Russian term (edited): ������, �� ���������� �� �����

...

Russian term (edited): ������, �� ���������� �� �����

Famous Ghosts
... showed and the concrete seal was undisturbed. The governor ordered the coffins removed and the vault left open; the mystery has never been solved. ...
ghosts.monstrous.com/famous_ghosts.htm

Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Frederick News - 20 November 1888
Pinkerton's detectives worked on the case for a long time, but finally abandoned ... was found dead by the roadside, and the mystery has never been cleared. ...
www.casebook.org/press_reports/ frederick_news/881120.html

Russian term (edited): ������, �� ���������� �� �����

Не знаю... по-моему, оно и звучать должно как-то складно, сообразно русскому варианту.

Russian term (edited): ������, �� ���������� �� �����

(He was like) the Sphynx whose riddle was never solved to the end of her life.

Please note that the Sphynx in English is in the feminine gender.

"The Sphynx of ancient mythology was a legendary figure who leapt to
her death after Oedipus had correctly solved a difficult riddle she
had set him. The riddle was this: What animal walks on four legs
in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening? The answer
is Man (as a baby, as an adult, and as an elderly person with a
stick)."


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Note added at 4 hrs 12 mins (2006-01-01 22:18:01 GMT)
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A little bit too much descriptive a rendition but hopefully it gives a clearer idea of the comparison having been made. :)

Russian term (edited): ������, �� ���������� �� �����

В греческой мифологии сфинкс женского рода, а в египетской - мужского. Как мне кажется, Александра сравнивали скорее с египетским сфинксом.

sphinx (sfĭngks) , mythical beast of ancient Egypt, frequently symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the sun god Ra. The sphinx was represented in sculpture usually in a recumbent position with ***the head of a man*** and the body of a lion, although some were constructed with rams' heads and others with hawks' heads. Thousands of sphinxes were built in ancient Egypt; the most famous is the Great Sphinx at Giza, a colossal figure sculptured out of natural rock, near the pyramid of Khafre. It was considered by the ancients one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Sphinxes, however, were not peculiar to Egypt; represented in various shapes and forms, they were common throughout the ancient Middle East and Greece. In Greek mythology and art the Sphinx was a winged monster with the head and breasts of a woman and the body of a lion. In the legend of Oedipus she acts as a destructive agent of the gods, posing the riddle of the three ages of man: “What walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?” She killed all who failed to answer her question until Oedipus solved the riddle by saying, “Man crawls on all fours as a baby, walks upright in the prime of life, and uses a staff in old age.” The Sphinx then killed herself

http://www.answers.com/sphinx

Russian term (edited): ������, �� ���������� �� �����

The Sphinx was famed for her riddle, not "mystery" so I feel this is a more appropriate word. The use of "whose" neatly sidesteps the issue of the Sphinx's masculinity/femininity too.

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Note added at 1 day 5 hrs 46 mins (2006-01-02 23:52:22 GMT)
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Or "whose riddle went with/followed her to the grave" if you prefer, though this brings up the thorny "him/her" issue again!