterprise, and transportation.

Related questions

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.


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.


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.


How is the Sphinx's riddle solved in 'Oedipus Rex'?

With Oedipus' answer of "man" is the way in which the Sphinx's riddle is solved in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Sphinx's riddle asks which life form moves on all fours in the morning of life, on twos in the afternoon and on threes in the evening. Oedipus alone knows that it is man who crawls as a baby through infancy, gets by on his own as an adult and needs a cane in old age. It is ironic that clever, results-oriented Oedipus nevertheless cannot solve the riddle of his own existence.


What was the purpose of the riddle of the Sphinx in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Control was the purpose of the riddle of the Sphinx in the play Oedipus Rex ("Oedipus the King"). The Sphinx asked an apparently unanswerable question in order to establish authority over Thebes, guarantee food sources, instill fear, limit population, and monitor communication, enterprise, and transportation.


Who is the mythical beast that proposes a riddle to Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?

The Sphinx is the mythical beast that proposes a riddle to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Sphinx is a gruesome combination of body parts from a woman and from wildlife. She has a hostile attitude to mortals, whom she likes to kill and eat fresh. She originally comes to ancient Greece from Egypt or Ethiopia.


What is the Sphinx's riddle that Oedipus is able to solve in 'Oedipus Rex'?

The identification of the life form that moves on fours in the morning of life, on twos in the afternoon and on threes in the evening is the Sphinx's riddle solved by Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Sphinx demands upon pain of death that all who enter or leave Thebes must try to answer her riddle. No one figures out the answer, and many Thebans therefore end up killed and devoured by the Sphinx. But Oedipus knows that the answer is man and thereby is the only person who is able to solve the seemingly unanswerable riddle.


What is 'Rex' from 'Oedipus Rex' in English?

"Rex" is Latin for "King". Oedipus Rex means "Oedipus the King".


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.


What is awarded to Oedipus for solving the Sphinx's riddle in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is the widowed queen and throne of Thebes that Oedipus is awarded for solving the Sphinx's riddle in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Sphinx can no longer depend upon an unlimited supply of freshly killed Thebans as her favorite food source. Oedipus defeats her by solving her seemingly unsolvable riddle. Thebans reward Oedipus for saving their city by offering their recently widowed Queen Jocasta as his wife and the throne recently vacated by the death of Jocasta's husband, King Laius.


Why does the Sphinx destroy Thebes in 'Oedipus Rex'?

The Sphinx does not destroy the city of Thebes in "Oedipus Rex."Specifically, the monster sets up camp outside the city and forces everyone coming and going to answer a seemingly unanswerable riddle. Those who have no answer are killed by her. But Oedipus comes along and solves the riddle before the Sphinx can devour every last Theban or destroy the city.


What is Oedipus most famous for in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is for defeating the Sphinx that Oedipus is most famous in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus arrives at Thebes in the city's worst hours. A Sphinx camps outside and asks an impossible riddle upon pain of death. Oedipus figures out the answer and rids Thebes of the city's serial eater.