History Main / OurSphinxesAreDifferent

* ''WebOriginal/BosunsJournal'': Sphinxes are a lineage of quadrupedal, feline-like posthuman predators native to the deserts and steppes of Habitat One. They originally evolved from tiny predators known as sandbiters, which themselves descend from genetically engineered pets.

** Another species, the great dragon sphinxes, remain nonsapient but become traincar-sized predators of megafauna, eventually establishing themselves as the apex predators of the Nubuan deserts, and develop the habit of hoarding shiny metal and glass with which to impress mates.

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': In the second film, two sphinxes, one with a goat's head and one with a wolf's head, guard the temple of the totem and ask Weslie and Wolffy how many stars are in the sky. Weslie replies by saying there are as many stars in the sky as there are grains of sand in the desert, prompting the sphinxes to start counting the grains of sand. By the time Weslie and Wolffy make it out of the temple with the totem, the sphinxes are ''still'' counting the grains.

* Creator/GamesWorkshop games:
** ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Sphinxes don't exist as a race of actual creatures, but in mythology of the setting's equivalent of Ancient Egypt, the death-obsessed civilisation of Nehekhara, sphinxes were the guardians of the Underworld and a popular motif in their architecture. The undead remains of the fallen kingdom, the Tomb Kings, consequently use two types of war constructs modeled after sphinxes. Khemrian Warsphinxes resemble enormous skeletal lions carved out of stone, and are used as both war monsters and steeds by Nehekharan rulers. Necropshinxes are centauroid statues with the bodies of lions, the upper bodies and heads of men, a pair of giant blades for arms and (non-functional) wings, and are used chiefly as monster-killers.
** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'':
*** As a realm of knowledge and hidden import Hysh, the Realm of Light, and the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Lumineth Realm-lords]] who live there are strongly associated with sphinxes and sphinx-like creatures. The Hyshian moon spirit Celennar, for example, takes the form of a tawny sphinx-like beast with a face covered by a white mask adorned with a pair of large horns.
*** Mindstealer Sphiranxes are chaos creatures resembling long-armed felines with a third eye in the middle of their foreheads and a large pair of horns on their heads. They were once an order of mystics who served Teclis, one of the twin aelven gods of Hysh, but made a pact with the [[DealWithTheDevil Tzeentch, dark god of magic]], in order to have direct access to arcane power; Tzeentch gave them their third eyes and the ability to pluck knowledge from the minds of their victims, at the cost of losing all other connections to sorcery. The rush of new knowledge drove them quite mad, and modern-day Sphyranxes revel in seizing vital knowledge from the minds of their foes before killing them.

* Myth/EgyptianMythology: The famous sphinx statues -- the Egyptians raised several, in addition to the [[Art/TheSphinx Great Sphinx of Gaza]] -- tended to be stationed as symbolic guards at the entrances to palaces, temples, and other important places, and typically bore the heads of the then-reigning pharaoh on the body of a lion (at least one has the head of Hatshepsut, for instance). As a consequence, they're believed by historians to have been meant to symbolize the link between pharaohs and the lion goddess Sekhmet. Of note is that Egyptian sphinxes never had wings and were likely not actually called sphinxes; the name was used for them by Greek historians, writing long after the statues were built. Ram-headed sphinxes were built as well, and were symbols of the god Amun; Thebes, the center of Amun's cult, has the highest concentration of ram-headed lion statues. Hawk-headed lions also appear in carvings as symbols of Horus. Herodotus later coined the terms criosphinx and hieracosphinx when describing these last two types.

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[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]

* Myth/EgyptianMythology: The famous sphinx statues -- the Egyptians raised several, in addition to the Great Sphinx of Gaza -- tended to be stationed as symbolic guards at the entrances to palaces, temples and other important places, and typically bore the heads of the then-reigning pharaoh on the body of a lion (at least one has the head of Hatshepsut, for instance). As a consequence, they're believed by historians to have been meant to symbolize the link between pharaohs and the lion goddess Sekhmet. Of note is that Egyptian sphinxes never had wings and were likely not actually called sphinxes; the name was used for them by Greek historians, writing long after the statues were built. Ram-headed sphinxes were built as well, and were symbols of the god Amun; Thebes, the center of Amun's cult, has the highest concentration of ram-headed lion statues. Hawk-headed lions also appear in carvings as symbols of Horus. Herodotus later coined the terms criosphinx and hieracosphinx when describing these last two types.

* ''Series/ChorikiSentaiOhranger'': OhBlue [[AnimalMecha pilots the Dash Leon]].

A sphinx has the body of a lion, sometimes have the wings of a bird, and is most commonly depicted with the head of a human being; these are typically referred to as '''androsphinxes''' when male, or as '''gynosphinxes''' when female. Gynosphinxes may or may not be depicted with human breasts. Either type may be depicted wearing a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemes nemes]]'', the striped headcloth worn by Egyptian pharaohs. The most common alternative types are ram-headed sphinxes, called '''criosphinxes''', and hawk- or falcon-headed ones, called '''hieracosphinxes'''. Sphinxes with other animals' heads are rare, but not entirely unheard of, and don't generally have universal names. All variants may or may not be winged. In general, human-headed sphinxes are more likely to be mystical and refined, while animal-headed ones are more likely to be bestial and aggressive.

* ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'': When Pteppic and Ptraci are attempting to reenter Djelibeybi, they pass through a misty land not entirely in any dimension where they encounter the Sphinx, who asks them her famous riddle (and a second less famous one[[note]]"Here are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. What are they?" The answer is "Day and night"[[/note]]) with the equally famous penalty, and will not let them pass unless they answer it.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'': The Sphynx, a giant, woman-headed and winged lion, is one of the four legendary creatures of Greek myth that are fought as bosses alongside Brontes the cyclops, Medusa and the Minotaur. Like the others, she [[spoiler:was a normal human who was corrupted by one of the Pieces of Eden, a remnant of an ancient project meant to create terror weapons to be used by the Isu to cow their human subjects]].

* ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'': When Pteppic and Ptraci are attempting to reenter Djelibeybi, they pass through a misty land not entirely in any dimension where they encounter the Sphinx, who asks them her famous riddle with the equally famous penalty, and will not let them pass unless they answer it.

A sphinx has the body of a lion, possibly the wings of a bird, and is most commonly depicted with the head of a human being; these are typically referred to as '''androsphinxes''' when male, or as '''gynosphinxes''' when female. Gynosphinxes may or may not be depicted with human breasts. Either type may be depicted wearing a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemes nemes]]'', the striped headcloth worn by Egyptian pharaohs. The most common alternative types are ram-headed sphinxes, called '''criosphinxes''', and hawk- or falcon-headed ones, called '''hieracosphinxes'''. Sphinxes with other animals' heads are rare, but not entirely unheard of, and don't generally have universal names. All variants may or may not be winged. In general, human-headed sphinxes are more likely to be mystical and refined, while animal-headed ones are more likely to be bestial and aggressive.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': Sphinxes resembling nothing so much as [[PrehistoricAnimalAnalogue fire-breathing, winged saber-toothed cats]] appear as bestial enemies in ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus Chains of Olympus]]. Statues scattered here and there depict the more traditional woman-headed version, however, as well as [[WhatCouldHaveBeen concept arts for the aforementioned enemies]].

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': Sphinxes resembling nothing so much as fire-breathing, winged saber-toothed cats appear as bestial enemies. Statues scattered here and there depict the more traditional woman-headed version.

%%* ''Webcomic/{{Subnormality}}'': There is a single sphinx in the comic's world.

* ''Tabletopgame/YuGiOh'': Sphinxes are an archetype of monsters with leonine bodies and usually humanoid heads. They include Andro Sphinx (a humanoid lion), Sphinx Teleia (a winged, woman-headed sphinx with a chain and collar around her neck), Theinen the Great Sphinx (a centauroid sphinx with Andro Sphinx's upper body and Sphinx Teleia's lower), Dimension Sphinx (an Egyptian sphinx statue), Criosphinx (another centauroid, but with blue skin and the horns and muzzle of a ram) and Hieracosphinx (lion body, wings and falcon head).

A sphinx has the body of a lion, possibly the wings of a bird, and is most commonly depicted with the head of a human being; these are typically referred to as '''androsphinxes''' when male, or as '''gynosphinxes''' when female. Gynosphinxes may or may not be depicted with human breasts. Either type may be depicted wearing a ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemes nemes]]'', the striped headcloth worn by Egyptian pharaohs.

The most common alternative types are ram-headed sphinxes, called '''criosphinxes''', and hawk- or falcon-headed ones, called '''hieracosphinxes'''. Sphinxes with other animals' heads are rare, but not entirely unheard of, and don't generally have universal names. All variants may or may not be winged. In general, human-headed sphinxes are more likely to be mystical and refined, while animal-headed ones are more likely to be bestial and aggressive.

* Myth/ClassicalMythology: The Greek sphinx was a singular entity typically portrayed with wings and a woman's head, sometimes also with human breasts or a serpent-headed tail. She was a malicious and dangerous being who guarded the road to Thebes, killed all who could not answer her famous riddle and took her own life when Oedipus got it right. She was usually considered one of the many monstrous children fo Echidna, making her a sister to the Chimera, Cerberus and other monsters, and to have lived in Ethiopia until Hera sent her to plague Thebes. The Greeks are generally thought to have gotten the sphinx motif from Egypt, as Egyptian depictions of sphinxes are older and the Greek version begins to turn up at about the same time as stable trade routes were formed between the two cultures. The word "sphinx" is believed to originate either from the Greek term for strangulation, as lionesses typically kill large prey by suffocating it, or from a corruption of the Egyptian term for "living image", as Egyptian sphinx statues were often carved from living rock.

* ''Webcomic/Subnormality'': There is a single sphinx in the comic's world.

It's worth noting that the Greek and Egyptian sphinxes behaved differently. The Greek sphinx was a single one-of-a-kind monster and enemy of mankind sent as a plague by Hera to punish Thebes, and was the one that asked the infamous riddle and was bested by Oedipus. Egyptian sphinxes were a myriad of creatures and statues representing deities, protectors and pharaohs, and could be male, female and animal-headed[[note]]It also should be noted that Egyptian sphinxes are ''much older'' -- we're talking at least a full millennium -- than the Greek version. As noted below, they obviously weren't called "sphinxes" but what they, especially the Great Sphinx, were called have been lost to time[[/note]]. The common image of a sphinx in modern-day media is [[PopCulturalOsmosis a mix of the two]], taking the Egyptian theme and appearance but the Greek behavior.