Stuck in front of the Sphinx with no idea what to say? You are not alone. The AC Odyssey Sphinx riddles have stopped thousands of players in their tracks, mostly because one wrong guess ends the fight instantly. This guide gives you every riddle, every answer, and the exact steps to unlock the quest — no guesswork needed.

Here is the short version: the Sphinx asks 3 riddles picked at random from a pool of 12. Get all 3 right, and you walk away with a legendary weapon. Get one wrong, and you start over. Below, we break down the full Sphinx riddles and answers list, plus a few bonus brain-teasers for extra fun.

What Is the AC Odyssey Sphinx Riddle Quest?

The Sphinx is one of the strangest fights in the entire game, because it is not really a fight at all.

She shows up during the Atlantis storyline in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Instead of swords and arrows, she challenges you with words. You cannot out-fight her — the only way past is to out-think her. That is what makes the Sphinx riddles Odyssey encounter so memorable.

It’s worth clearing up a common mix-up first: this riddle mechanic belongs to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, not Assassin’s Creed Origins. Origins has its own Sphinx statue in Giza, but it does not include this riddle-and-answer system. If you searched for the Origins version, you landed on the right franchise, just the wrong game.

Beat all three riddles, and you earn the Prize of the Sphinx (a First Civilization artifact), the Mace of the Sphinx weapon, a Sphinx Figurehead for your ship, and the “Riddle Me This” trophy or achievement. That is a solid reward for a conversation.

Here’s a detail most guides skip: several of these riddles were not invented for the game. They are paraphrased from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, specifically Gollum’s riddle contest with Bilbo in the “Riddles in the Dark” chapter. Ubisoft’s writers borrowed the structure and rhythm, then reworked the wording. If a riddle feels oddly familiar, that’s why.

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How to Unlock the Sphinx Riddles in Awaken the Myth

You can’t just walk up and start guessing. There’s a short quest chain that leads you there.

The order goes: A Family’s Legacy (on the island of Thera) → Lore of the Sphinx (Boeotia region) → Awaken the Myth (also in Boeotia). You’ll need to have completed the main story quest “United Front” first, which typically opens up around Sequence 7.

One quirky requirement: the Sphinx only appears at night. If you arrive and the sun is still up, use your camp to skip forward a few hours. This trips up more players than the riddles themselves.

Once she wakes, remember this: you must recall all three of your answers afterward. After the riddle exchange ends, you’ll need to press the correct glyphs on the stone pillars surrounding her to confirm what you said. Mixing up your own answers at this stage resets the whole encounter, so it helps to say them out loud or jot them down as you go.

All 15+ AC Odyssey Sphinx Riddles & Answers (Full List)

The Sphinx pulls from a bank of 12 official riddles, asking 3 at random each time. Below is the complete list, numbered, with every answer bolded for quick scanning. We’ve also added 3 bonus riddles at the end, written in the same spirit, for anyone who wants extra practice.

1. As small as your thumb, I am light in the air. You may hear me before you see me, but trust that I’m here. — Hummingbird
2. In spring I am gay in handsome array; in summer more clothing I wear; when colder it grows, I fling off my clothes; and in winter quite naked appear. — Tree
3. Never resting, never still; moving silently from hill to hill; it does not walk, run or trot; all is cool where it is not. — Sun
4. What can bring back the dead; make you cry, make you laugh, make you young; is born in an instant, yet lasts a lifetime. — Memory
5. What is always old and sometimes new; never sad, sometimes blue; never empty, but sometimes full; never pushes, always pulls? — Moon
6. What is large, yet never grows; has roots that cannot be seen; and is taller than trees? — Mountain
7. At night they come without being fetched, and by day they are lost without being stolen. — Stars
8. I create my lair with earthen string, and dispatch my prey with a biting sting. — Spider
9. This thing all things devour: birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal. — Time
10. Some try to hide, some try to cheat; but time will show, we always will meet. — Death
11. What can run, but never walks; has a mouth, but never talks; has a head, but never weeps; has a bed, but never sleeps? — River
12. I’m alive, but without breath; I’m as cold in life as in death; I’m never thirsty, though I always drink. — Fish

Bonus riddles, in the Sphinx’s tricky tone:

13. I have no legs, yet I always travel; I have no voice, yet secrets I unravel. — A Letter
14. The more you take, the more you leave behind. — Footsteps
15. I am not alive, but I grow; I don’t have lungs, but I need air. — Fire

A quick warning worth repeating: guess wrong even once, and the Sphinx kills you on the spot. You’ll respawn and get a fresh, randomly chosen set of 3 riddles — not the same ones. So memorizing this full list of AC Odyssey Sphinx riddles and answers is actually smarter than trying to guess your way through.

Tips to Beat the Sphinx Riddle Every Time

A little strategy turns this from a stressful guessing game into an easy win.

Write your three answers down the moment she finishes speaking. It sounds basic, but panic under pressure causes more failed attempts than the riddles themselves.

Watch out for riddles with more than one “reasonable” answer. Riddle #3, for example, tricks players into saying “Wind” instead of Sun — both fit the mood of the poem, but only one is coded as correct in the game’s dialogue tree.

If your only goal is the “Riddle Me This” achievement, keep this guide open on a second screen and match each riddle as it appears. There’s no shame in it — the reward is the same either way.

FAQs

What are the correct answers for the Sphinx?

The Sphinx pulls from 12 set riddles. The full answer key — from Hummingbird and Tree to Time and Death — is listed above in order, so you can match whichever riddle she happens to ask you.

What is the riddle asked by the Sphinx in Assassin’s Creed Origins?

This is actually a common mix-up. Assassin’s Creed Origins does not include a riddle-answering Sphinx mechanic. The riddle-based encounter belongs to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, tied to the Atlantis and “Awaken the Myth” storyline.

How to beat the Sphinx riddle?

Answer all three randomly chosen riddles correctly in a row, then confirm your answers by pressing the matching glyphs on the pillars around her. One wrong answer resets the whole encounter with new riddles.

What are the answers to the Sphinx’s riddle in Awaken the Myth in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey?

Same 12-riddle pool covered in this guide. “Awaken the Myth” is simply the name of the quest where the riddle challenge takes place, after you complete “Lore of the Sphinx.”

Conclusion

The Sphinx isn’t hard once you know her playbook. Twelve riddles, one memory test, and a bit of patience is all it takes to walk away with the Mace of the Sphinx and your trophy. AC Odyssey Sphinx riddles Bookmark this list, keep your answers straight, and you’ll clear “Awaken the Myth” on your very next attempt.