In Greek mythology, the sphinx was a monstrous winged creature with the head of a female. It met any traveler/visitor trying to enter the city of Thebes and asked the person to answer a riddle (what walks on four legs when it is young, two in as an adult, and three as an old person - answer - human). Death was the reward for all who failed to answer. Oedipus answered the question, as seen here with the sphinx and the skeltons of those who failed, and was able to enter Thebes. Oedipus was the mythical king of Thebes. But the oracle of Apollo at Delphi had told his father Laius that a son of Laius and his wife Jocasta would kill Laius. When Oedipus was born, Laius had given Oedipus to a servant with orders to abandon the infant. The servant could not In time, Oedipus came back to Thebes, unaware of his true background, and met the sphinx, solved the riddle and entered the city.