History Main / RiddlingSphinx

* An Egyptian Sphinx appears in various Kingdoms in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', where it guards passageways. He only lets Mario get past it if he answers a questions.

* In a print-only strip for the book 5 collection of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the heroes visit a roadside stop with a sphinx as a cashier. The sphinx speaks exclusively in riddles, but [[TheDitz Elan]] has a surprising knack for them due to his bard training. Vaarsuvius is so verbose, they inadvertently win two free ice creams by stumping it.

* Parodied in an extra strip in the book edition of the fifth ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' arc, "Blood Runs in the Family". Not only does the sphinx speak in riddles, but to ask it a question, one needs to phrase it as a riddle as well, even a prosaic question like "which way is the restroom?". Elan, being a bard, is adept at it, but when Vaarsuvius tries it, his/her SesquipedalianLoquaciousness ends up confusing the sphinx... resulting in a shower of confetti and a reward of a free ice cream cone for managing such a feat.

* In an episode of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', the Sphinx is a quizmaster, voiced by game show host Wink Martindale. His riddle was "What does a man do standing up, a woman sitting down, and a dog on three legs?" The answer is [[spoiler:shake hands]]. [[note]]This is a reference to the induction ceremony for the Turtle Club, a real-life BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats, where the inductee is given a series of supposedly lewd riddles and has to give the correct, family-friendly answer to each one.[[/note]]

* ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'' has gryphons and sphinxes, which are similar catlike creatures with human heads, but mixes up their properties. In the film, a gryphon guards the area known as Giants Orbiting, requiring Helena answer the classic Riddle (she succeeds by giving a literal answer) and stump him in return (she gives him something unsolvable and sneaks off while he's thinking about it). Meanwhile, the "sphinxes" are ravenous beasts which speak seldom and pounce on anyone who seems vulnerable.

{{Subtrope}} of RiddleMeThis. Related to OnlySmartPeopleMayPass.

In Myth/ClassicalMythology, [[Theatre/OedipusRex Oedipus]] encountered a Sphinx and was, famously, forced to solve the RiddleOfTheSphinx in order to pass. Ever since, it's been a tradition that all sphinxes ask riddles. So if you see a sphinx, be prepared for a game of RiddleMeThis.

** It is briefly mentioned that one sphinx cheated because the answer to her riddle was "[[MortonsFork Kill Me]]." The other sphinxes admired her for being so clever and wanted to use her riddle, but sphinxes are not allowed to copy riddles. However, one sphinx thought her trick was dishonorable and helped the Shadowchasers capture her.

* Jean Cocteau's ''Literature/TheInfernalMachine'', a retelling of the legend of Oedipus, gives an AlternateCharacterInterpretation of the Theban Sphinx, where she is changed to a sympathetic character. She would have ''won'' the contest, as Oedipus cannot guess the answer to her riddle, but she ''tells'' him the answer, simply so she can end her life and be free of the curse that compels her to kill and also to make him love her. (Explaining why she leaps off the cliff later.) Unfortunately, he leaves [[UngratefulBastard without so much as saying thank you]]. The scene ends with [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Anubis taking her soul to Heaven]].

* One of the episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TheMummyTheAnimatedSeries'' had the O'Conner family dealing with exactly that. After they shout out the correct answer, the attacking [[MadeOfExplodium Sphinx promptly explodes.]]
* A riddling Sphinx was one of the {{Monsters Of The Week}} the teenage protagonists faced in ''WesternAnimation/{{Extreme Ghostbusters}}''. Said Sphinx's "human face" was actually a mask hiding a mishmash of mass of teeth, eyes and tentacles, which it only removed to drain the intelligence of anyone it deemed the brightest minds who failed to answer its riddle. At the end of the episode, Egon is able to answer the Sphinx's riddle, immediately sending it down a {{Villainous Breakdown}} since no one had answered it correctly before (apparently only Egon had bothered to read up on his Greek Mythology), and hence vulnerable to capture.

* TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}, being a derivative of TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons, reuses the classic gynosphinx/androsphinx/criosphinx/hieracosphinx setup originally used the 2nd and 3rd editions of its parent. The biggest difference is that, rather than tying species to parentage, the four races are born specifically of different kinds of mating between a gynosphinx and any of the three males; couplings born of love or respect produce gynospinxes and androsphinxes, couplings born from selfish desires or simple carnal lust produce criosphinxes(which means that both a Criosphinx trying to seduce an Gynosphinx ''and'' a Gynosphinx bedding an Androsphinx both have to work to earn their paramour's respect if they want daughters), and [[ChildByRape hieracospinxes are born from acts of hate and violence]]. (However, a gynosphinx is [[MamaBear always fiercely protective of her cubs]], no matter ''who'' the father was or how they were conceived.)
** The gynosphinx is the iconic Grecian sphinx, being a lioness with eagle wings and the head of a woman.
** The androsphinx is the SpearCounterpart to the gynosphinx, but far more intellectual and emotionally aloof; openly described as "prudish", they look down upon sex as messy, fleeting and incomparable to the true pleasures of mental stimulation. Unfortunately for them, the lustier gynosphinxes prefer androsphinxes as their mates and so seek androsphinxes out wherever they can. Not to mention androsphinxes are the most likely to father gynosphinxes in turn and thusly the survival of their species depends on their being brought to bed by gynosphinxes.
** The crinosphinx is another AlwaysMale sphinx variety, being a comparatively dim-witted (though still above the average human) beast with the head of a ram. They lust ceaselessly after gynosphinxes and, whilst they don't tell riddles themselves, they will trade knowledge of them in hopes of being able to use those rituals to help bribe or tempt a gynosphinx into submitting to their lusts. Despite their many flaws, they're the only male sphinx species that actually helps care for the cubs they father.
** The hieracosphinx is the AlwaysChaoticEvil branch of the sphinx family (literally). With eagle-like heads that make them resemble [[OurGryphonsAreDifferent griffons]], they are the most brutal, stupid (this time objectively rather than comparatively) and foul of their kind, hated and reviled by all others. This is especially because their sole method of propagation is to trap, subdue and rape gynosphinxes.

* ''ComicBook/{{AllStarSuperman}}'': Atlas and Samson have tricked Superman into facing off against the Ultra-Sphinx, a kind of cosmic version of the original creature, with Lois Lane's life hanging in the balance. To save her he must answer the unanswerable question. Atlas and Samson are time travelers, and therefore know that Superman will be able to answer the question, but they do not know what the answer will be. Superman has to solve it himself.
-->'''Ultra-Sphinx:''' Question: What. Happens. When. The. Unstoppable. Force. Meets. The. Immovable. Object?
-->'''Superman:''' How about this? [[spoiler:They surrender.]]
-->'''Ultra-Sphinx:''' Response. Acceptable.

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'' has gryphons and sphinxes, which are similar catlike creatures with human heads, but mixes up their properties. In the film, a gryphon guards the area known as Giants Orbiting, requiring Helena answer the classic Riddle (she succeeds by giving a literal answer) and stump him in return (she gives him something unsolvable and sneaks off while he's thinking about it). Meanwhile, the 'sphinxes' are ravenous beasts which speak seldom and pounce on anyone who seems vulnerable.

-->'''Nodwick:''' The answer [to the riddle] was "money", by the way.\\

** In another instance, the answer to the riddle is "the moon." Nodwick is annoyed (and disgusted) that the sphinx was willing to accept Yeagar's [[{{Mooning}} display of frustration]] instead of a verbal response.
* Phix in ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'' sets the same riddle to both Monica and Shelly as a test to see if they're ready to fix the Calender Machine. They each give different answers and Phix rewards them both - without, however, saying that either answer is ''right''.

* Played with in ''Webcomic/SkinDeep''. Michelle Jocasta, who is a Sphinx, once dressed up for Halloween as The Riddler, because [[WordOfGod she thinks]] [[LampshadeHanging she's being clever]].
** As a general rule, it's averted with Michelle. WordOfGod states that she's no more prone to asking riddles than any other person.

* The party of ''Webcomic/{{Nodwick}}'' encounters a riddling sphinx in a dungeon. [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney They bribe it to let them pass]], even though [[HypercompetentSidekick Nodwick]] knew the answer.

* Literature/OlogySeries: ''Monsterology'' describes sphinxes as lions with either human, hawk or ram heads; any of these three varieties may have wings or be flightless. They greatly enjoy riddles, a trait they share with dragons

* In the first episode of [[Creator/Ukinojoe]]'s "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_tuZbNNMz4 Great: The Show]]", the opening episode follows a band of travelers venturing the desert in search of "the perfect Bar Mitzvah" when they finally find the magic sphinx, which asks them to "explain the global socioeconomic crisis." One of the members of the band, a monochromatic, geometric lion, attempts to answer, only to be cut off with a booming "INCORRECT!"

* Jean Cocteau's ''Literature/TheInfernalMachine'', a retelling of the legend of Oedipus, gives an AlternateCharacterInterpretation of the Theban Sphinx, where she is changed to a sympathetic character. She would have ''won'' the contest, as Oedipus cannot guess the answer to her riddle, but she ''tells'' him the answer, simply so she can end her life and be free of the curse that compels her to kill and also to make him love her. (Explaining why she leaps off the cliff later.) Unfortunately, he leaves [[UngratefulBastard without so much as saying thank you.]] The scene ends with [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Anubis taking her soul to Heaven.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E17DaringDone Daring Done?]]", an extended flashback sequence features sphinx in the shape of an enormous, winged catlike creature with a vaguely pony-like head that terrorized Somnambula's home in the distant past, kidnapping its prince when he tried to stand up to her. When Somnambula came to rescue the kidnapped prince, the sphinx demanded that she solve a riddle before being permitted to do so.

* Dora Sphinx from ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' takes the human form of a game show host who asks riddles to children (and later, the Rangers), and traps them inside trees when they answer wrong. He even asks the classic sphinx riddle to stump the first kid at the beginning of the episode. The heroes eventually turn this against him, defeating him by [[BriarPatching tricking him into asking them what his weak point is]] (because he always reveals the correct answer to riddles after receiving a wrong answer).

* The PointAndClickGame based on ''WesternAnimation/ThePagemaster'' featured a sphinx in the Fantasy World that blocked Richard's entrance to the final part of the game. The riddle was "What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time, and the start of every ending?" The answer is "[[ExactWords The letter 'E']]," which has to be presented as the "Electric E" item that Richard gets for clearing the Horror World.

->"I don't know, but I think you've got one in [[Literature/TheHobbit your pocketses!]]"

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E17DaringDone Daring Done?]]", an extended flashback sequence features sphinx in the shape of an enormous, winged catlike creature that terrorized Somnambula's home in the distant past, kidnapping its prince when he tried to stand up to her. When Somnambula came to rescue the kidnapped prince, the sphinx demanded that she solve a riddle before being permitted to do so.

* This is a standard theme for sphinxes in ''Tabletopgame/MagicTheGathering'':

** [[http://magiccards.info/m12/en/76.html Sphinx of Uthuun]] gives your opponent choice of which cards to put into your hand.

* Inverted in ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' with the Antisphinx. OnlySmartPeopleMayPass, but ''you'' have to come up with a riddle ''it'' can't answer.