Sphinx. Image by Eduardo Francisco
A sphinx is a winged being with the body of a lion and a human torso. His head is usually dressed in the headdress of the gods.
In Egyptian mythology, the sphinx is a male statue with the body of a lion, the torso of a man, and sometimes with wings. Human heads were representations of kings. One of the most admired sphinxes is the one attributed to King Khaf-Ra. In it the king is represented with the body of a lying lion.
In Greek mythology, the sphinx was a demon that heralded bad luck, death, and destruction. Its description is still that of a winged lion with a human torso, but in this case, it is a female torso with a snake tail. This sphinx would lie down on the rocks and throw riddles at whoever passed by. If the passerby did not get the riddle right he was strangled by the sphinx with his tail. The name sphinx comes from the Greek sphingo and means «the strangler».
androsphinx
Androsphinx. Image by Leo Li
They have the body of a winged male lion and the face of a man. They are quite intelligent, their nature is good-natured, and among all kinds of sphinxes, they are the strongest. Its powerful claws can kill a man with a single sweep.
Despite the fact that they have magic and can cast spells, they usually don’t do it for attack, but for defense and healing purposes. The androsfinges have a powerful weapon; his roar. They can roar three times a day. The first roar causes creatures that hear it to flee in panic. If she is disturbed again, she can let out a second roar capable of paralyzing creatures around her. The third roar is devastating; creatures that hear it will feel greatly weakened and may even die.
Androsphinges are sought after by gynosphinges (their female counterpart) for mating. The main mission of the androsphinges is to watch over and protect the other sphinxes from humans and other beings, even from other sphinxes.
gynosphinx
Gynosphinx. Image by Svetlin Velinov
They are winged lions with feminine facial features. They are not as strong as androsphinges but they are more intelligent and wise. They live in warm and desert climates. They love puzzles and often help travelers in exchange for puzzles or other information they find interesting, such as the location of an androsphinx.
They also have magic and can cast many types of spells, one of them being clairaudience, which allows them to hear comments from other beings even when they are not nearby.
They are treasure lovers, so they accept gems and gold in exchange for a favor.
cryosphinx
They are male sphinxes with the body of a winged lion and the head of a ram. They are of low intelligence, and neutral character. They are not as strong as androsphinges, but still have powerful claws and the horns on their heads to ferociously attack the enemy.
They are dedicated to locating gynosphinges to mate with them. Upon locating the cave of a gynosphinx, they fight among themselves and the male who wins the fight enters the cave.
Hieracosphinx
These evil natured sphinxes have low intelligence but are physically very strong. They are male lions with wings and the head of a falcon.
They cannot cast spells, so in combat with other beings they fight fiercely, attacking with their claws or sharp beaks. They are usually found in bands of about 10 hieracosphinges. Hirecosfiges are eternal enemies of androsphinges.
They also look for gynosphinges for reproductive purposes.
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