The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: , ''gryps'';

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later pe ...

: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used f ...

: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.;

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...

: ''griffon'') is a

legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accou ...

with the body, tail, and back legs of a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

; the head and wings of an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

; and sometimes an eagle's talons as its front feet. Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts, and the eagle the king of the birds, by the Middle Ages, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, griffins were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions. In Greek and Roman texts, griffins and Arimaspians were associated with gold deposits of Central Asia. Indeed, as

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...

wrote, "griffins were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests contained gold nuggets." In medieval heraldry, the griffin became a Christian

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

of divine power and a guardian of the divine.

Etymology

The derivation of this word remains uncertain. It could be related to the Greek word (grypos), meaning 'curved', or 'hooked'. It could also have been an Anatolian loan word derived from a Semitic language, compare the Hebrew word for

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

(''kerúv'').

Form

Most statuary representations of griffins depict them with bird-like forelegs and talons, although in some older illustrations griffins have a lion's forelegs (see below); they generally have a lion's hindquarters. Its eagle's head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion's ears, but are often elongated (more like a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

's), and are sometimes feathered. Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings, or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin. In 15th-century and later

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

, such a beast may be called an alke, a keythong or a male griffin. The opinicus or epimacu is another heraldic variety of griffin, with the body and four legs of a lion, the head, neck and wings of an eagle, and a camel's short tail. It is sometimes wingless.

History

Representations of griffin-like hybrids with four legs and a beaked head appeared in Ancient Egyptian art dating back to before 3000 BC. In Egypt, a griffin-like animal can be seen in a cosmetic palette from Hierakonpolis, known as the "Two Dog Palette", which is dated to BC. In Iranian mythology, the griffin is called ''Shirdal'', which means "Lion-Eagle". The ''Shirdal'' has appeared in ancient art of Iran since the late 2nd millennium BC. ''Shirdal''s appeared on cylinder seals from

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

as early as 3000 BC. ''Shirdal''s also are common motifs in the art of Luristan, the North and North West region of Iran in the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

, and Achaemenian art. Griffin-type creatures combining raptor heads and mammalian bodies were depicted in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

, Syria, and

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

in the Middle

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, dated at about 1950–1550 BC. Early depictions of griffin-types in Minoan art are found in the 15th century BC frescoes in the Throne Room of the

Palace of

Knossos Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...

, as restored by Sir Arthur Evans. Bird-mammal composites were a decorative theme in Archaic and Classical Greek art, but became quite popular in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, when the Greeks first began to record accounts of the "gryps" creature from travelers to Asia, such as Aristeas of Proconnesus. In

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

, the griffin image was included in Scythian "animal style" artifacts of the 6th–4th centuries BC, but no writings explain their meaning. Bronzen griffioen ForumHadriani 198894 RMO Leiden

Bronzen griffioen ForumHadriani 198894 RMO Leiden

A Soldier Fighting A Griffin In The 'Alphonso' Psalter

Martin Schongauer, The griffin (15th century)

Griffin images appeared in art of the Achaemenian Persian Empire. Russian jewelry historian Elena Neva maintained that the Achaemenids considered the griffin "a protector from evil, witchcraft, and secret slander". But no writings exist from Achaemenid Persia to support her claim. R.L. Fox (1973) remarks that a “lion-griffin” attacks a stag in a pebble mosaic at

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

, from the 4th century BC perhaps serving as an emblem of the kingdom of Macedon or a personal emblem of

Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...

, one of Alexander's successors. The Pisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture that has been in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ...

in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it is of

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

origin. It is the largest bronze medieval Islamic sculpture known, at over 3 feet tall (42.5 inches, or 1.08 m), and was probably created in the 11th century AD in Al-Andaluz (Islamic Spain). From about 1100 it was placed on a column on the roof of Pisa Cathedral until replaced by a replica in 1832; the original is now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum), Pisa.

Ancient parallels

Several ancient mythological creatures are similar to the griffin. These include the

Lamassu ''Lama'', ''Lamma'', or ''Lamassu'' (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian: lammař; later in Akkadian: ''lamassu''; sometimes called a ''lamassus'') is an Assyrian protective deity. Initially depicted as a goddess in Sumerian times, when it was called ''La ...

, an Assyrian protective deity, often depicted with a bull or lion's body, eagle's wings, and human's head. Sumerian and Akkadian mythology feature the demon Anzu, half man and half bird, associated with the chief sky god

Enlil Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Bab ...

. This was a divine storm-bird linked with the southern wind and the thunder clouds.

Jewish mythology Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on world culture in general. Christian mythology directly in ...

speaks of the Ziz, which resembles Anzu, as well as the ancient Greek Phoenix. The Bible mentions the Ziz in Psalms 50:11. This is also similar to a

. The cherub, or sphinx, was very popular in

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n iconography. In ancient Crete, griffins became very popular, and were portrayed in various media. A similar creature is the

Minoan Genius The Minoan Genius is a fantastic mythological creature that was common in the Minoan art of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization in ancient Crete. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion, or of hippopotamus, or of other animals. It is mo ...

. In the Hindu religion,

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda i ...

is a large bird-like creature which serves as a mount (''vahana'') of the Lord

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

. It is also the name for the constellation

Aquila Aquila may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Aquila'', a series of books by S.P. Somtow * ''Aquila'', a 1997 book by Andrew Norriss * ''Aquila'' (children's magazine), a UK-based children's magazine * ''Aquila'' (journal), an or ...

Medieval lore

In medieval legend, griffins not only mated for life, but if either partner died, then the other would continue the rest of its life alone, never to search for a new mate. The griffin was thus made an emblem of the Church's opposition to remarriage. Being a union of an aerial bird and a terrestrial beast, it was seen in

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwin ...

to be a symbol of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, who was both human and divine. As such it can be found sculpted on some churches. According to Stephen Friar's ''New Dictionary of Heraldry'', a griffin's claw was believed to have medicinal properties and one of its feathers could restore

sight Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum refl ...

to the

blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

. Goblets fashioned from griffin claws (

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mamm ...

horns) and griffin eggs (ostrich eggs) were highly prized in medieval European courts. When

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

emerged as a major seafaring power in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

, griffins commenced to be depicted as part of the republic's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

, rearing at the sides of the shield bearing the Cross of St. George. By the 12th century, the appearance of the griffin was substantially fixed: "All its bodily members are like a lion's, but its wings and mask are like an eagle's." It is not yet clear if its forelimbs are those of an eagle or of a lion. Although the description implies the latter, the accompanying illustration is ambiguous. It was left to the heralds to clarify that. A

hippogriff The hippogriff, or sometimes spelled hippogryph ( el, Ἱππόγρυπας), is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse. It was invented by Ludovico Ariosto in his ''Orlando Furioso'', at the beginning o ...

is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare.

In heraldry

In heraldry, the griffin's amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness, and it is always drawn to powerful fierce monsters. It is used to denote strength and military courage and leadership. Griffins are portrayed with the rear body of a lion, an eagle's head with erect ears, a feathered breast, and the forelegs of an eagle, including claws. These features indicate a combination of intelligence and strength. Griffins may be shown in a variety of poses, but in British heraldry are never shown with their wings closed. Heraldic griffins use the same

attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a prop ...

terminology as the

, with the exception that where a lion would be described as rampant a griffin is instead described as

segreant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...

. Arthur Fox-Davies, ''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'', T.C. and E.C. Jack, London, 1909, pp. 222–224, https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft. In British heraldry, a male griffin is shown without wings, its body covered in tufts of formidable spikes, with a short tusk emerging from the forehead, as for a

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicor ...

. This distinction is not found outside of British heraldry; even within it, male griffins are much rarer than winged ones, which are not given a specific name. It is possible that the male griffin originated as a derivation of the heraldic panther. The sea-griffin, also termed the gryphon-marine, is a heraldic variant of the griffin possessing the head and legs of the more common variant and the hindquarters of a

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

or a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

. Sea-griffins are present on the arms of a number of German noble families, including the Mestich family of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...

and the Barony of Puttkamer. The opincus is another heraldic variant, which is depicted with all four legs being those of a lion. Occasionally, its tail may be that of a camel or its wings may be absent. The opincus is rarely used in heraldry, but appears in the arms of the Worshipful Company of Barbers. File:Johann-Vogel-Meditationes-emblematicae-de-restaurata-pace-Germaniae MGG 1034.tif, Griffin in Johann Vogel: ''Meditationes emblematicae de restaurata pace Germaniae'', 1649 File:Bevan Crest.jpg, A heraldic griffin passant of the Bevan family crest File:Griffioen, Kasteel de Haar, juli 2003.JPG, Heraldic guardian griffin at Kasteel de Haar, Netherlands, 1892–1912 File:POL COA Gryf.svg, The Gryf coat of arms of the knighthood family

Gryfici The House of Griffin or Griffin dynasty (german: Greifen; pl, Gryfici, da, Grif) was a dynasty ruling the Duchy of Pomerania from the 12th century until 1637. The name "Griffins" was used by the dynasty after the 15th century and had been take ...

. Used by c. 481 Polish noble families.

In architecture

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

decoration the griffin is usually represented as a four-footed beast with wings and the head of an

with horns, or with the head and beak of an eagle. The statues that mark the entrance to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

are sometimes mistaken for griffins, but are in fact (Tudor) dragons, the supporters of the city's arms. They are most easily distinguished from griffins by their membranous, rather than feathered, wings.

In literature

: ''For fictional characters named Griffin, see Griffin (surname)'' Flavius Philostratus mentioned them in ''The Life of Apollonius of Tyana'': Griffins are used widely in

Persian poetry Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...

; Rumi is one such poet who writes in reference to griffins.''The Essential Rumi'', translated from Persian by Coleman Barks, p 257 In

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

'', after Dante and Virgil's journey through Hell and Purgatory has concluded, Dante meets a chariot dragged by a griffin in Earthly Paradise. Immediately afterwards, Dante is reunited with Beatrice. Dante and Beatrice then start their journey through Paradise. The red animal story book - plate facing page 004

The red animal story book - plate facing page 004

Sir John Mandeville wrote about them in his 14th century book of travels: Alice griffin, rabbithole

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and polit ...

, in ''

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674 ...

'' II, refers to the legend of the griffin in describing

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

: Griffins appear in the fairy tales " Jack the Giant Killer", " The Griffin" and " The Singing, Springing Lark". In '' The Son of Neptune'' by

Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million c ...

, Percy Jackson,

Hazel Levesque A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan. Overview List indicator(s) * A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the property or that the character's presence in the property has yet to ...

, and Frank Zhang are attacked by griffins in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. In the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students a ...

'' series, the character

Albus Dumbledore Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. As part of his backstory, it is revealed that he is ...

has a griffin-shaped knocker. Also, the character

Godric Gryffindor The following fictional characters are staff members and denizens of Hogwarts in the ''Harry Potter'' books written by J. K. Rowling. The staff and their positions Teachers and staff members The following teachers and staff members do not ha ...

's surname is a variation on the French ''griffon d'or'' ("golden griffon"). Pomponius Mela: "In Europe, constantly falling snow makes those places contiguous with the Riphean Mountains so impassable that, in addition, they prevent those who deliberately travel here from seeing anything. After that comes a region of very rich soil but quite uninhabitable because griffins, a savage and tenacious breed of wild beasts, love- to an amazing degree- the gold that is mined from deep within the earth there, and because they guard it with an amazing hostility to those who set foot there." (Romer, 1998.) Isidore of Seville – "The Gryphes are so called because they are winged quadrupeds. This kind of wild beast is found in the Hyperborean Mountains. In every part of their body they are lions, and in wings and heads are like eagles, and they are fierce enemies of horses. Moreover they tear men to pieces." (Brehaut, 1912)

Modern uses

The griffin is the symbol of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin F ...

; bronze castings of them perch on each corner of the

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

's roof, protecting its collection.Glassteelandstone.com
, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Glass Steel and Stone Similarly, prior to the mid-1990s a griffin formed part of the logo of Midland Bank (now

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

). The griffin is used in the logo of United Paper Mills,

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...

, and of

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skå ...

and its former partners

Saab Group Saab AB (originally , later just SAAB and Saab Group) is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. Headquartered in Stockholm, the development and the manufacturing is undertaken in Linköping. Saab produced automobiles from 194 ...

and

Saab Automobile Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 th ...

. The latest fighter produced by the Saab Group bears the name " Gripen" (Griffin), as a result of public competition. During World War II, the Heinkel firm named its heavy bomber design for the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

after the legendary animal, as the Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'', the German form of "griffin".

General Atomics General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. Th ...

has used the term "Griffin Eye" for its intelligence surveillance platform based on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 35ER civilian aircraft The "Griff" statue by Veres Kalman 2007 in the forecourt of the Farkashegyi cemetery in Budapest, Hungary. Griffins, like many other fictional creatures, frequently appear within works under the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

genre. Examples of fantasy-oriented franchises that feature griffins include '' Warhammer Fantasy Battle'', '' Warcraft'', '' Heroes of Might and Magic'', the Griffon in ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'', '' Ragnarok Online'', ''

'', ''

The Spiderwick Chronicles ''The Spiderwick Chronicles'' is a series of children's fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. They chronicle the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory, after they move into the Spider ...

'', ''

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' is an animated children's television series based on the fourth incarnation of Hasbro's ''My Little Pony'' franchise. The series follows a studious unicorn (later an alicorn) pony named Twilight Spark ...

'', and '' The Battle for Wesnoth''. File:POL województwo zachodniopomorskie COA.svg, The red griffin rampant was the coat of arms of the dukes of

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to t ...

and survives today as the armorial of

West Pomeranian Voivodeship The West Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as the West Pomerania Province, is a voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals 22 892.48 km² (8,838.84 sq mi), and in 2021, it was ...

(historically,

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (german: Hinterpommern, Ostpommern), is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the ...

) in Poland. It is also part of the coat of arms of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, representing the historical region Vorpommern ( Hither Pommerania). File:Wappen Greifswald.svg, Similarly, the coat of arms of Greifswald, Germany, in

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in pop ...

, also shows a red griffin rampant – perched in a tree, reflecting a legend about the town's founding in the 13th century. File:Estonian Security Police logo.svg, The yellow griffin pictured in the logo of the

Estonian Internal Security Service The Estonian Internal Security Service ( et, Kaitsepolitsei, officially et, Kaitsepolitseiamet, KaPo for short) is a central national security institution of Republic of Estonia. Its purposes are centered on enforcing constitutional order. The ...

. File:Emblem of Crimea.svg, The

Coat of arms of Crimea Both the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Russian Republic of Crimea use the same coat of arms (russian: Герб Крыма, uk, Герб Криму), which has been in use since 1992. Description The coat of arms consists of a ...

File:Seal_of_Heraklion.svg, Seal of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban ...

, Greece File:Stuffed griffin.jpg,

Rogue taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

griffin, Zoological Museum, Copenhagen File:Utin jääkärirykmentin lippu.svg, Flag of the Utti Jaeger Regiment of the Finnish Army

School emblems and mascots

Three gryphons form the crest of Trinity College, Oxford (founded 1555), originating from the family crest of founder Sir Thomas Pope. The college's debating society is known as the Gryphon, and the notes of its master emeritus show it to be one of the oldest debating institutions in the country, significantly older than the more famous

Oxford Union Society The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a Debate, debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's ...

. Griffins are also mascots for VU University Amsterdam,

Reed College Reed College is a private university, private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor style architecture ...

, Sarah Lawrence College, the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, and Canisius College. The official seal of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

was adopted during the University's centennial in 1969. The seal, approved by the Board of Trustees, was designed by Prof. Al Gowan, formerly at Purdue. It replaced an unofficial one that had been in use for 73 years. The

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...

in Virginia changed its mascot to the griffin in April 2010. The griffin was chosen because it is the combination of the British lion and the American eagle. The

367th Training Support Squadron The 367th Training Support Squadron, located at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is a component squadron of the 782nd Training Group; part of the 82d Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. Mission The 367 Training Support Squadron produces ...

's and

12th Combat Aviation Brigade The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade is a Combat Aviation Brigade of the United States Army. It was first organized as the 12th Aviation Group at Fort Benning, Georgia, on 18 June 1965. Vietnam The unit deployed to Vietnam in August 1965 to comma ...

feature griffins in their unit patches. The emblem of the Greek 15th Infantry Division features an ax-wielding griffin on its unit patch. The English independent school of Wycliffe College features a griffin on its school crest. The mascot of St Mary's College, one of the 16 colleges in Durham University, is a griffin. The mascot of Glebe Collegiate Institute in Ottawa is the gryphon, and the team name is the Glebe Gryphons. The griffin is the official mascot of Chestnut Hill College and

Gwynedd Mercy University Gwynedd Mercy University (GMercyU) is a private Roman Catholic university in Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania. It occupies a campus in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Gwynedd Mercy University was founded in 1948, as Gwynedd-Mercy College, ...

, both in Pennsylvania. The mascot of

Leadership High School Leadership High School is a public charter high school located in San Francisco. Founded in 1997, Leadership or "LHS" was California's first start-up charter high school. The school provides a college-preparatory curriculum and focuses on leader ...

in San Francisco, CA was chosen by the student body by popular vote to be the griffin after the Golden Gate University Griffins, where they operated out of from 1997 to 2000. The Gryphon is the school mascot for Glenlyon Norfolk School, an independent, co-ed, university preparatory day school in Victoria and

Oak Bay Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is border ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

Public organizations (non-educational)

A griffin appears in the official seal of the Municipality of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. A griffin appears in the official seal of the

Waterloo Police Department (Iowa) The Waterloo Police Department is the municipal police department for the city of Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the bat ...

In professional sports

The

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Lea ...

professional ice hockey team of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

. Suwon Samsung Bluewings's mascot "Aguileon" is a griffin. The name "Aguileon" is a compound using two Spanish words; "aguila" meaning "

" and "leon" meaning "

Amusement parks

Busch Gardens Williamsburg's highlight attraction is a dive coaster called the "Griffon", which opened in 2007. In 2013, Cedar Point Amusement Park in

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo ( west) and Cleveland ( east). Accord ...

opened the " GateKeeper" steel roller coaster, which features a griffin as its mascot.

In film and television

Film and television company Merv Griffin Entertainment uses a griffin for its production company. Merv Griffin Entertainment was founded by entrepreneur Merv Griffin and is based in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

. His former company Merv Griffin Enterprises also used a griffin for its logo. Griffins appear in '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', and '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian''. Griffins are also present in various animated series, such as ''

, World of Quest and

Yin Yang Yo! ''Yin Yang Yo!'' is a flash-animated television series created by Bob Boyle for Jetix. Produced by Jetix Animation Concepts as the third Jetix original series, it first aired on August 26, 2006, as a sneak peek and premiered on September 4, 20 ...

'' A griffin appeared in the 1974 film '' The Golden Voyage of Sinbad''. In the movie Latitude Zero ,a creature called "the Griffon" is Made by inserting a woman's

brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

into a lion Condor hybrid. In the

Sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

, The Big Bang Theory, Dr. Sheldon Cooper mentions that he attempted to create a griffon but could not obtain the “necessary eagle eggs and lion semen.”

In business

previously used the griffin in their logo. Information security firm Halock uses a griffin to represent protecting data and systems.

Use for real animals

Some large species of Old World vultures are called griffines, including the

griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with ...

(''Gyps fulvus''). The scientific name for the Andean condor is ''Vultur gryphus'', Latin for "griffin-vulture". The Catholic Douay-Rheims version of the Bible uses griffon for a creature referred to as vulture or ossifrage in other English translations (Leviticus 11:13).

Possible influence by dinosaurs

Hyperborean-gryphon-persepolis-protoceratops-psittacosaurus-skeletons

Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist and historian of science, has speculated that the way the Greeks imagined griffins from the seventh century BC onwards may have been influenced in part by the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

ized remains of beaked dinosaurs such as '' Protoceratops'' observed on the way to gold deposits by nomadic prospectors of ancient Scythia (Central Asia), This speculation is based on Greek and Latin literary sources and related artworks in a specific time frame, beginning with the first ''written'' descriptions of griffins as real animals of Asia in a lost work by Aristeas (a Greek who traveled to the Altai region between Mongolia and NW China in the 7th century BC) referenced by Aeschylus and Herodotus (ca. 450 BC) and ending with Aelian (3rd century AD), the last ancient author to report any "new" details about the griffin. Mayor argues that ''Protoceratops'' fossils, seen by ancient observers, may have been interpreted as evidence of a half-bird-half-mammal creature. She argues that over-repeated retelling and drawing or recopying its bony neck frill (which is rather fragile and may have been frequently broken or entirely weathered away) may become large mammal-type external ears, and its beak may be treated as evidence of a part-bird nature and lead to bird-type wings being added. Paleontologist Mark P. Witton has contested this hypothesis, arguing that it ignores the existence of depictions of griffins throughout the Near East dating to long before the time when Mayor posits the Greeks became aware of ''Protoceratops'' fossils in Scythia. Witton further argues that the anatomies of griffins in Greek art are clearly based on those of living creatures, especially lions and eagles, and that there are no features of griffins in Greek art that can only be explained by the hypothesis that the griffins were based on fossils. He notes that Greek accounts of griffins describe them as living creatures, not ancient skeletons, and that some of the details of these accounts suggest griffins are purely imaginary, not inspired by fossils.

Mark Witton Mark Paul Witton is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author, and palaeoartist best known for his research and illustrations concerning pterosaurs, the extinct flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs. He has worked with museums and u ...

Why Protoceratops Almost Certainly Wasn't The Inspiration For Griffin Legend
/ref>

Military

* Royal Air Force Police depicts a griffin for their unit badge. *

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...

Police depicts a griffin holding a taiaha for their unit badge.

Notes and references

External links

The Gryphon Pages
a repository of griffin lore and information

source texts in Greek, Hebrew, and Old English, with new English translations. * {{Authority control Egyptian legendary creatures European legendary creatures Greek legendary creatures Heraldic beasts Mythological birds of prey Mythological hybrids