The Riddle of the Sphinx|人面狮身像之谜

by Bruce Bagnell

Many cultures celebrate the monster with a lion's body and human face.

　　What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? This riddle was supposedly asked to travelers by a mythological creature called the Sphinx. This monster had the body of a lion but the face of a human. This same creature occurs in surprisingly many cultures, with, of course, local variations.

　　Probably the most famous of the ancient sphinxes is the huge one carved from rock near the Great Pyramids of Egypt. In this version, the Great Sphinx of Giza, as it is officially known, had the body of a lion and the head of a man. In the Greek version of their sphinx, the monster had the body of a lion, the face of a woman, and a pair of wings. Another major difference between the two types of sphinx was their character. The sphinx of Greece was a merciless man-eating monster, killing anyone unable to answer her riddle. On the contrary, the Egyptian man-faced sphinx was kindly.

　　Other cultures also imagined sphinxes with a lion's body and person's face, with or without wings. Ancient Persians depicted sphinxes in stone and wall paintings. In South and Southeast Asia, winged sphinxes appear not only in ancient drawings and sculptures, but even now frequently in modern drawings, paintings, and wood carvings. The sphinxes in most of these areas are seen as good spirits, protecting people from harm. These beasts are closely related to local Hindu and Buddhist mythologies and traditions.

　　So, have you figured out the riddle yet? The answer is: a man. People crawl as babies in the morning of their lives, then walk on both feet in the afternoon, and finally, with the assistance of a cane, on three feet in the evening. Now, should you ever come across a sphinx, you will have the correct answer to her riddle and not be eaten alive.

 

人面狮身像之谜

许多文化皆颂扬这只拥有狮子身躯和人类脸孔的怪物。

　　『什么样的生物在早晨时会用四只脚走路，下午时用两只脚走路，而到了晚上又用三只脚走路呢？』这据说是人称斯芬克斯的神话生物问旅行者的一道谜题。这只怪物拥有狮子的身体，但却是人类的脸孔。令人出乎意料地，上述的这种生物出现在许多文化里，当然，牠会随着当地的文化差异而有所不同。

　　众多古代的斯芬克斯中最知名的或许是埃及大金字塔附近的巨型石雕像。这个版本的吉萨人面狮身像就像众所皆知的，牠拥有狮子的身体以及男人的头。而希腊版本的斯芬克斯则是一只拥有狮子身体、女人面孔以及一双翅膀的怪物。这两种斯芬克斯之间还有一项很大的差别，那就是牠们的性格。希腊的斯芬克斯是一只冷酷无情的食人怪物，牠会杀害任何无法解开牠谜题的人。相反地，埃及的男面斯芬克斯则相当仁慈。

　　其他文化也曾想象拥有狮身及人面的斯芬克斯，有的有翅膀，有的则没有。古代波斯人在岩石和壁画上刻画斯芬克斯。在南亚和东南亚地区，有翅膀的斯芬克斯不仅出现在古代的画作和雕刻品中，甚至在现代的画作、油画和木雕中都经常可以看见其踪影。这些地区中大多数都把斯芬克斯视为能保护人类免于受害的圣灵。这些野兽和当地的印度教、佛教神话及传统都有密切的关联。

　　那么，你已经解开这个谜题了吗？答案就是人类。人们在早上（比喻人生中的幼年时期）会匍匐爬行，接着在下午（比喻成年时期）会用双脚走路，最后在晚上（比喻老年时期）则会藉由拐杖的协助用三只脚走路。如果你现在遇到希腊的斯芬克斯，你就有正确的答案而不会被活活吃掉了。