Oedipus and the Sphinx
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| [[Gustave Moreau]]'s ''Oedipus and the Sphinx'', one of his first [[Symbolism (arts)|symbolist]] paintings, was exhibited at the Salon of [[1864]]. | [[Gustave Moreau]]'s ''Oedipus and the Sphinx'', one of his first [[Symbolism (arts)|symbolist]] paintings, was exhibited at the Salon of [[1864]]. | ||
| - | Moreau's interpretation of the Greek myth is inspired by Ingres' ''Oedipus and the Sphinx'' of [[1808]]. Both painters chose to represent the moment when Oepidus confronted the winged monster in a rocky pass outside the city of [[Thebes]]. Unlike her other victims, Oedipus could answer her [[riddle]] and save himself and the Thebans. The painting won a medal at the Salon of 1864 | + | Moreau's interpretation of the Greek myth is inspired by Ingres' ''Oedipus and the Sphinx'' of [[1808]]. Both painters chose to represent the moment when Oepidus confronted the winged monster in a rocky pass outside the city of [[Thebes]]. Unlike her other victims, Oedipus could answer her [[riddle]] and save himself and the Thebans. The painting won a medal at the Salon of 1864. |
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| + | == The riddle == | ||
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| + | It was said in late lore that [[Hera]] or [[Ares]] sent the Sphinx from her [[Ethiopia]]n homeland (the Greeks always remembered the foreign origin of the Sphinx) to [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]] in Greece where, in the writings of [[Sophocles]], ''[[Oedipus Tyrannus]]'', she asks all passersby history's most famous [[riddle]]: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangled and devoured anyone unable to answer. In another tale of late Greek lore, a Sphinx once blocked the way to [[Thebes]]. She would give a riddle: "What walks on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?" [[Oedipus]] solved the riddle: answering, Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age. | ||
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| + | Bested at last, the tale continues, the Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. Thus Oedipus can be recognized as a [[liminal]] or "threshold" figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the death of the Sphinx, and the rise of the new, [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian]] deities. | ||
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| See [[Oedipus]] and [[sphinx]] | See [[Oedipus]] and [[sphinx]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 21:41, 26 February 2008
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Gustave Moreau's Oedipus and the Sphinx, one of his first symbolist paintings, was exhibited at the Salon of 1864.
Moreau's interpretation of the Greek myth is inspired by Ingres' Oedipus and the Sphinx of 1808. Both painters chose to represent the moment when Oepidus confronted the winged monster in a rocky pass outside the city of Thebes. Unlike her other victims, Oedipus could answer her riddle and save himself and the Thebans. The painting won a medal at the Salon of 1864.
The riddle
It was said in late lore that Hera or Ares sent the Sphinx from her Ethiopian homeland (the Greeks always remembered the foreign origin of the Sphinx) to Thebes in Greece where, in the writings of Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, she asks all passersby history's most famous riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangled and devoured anyone unable to answer. In another tale of late Greek lore, a Sphinx once blocked the way to Thebes. She would give a riddle: "What walks on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?" Oedipus solved the riddle: answering, Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age.
Bested at last, the tale continues, the Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. Thus Oedipus can be recognized as a liminal or "threshold" figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the death of the Sphinx, and the rise of the new, Olympian deities.
