Sphinx Yokai

**Sphinx Yokai** are a variation of the Feline Yokai who has the body of a lion and the head of a human or a cat.

## Physical Appearance

Sphinx Yokai are separated into different groups. One group has the body of a lion and the head of either a human or a domestic cat. The second group is called Gynosphinx. Gynosphinx has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. The third group is called Androsphinx. These yokai are the male counterparts of the Gynosphinx who comes from Egyptian folklore. The fourth group is similar to the likes of the centaur and the arachne. They have the upper body of a human, lower body of a lion, and wings of an eagle. The wings are where the arms show be.

## Description

While the race is said to have originated in Egypt, Sphinxes have appeared in numerous mythological accounts around the world including Egypt, Greece and South and Southeast Asia. In all legends they are said to be guardians of certain locales who challenge wanderers with riddles. If the wanderer is able to answer their riddle they allow the wanderer to pass and are sometimes said to kill themselves for their failure to best the wanderer, if the wanderer is unable to answer the riddle, the Sphinx would kill them and devour their body. Sphinx Yokai shares that trait. When they come across people, they would often ask them if they can solve their riddles. If the person answers it correctly, then they'll let them go about their day. However, if they get it wrong, they would put a curse on them.

## Abilities

Here are the abilities that Sphinx Yokai can have in their arsenal:

* Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Intelligence
* Feline Physiology
	+ Camouflage
	+ Claw Retraction
	+ Climbing
	+ Enhanced Bite
	+ Enhanced/Supernatural Condition
		- Enhanced Agility
		- Enhanced Balance
		- Enhanced Flexibility
		- Enhanced Leap
		- Enhanced Senses
		- Enhanced Speed
		- Enhanced Strength
	+ Night Vision
	+ Predator Instinct
* Guardianship
* Spiritual Awareness

### Variations

* Encyclopedic Knowledge
	+ Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Wisdom
* Magic
* Solar Empowerment
* Solar Energy Absorption
* Unnatural Size
* Wing Manifestation/Flight

### Types of Sphinx

* **Criosphinx**: Caprine Physiology
* **Hierocosphinx**: Raptor Physiology

## Pop Culture

The sphinx has appeared in cartoons, movies, anime and video games. Meopatra from Yo-Kai Watch is centaur-like Yokai that is based on a sphinx. Sphinxes has appeared in Sofia the First, Puss in Boots, Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Skylanders, etc.

## Variations

### Feline Yokai

In some stories, sphinxes are described to have the body of a lion and the face of a normal domestic cat. They don't possess any wings.

### Lion Yokai

All sphinxes has the lower bodies of lions. Some may even have haunches of a lion.

### Eagle Yokai

Some sphinxes has the wings of the eagle. They can use the wings for flight and/or attacking their enemies.

### Caprine Yokai

Like other types of sphinx, these creatures had tawny lion bodies as large as a horse with large wings similar to that of a falcon. In addition, they were always male. When born they lack their distinctive ram horns. These develop rapidly over the course of their first year of life and then at an increasingly slow rate afterwards. Though they had the head of a ram, their mouth was full of sharp carnivore teeth.

### Raptor Yokai

The hieracosphinx is a mythical beast found in Egyptian sculpture and European heraldry. The god Haroeris was usually depicted as one.

## Life in the Hidden World

Sphinxes predominantly lives in the Egypt Region of the Hidden City. They act as guards for the entrance of pyramids and temples. Despite living in Egypt, they can also live in the Greece Hidden City and the South and Southeast Asia Hidden Continent. Sphinxes can come in different forms and they can act different from one another. In Greek tradition, sphinx has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman (an gynosphinx), mythicised as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories, as they are killed and eaten by this ravenous monster. Unlike the Greek sphinx which was a woman, the Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as a man (an androsphinx), in addition, the Egyptian sphinx was viewed as benevolent in contrast to the malevolent Greek version and was thought of as a guardian often flanking the entrances to temples. But some sphinxes tend to combine the riddling and feminine appearance of the Greek sphinx with the less violent temperament of the Egyptian sphinx, but one repeating pattern is that sphinxes are guardians and secret-keepers.

## Symbolism

In Egypt, the sphinx was viewed as a protector and a benevolent guardian. The combination of the lion’s body and the human head is interpreted as symbolic of strength and intelligence. In Greece, the sphinx was symbolic of mystery, enigma and brutality.