Gryphons (softball) on:  
[Wikipedia]  
[Google]  
[Amazon]

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (;
Classical 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 formed parallel to Vulgar Latin around 75 BC out of Old Latin ...
: ''gryps'' or ''grypus'';
Late
Late or LATE may refer to:
Everyday usage
* Tardy, or late, not being on time
* Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead
Music
* ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000
* Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993
* Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...
and
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...
:
''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.;
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th : ''griffon'') is a
-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...
: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and
back legs of a lion">Hindlimb">back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle">lion.html" ;"title="Hindlimb">back legs of a lion">Hindlimb">back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle with its talons on the front legs.
Overview
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
Arimaspi
The Arimaspi (also Arimaspians, Arimaspos, and Arimaspoi; , ) were a legendary tribe of one-eyed people of northern Scythia who lived in the foothills of the Riphean Mountains, variously identified with the Ural Mountains or the Carpathians. All ...
ans were associated with gold deposits of Central Asia. The earliest classical writings were derived from
Aristeas
Aristeas () was a semi-legendary Greek poet and Iatromantis, miracle-worker, a native of Proconnesus in Asia Minor, active ca. 7th century BC. The Suda claims that, whenever he wished, Astral Projection, his soul could leave his body and return ...
(7th cent. BC) and preserved by Herodotus and Aeschylus (mid 5th century BC), but the physical descriptions are not very explicit. Even though they are sharp-beaked, their being likened to "unbarking hounds of Zeus" has led to the speculation they were seen as wingless.
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
(1st century) was the first to state explicitly that griffins were winged and long eared. But
Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana (; ; ) was a Greek philosopher and religious leader from the town of Tyana, Cappadocia in Roman Anatolia, who spent his life travelling and teaching in the Middle East, North Africa and India. He is a central figure in Ne ...
wrote that griffins did not have true bird wings, but membranous webbed feet that only gave them the capability of short-distanced flight. Writers after Aelian (3rd century AD) did not add much new material to griffin lore, except for the later idea that griffins deposited
agate
Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...
stone among the eggs in their nest.
Pliny placed the griffins in
Æthiopia and
Ctesias
Ctesias ( ; ; ), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire.
Historical events
Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Acha ...
(5th century BC) in greater
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Scholars have observed that legends about the
gold-digging ant
The gold-digging ant is a mythical insect described in classical and medieval bestiaries. They were dog- or fox-sized ants that dug up gold in sandy areas. Some versions of the '' Physiologus'' said they came from Ethiopia, while Herodotus claim ...
s of India may have contaminated griffin lore.
In the Christian era,
Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...
(7th century AD) wrote that griffins were a great enemy of horses. This notion may have developed from the tradition that horseback-riding Arimaspians raided the griffin gold.
Nomenclature
Etymology

The derivation of this word remains uncertain. It could be related to the Greek word (grypos), meaning 'curved', or 'hooked'. Greek (gryph) from 'hook-nosed' is suggested.
It could also have been an Anatolian loan word derived from a Semitic language; compare the Hebrew ''
kərúv''.
Persian names

In the modern
Persian language
Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...
, the griffin has come to be called ''šērdāl'' (), meaning 'lion-eagle'. However, the practice of referring to ancient Iranian griffin objects or monuments as ''sherdal'', is not followed by other current archaeological scholarship (e.g., here
).
Possible
Old or Middle Iranian names for the creature have been discussed.
Middle Persian
Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
''Sēnmurw'' in
Sasanian
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
culture was a fabulous composite creature, and Russian archaeologist argued for the possibility that the application of this term may extend to the griffin.
[ The term ''Sēnmurw'' is recognized as the etymological ancestor of '']simurgh
The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...
'', which is generally regarded as a mythological bird (rather than a composite) in later medieval Persian literature, though some argue that this bird may have originated from the Mesopotamian lion-griffin.
There is also the Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
term ''Paskuč'' () that had been used to translate Greek ''gryp'' 'griffin' in the Septuagint
The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, which H. P. Schmidt characterized as the counterpart of the simurgh. However, the cognate term ''Baškuč'' (glossed as 'griffin') also occurs in Middle Persian, attested in the Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
cosmological text ''Bundahishn
The ''Bundahishn'' (Middle Persian: , "Primal Creation") is an encyclopedic collection of beliefs about Zoroastrian cosmology written in the Book Pahlavi script. The original name of the work is not known. It is one of the most important extant ...
'' XXIV (supposedly distinguishable from ''Sēnmurw'' which also appears in the same text). Middle Persian ''Paškuč'' is also attested in Manichaean
Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...
magical texts (Manichaean Middle Persian: ''pškwc''), and this must have meant a "griffin or a monster like a griffin" according to W. B. Henning.
Egyptian names
The griffin was given names which were descriptive epithets, such as or ''tesh-tesh'' meaning "Tearer in-pieces inscribed on a griffin image found in a tomb at Deir El Bersha
Deir El Bersha (; also written as Dayr al-Barsha, Deir el-Bersheh) is a Copts, Coptic village in Middle Egypt, in the Minya Governorate. It is located on the east bank of the Nile to the south of Antinopolis, Antinoöpolis and almost opposite the ...
; and / "fiery one", attested at Beni Hasan
Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) () is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Memphis.Baines, John ...
(compare Hebrew '' saráf''). The descriptive epithet "Tearer" is not uniquely applied to the griffin beast, and () has also been used to denote the god Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
elsewhere.
Form
Most statuary representations of griffins depict them with bird-like forelegs and talons
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tars ...
, although in some older illustrations griffins have a lion's forelegs (see bronze figure, right); they generally have a lion's hindquarters. Its eagle's head is conventionally given prominent ear
In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...
s; 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 mi ...
's), and are sometimes feathered.
Cauldron figurines
The griffin of Greece, as depicted in cast bronze cauldron protomes (cf. below), has a squat face with short beaks that are open agape as if screaming, with the tongue showing. There is also a "top-knob" on its head or between the brows.
Tendrils
There may also be so-called "tendrils", or curled "spiral-locks" depicted, presumably representing either hair/mane or feather/crest locks dangling down. Single- or double-streaked tendrils hang down both sides and behind the griffin's neck, carven on some of the Greek protomes. The tendril motif emerged at the beginning of the first millennium, BC., in various parts of the Orient. The "double spiral of hair running downwards from the base of the ear" is said to be a hallmark of Iranian (Uratrian) art. The Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things:
**Etruscan language
** Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
**Etruscan coins
**Etruscan history
**Etruscan myt ...
cauldron-griffins (e.g., from , figure right) also bear the "curled tresses" that are the signature of Uratrian workmanship. Even the ornate crests on Minoan griffins (such as the fresco of the Throne Room, figure top of page) may be a development of these curled tresses.
Top-knob
One prominent characteristic of the cauldron griffins is the "top-knob between the brows" (seemingly situated at the top of the head).
The top-knob feature has clear oriental origins. Jack Leonard Benson says these appendages were "topknots" subsequently rendered as "knobs" in later development of the cauldron Griffins. Benson's emphasis is that the Greeks attached a stylized "anorganic" topknot or an "inorganic" plug on the griffin's head (due to lack of information), while in contrast, a known oriental example (stone protomes from Nimrud
Nimrud (; ) is an ancient Assyrian people, Assyrian city (original Assyrian name Kalḫu, biblical name Calah) located in Iraq, south of the city of Mosul, and south of the village of Selamiyah (), in the Nineveh Plains in Upper Mesopotamia. ...
) is simple but more "plausible" (naturalistic), resembling a forelock.
Warts
A cluster of "warts" between the eyes are also mentioned. One conjecture is that these derive from the bumps (furrows) on a lion's snout. Another view regards the wart as deriving from the bumpy cockscomb on a rooster or other such fowls.
Art in antiquity
Mesopotamia
Griffin-like animals were depicted on cylinder seals
A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in width, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...
in Mesopotamia 3000 BC, perhaps as early as the Uruk period
The Uruk period (; also known as Protoliterate period) existed from the protohistory, protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, after the Ubaid period and before the Jemdet Nasr period. Named after the S ...
(4000–3100BC) and subsequent Proto-Elamite
The Proto-Elamite period, also known as Susa III, is a chronological era in the ancient history of the area of Elam, dating from . In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period. Proto-Elamite sites are recognized as the o ...
(Jemdet Nasr
Jemdet Nasr () (also Jamdat Nasr and Jemdat Nasr) is a Tell (archaeology), tell or settlement mound in Babil Governorate, Iraq that is best known as the eponymous type site for the Jemdet Nasr period (c. 3100–2900 BC), under an alternate period ...
) period. An example of a winged lion with beaks, unearthed in Susa
Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
(cf. fig. right) dates to the 4th millennium B.C., and is a unique example of a griffin-like animal with a male lion's mane. However, this monster then ceased to continue to be expressed after the Elamite culture.
What the Sumerians
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. Like nearby Elam ...
of the Early Dynastic period portrayed instead were winged lions, and the lion-headed eagle ( Imdugud).
In the Akkadian Empire
The Akkadian Empire () was the first known empire, succeeding the long-lived city-states of Sumer. Centered on the city of Akkad (city), Akkad ( or ) and its surrounding region, the empire united Akkadian language, Akkadian and Sumerian languag ...
that succeeded Sumer, early examples (from early 3rd millennium BC) of lions with bird heads appeared on cylinder seals, shown pulling the chariots for its rider, the weather god. The "lion-griffin" on Akkadian seals are also shown as fire-belching, and shaggy (at the neck) in particular examples.
The bronzeworks of Luristan
Lorestan province () is one of the Provinces of Iran, 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad.
Lorestan is in the Western Iran, western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In ...
, the North and North West region of Iran in the Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, include examples of Achaemenid art
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larges ...
depicting both the "bird-griffin" and "lion-griffin" designs, such as are found on horse-bits. Bernard Goldman maintains the position that Luristan examples must be counted as developments of the "lion-griffin" type, even when it exhibits "stylization .. approaching the beak of a bird". The Luristan griffin-like creatures resemble and perhaps are descended from Assyrian creatures, possibly influenced by Mitanni
Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria an ...
an animals, or perhaps there had been parallel development in both Assyrian and Elam
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
ite cultures.
Iran
Bird-headed mammal images appeared in art of the Achaemenian
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...
. 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 () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...
, from the 4th century BC, perhaps serving as an emblem of the kingdom of Macedon or a personal emblem of Antipater
Antipater (; ; 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general, regent and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander ...
, one of Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
's successors.
A golden frontal half of a griffin-like animal from the Ziwiye hoard
The Ziwiye hoard is a treasure hoard containing gold, silver, and ivory objects, also including a few gold pieces with the shape of a human face, that was uncovered in a plot of land outside Ziwiyeh castle, near the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan ...
(near Saqqez
Saqqez (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Saqqez County), Central District of Saqqez County, Kurdistan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Etymology
The name Saqqez derives from the Scythian la ...
city) in Kurdistan province, Iran resembles the western protomes in style. They were of Urartian
Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushp ...
workmanship (neither Assyrian or Scythian), though the hoard itself may have represented a Scythian burial. The animal is described as having a "visor
A visor (also spelled vizor) is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects.
Nowadays many visors are transparent, but before strong transparent substances such a ...
" (i.e., beaks) made by Urartian craftsmen, similar to what is found on Greek protomes.
Egypt
Representations of griffin-like hybrids with four legs and a beaked head appeared in Ancient Egyptian art dating back to before 3000 BC. The oldest known depiction of a
griffin-like animal in Egypt appears as a relief carving on slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
on the cosmetic palette
Cosmetic palettes are archaeological Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, originally used in predynastic Egypt, predynastic ancient Egypt, Egypt to grind and apply ingredients for facial or body cosmetics. The decorative palettes of the late 4th mil ...
from Hierakonpolis
Nekhen (, ), also known as Hierakonpolis (; , meaning City of Hawks or City of Falcons, a reference to Horus; ) was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt ( 3200–3100 BC) and probably also during th ...
, the Two Dog Palette
The Oxford Palette, also known as the Two Dog Palette or the Minor Hierakonpolis Dogs Palette, is an Ancient Egyptian cosmetic palette discovered in Hierakonpolis. It is part of the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, United Kingdom.
T ...
dated to the Early Dynastic Period, BC.
Near East elsewhere
Griffin-type creatures combining raptor heads and mammalian bodies were depicted in the Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
, Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, and Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
during the Middle Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, dated at about 1950–1550 BC.
Greece
Griffin-type animals appeared in the art of ancient Crete
The history of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe.
During the Iron Age, Crete developed an Ancient Greece-i ...
in the MM III Period (1650–1600 BC) in Minoan chronology
Minoan chronology is a framework of dates used to divide the history of the Minoan civilization. Two systems of relative chronology are used for the Minoans. One is based on sequences of pottery styles, while the other is based on the architect ...
, found on sealings from Zakro and miniature frescos dated to this period. One early example of griffin-types in Minoan art
Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean civilization, Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grou ...
occurs in the 15th century BC fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es of the Throne Room
A throne room or throne hall is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure (usually a monarch) is set up with elaborate pomp—usually raised, ...
of the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
Palace of Knossos
Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...
, as restored by Sir Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age.
The first excavations at the Minoan palace of Knossos on the List of islands of Greece, Gree ...
.
The griffin-like hybrid became a fixture of Aegean culture since the Late Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, but the animal called the gryps, gryphon, or griffin in Greek writings did not appear in Greek art until about 700 BC, or rather, it was "rediscovered" as artistic motif in the 8th to 7th centuries BC, adapting the style of griffin current in Neo-Hittite
The states called Neo-Hittite, Syro-Hittite (in older literature), or Luwian-Aramean (in modern scholarly works) were Luwian and Aramean regional polities of the Iron Age, situated in southeastern parts of modern Turkey and northwestern parts o ...
art. It 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
Aristeas () was a semi-legendary Greek poet and Iatromantis, miracle-worker, a native of Proconnesus in Asia Minor, active ca. 7th century BC. The Suda claims that, whenever he wished, Astral Projection, his soul could leave his body and return ...
of Proconnesus. A number of bronze griffin protomes on cauldrons have been unearthed in Greece (on Samos
Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
, and at Olympia, etc., cf. fig. right). Early Greek and early Etruscan (e.g. the Barberini) examples of cauldron-griffins may have been of Syric-Urartian make, based on evidence (the "tendrils" or "tresses" motif was already touched upon, above), but "Vannic (Urartian) originals" have yet to be found (in the Orient). It has thus been controversially argued (by ) that these attachments had always since the earliest times been crafted by Greek workshops, added to the plain cauldrons imported from the Near East. Detractors (notably K. R. Maxwell-Hyslop) believe that (early examples of) the griffin-ornamented cauldron, in its entirely, were crafted in the East, though excavated finds from the Orient are scarce.
Central Asia
In Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, the griffin image was included in Scythian "animal style" artifacts of the 6th–4th centuries BC, but no writings explain their meaning. The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla
The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla is a gold Scythian collar or gorget, pectoral discovered in a burial kurgan at a site called Tovsta Mohyla in modern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, in 1971 by the Ukrainians, Ukrainian archaeologist Borys Moz ...
, interred in Scythian king's burial site, perhaps commissioned to Greek goldsmith
A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
s, who engraved the image of a griffin attacking a horse. Other Scythian artifacts show griffins attacking horses, stags, and goats. Griffins are typically shown attacking horses, deer, and humans in Greek art. Nomads were said to steal griffin-guarded gold according to Scythian oral traditions reported by Greek and Roman travelers.
Ancient parallels
Several ancient mythological creatures are similar to the griffin. These include the Lamassu
''Lama'', ''Lamma'', or ''Lamassu'' (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian language, Sumerian: lammař; later in Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''lamassu''; sometimes called a ''lamassuse'') is an Mesopotamia, Assyrian protective deity.
Initially depicted as ...
, an Assyrian protective deity, often depicted with a bull or lion's body, eagle's wings, and human's head.
Sumerian and Akkadian mythology
Akkadian literature is the ancient literature written in the East Semitic Akkadian language ( Assyrian and Babylonian dialects) in Mesopotamia ( Akkadian, Assyria and Babylonia) during the period spanning the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age (r ...
feature the demon Anzu, half man and half bird, associated with the chief sky god Enlil
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, 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 t ...
. 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 Abrahamic culture in general. Christian mythology directly ...
speaks of the Ziz
The Ziz (Hebrew: ) is a giant griffin-like bird in Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan.
Description
It is considered a giant animal/monster corresponding to archetypal creatures. Rabbis h ...
, 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 cherub
A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...
. The cherub, or sphinx, was very popular in Phoenicia
Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
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 legendary 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 a hippopotamus, or of other animals. It is mostly seen ...
.
In the Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
religion, Garuda
Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...
is a large bird-like creature that serves as a mount
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...
(''vahana'') of the deity Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
. 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 orni ...
.
Classical accounts
Grecian accounts of the gryphon
Local lore on the ''gryps'' or griffin was gathered by Aristeas
Aristeas () was a semi-legendary Greek poet and Iatromantis, miracle-worker, a native of Proconnesus in Asia Minor, active ca. 7th century BC. The Suda claims that, whenever he wished, Astral Projection, his soul could leave his body and return ...
of Proconnesus, a Greek who traveled to the Altai region between Mongolia and NW China in the 7th century BC. Although Aristeas's original poem was lost, the ''gryps'' lore was preserved in secondhand accounts by the playwright Aeschylus (ca. 460 BC) and later his contemporary, Herodotus the historian.
Herodotus explains (via Aristeas) that the gold-guarding griffin supposedly dwelled further north than the one-eyed Arimaspi
The Arimaspi (also Arimaspians, Arimaspos, and Arimaspoi; , ) were a legendary tribe of one-eyed people of northern Scythia who lived in the foothills of the Riphean Mountains, variously identified with the Ural Mountains or the Carpathians. All ...
people who robbed the gold from the fabulous creatures. Aristeas is said to have been informed through the Issedones
The Issedones () were an ancient people of Central Asia at the end of the trade route leading north-east from Scythia, described in the lost ''Arimaspeia'' of Aristeas, by Herodotus in his ''History'' (IV.16-25) and by Ptolemy in his ''Geography''. ...
people, who neighbored the region of the Arimaspi in the northern extremes (of Central Asia). Aeschylus also says that the Arimaspi robbed the gold which the griffins collected from various areas in the periphery (presumably including the Armaspi's territorial stream, the stream of Pluto "rolling with gold"). The equestrian Arimaspi would ride off with the loot, and the griffins would give pursuit.
Aeschylus likened the ''gryps'' to "silent hounds of Zeus" Since they are called dogs or hounds, scholars have conjectured that Aeschylus considered them wingless or flightless.
Griffins of India and gold-digging ants
In contrast to the Greeks, Ctesias
Ctesias ( ; ; ), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire.
Historical events
Ctesias, who lived in the fifth century BC, was physician to the Acha ...
located the griffins in India and more explicitly classed them as beaked, four-legged birds.
Herodotus mentions elsewhere that there are gold-collecting ants in Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
, India, and modern scholars have interpreted this account as "doublets or garbled versions" of the lore of gold-hoarding griffins. It appears that the accounts of griffins given by Pliny had been mixed with the lore of the gold-guarding ants of India, and later Aelian Aelian or Aelianus may refer to:
* Aelianus Tacticus, 2nd-century Greek military writer in Rome
* Casperius Aelianus (13–98 AD), Praetorian Prefect, executed by Trajan
* Claudius Aelianus
Claudius Aelianus (; ), commonly Aelian (), born at Pr ...
also inserted attributes of the ant into his description of griffins.
Pliny and later
Later, Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
became the first to state explicitly that griffins have wings and long ears. In one of the two passages, Pliny also located the "griffons" in Æthiopia. According to Adrienne Mayor
Adrienne Mayor (born ) is a historian of ancient science and a classical folklorist.
Mayor specializes in ancient history and the study of " folk science", or how pre-scientific cultures interpreted data about the natural world, and how these int ...
, Pliny also wrote, "griffins were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests contained gold nugget
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of Native metal, native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placer deposit, placers. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits wher ...
s".
Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana (; ; ) was a Greek philosopher and religious leader from the town of Tyana, Cappadocia in Roman Anatolia, who spent his life travelling and teaching in the Middle East, North Africa and India. He is a central figure in Ne ...
, who was nearly coeval with Pliny, gave a different account of the griffin, claiming them to be lion-sized and having no true wings, instead having paws "webbed with red membranes" that gave them the ability to make leaps of flight over short distances.
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45.
His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...
(fl. AD 43) wrote in his Book ii. 6:
The aforementioned Aelian (Claudius Aelianus
Claudius Aelianus (; ), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus and probably outlived Elagabalus, who died in 222. He spoke Greek so fluently that he was called "h ...
, d. 235 AD) added certain other embellishments to the lore, such as describing a griffin with "black plumage on its back with a red chest and white wings". Aelian was the last person to add fresh information on the griffin, and late writers (into medieval times) merely rehashed existing material on griffins, with the exception of the lore about their "agate eggs" which emerged at some indistinct time later on (cf. infra).
Divine creature
The griffin has been associated with various deities (Apollo, Dionysus, Nemesis) in Greek mythography
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
, but here, the identifiable attested "accounts" presented in scholarship are largely not literary, but artistic or numismatic
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...
.
The griffin was linked to Apollo, given the existence of the cultus of Hyperborean Apollo, with a cult center at the Greek colony of Olbia
Olbia (, ; ; ) is a city and communes of Italy, commune of 61,000 inhabitants in the Italy, Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called in the Roman age, Civita in the Middle ...
on the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. The main Temple of Apollo Temple of Apollo may refer to:
*
Cyprus
*Temple of Apollo Hylates, Limassol
Czech Republic
*Temple of Apollo, Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, South Moravian Region
Greece
*Temple of Apollo, Corinth
*Temple of Apollo (Delphi)
*Temple of A ...
at Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
featured a statue of the god flanked by griffins, or so it is presumed based on its representation on the tetradrachm
The tetradrachm () was a large silver coin that originated in Ancient Greece. It was nominally equivalent to four drachmae. Over time the tetradrachm effectively became the standard coin of the Antiquity, spreading well beyond the borders of the ...
coinage of Attica. Apollo rode a griffin to Hyperboria each winter leaving Delphi, or so it was believed. Apollo riding a griffin is known from multiple examples of red-figure pottery
Red-figure pottery () is a style of Pottery of ancient Greece, ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay.
It developed in A ...
. Apollo also hitched griffins to his chariot, according to Claudian
Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (Greek: Κλαυδιανός; ), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almo ...
.
Dionysus was also depicted on a griffin-chariot or mounting a griffin; the motif was borrowed from the god Apollo due to "syncretism between the two gods."
At the Temple of Hera at Samos
Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
, a griffin-themed bronze "wine-cup" or "cauldron" had been installed, according to Herodotus. The vessel had griffin heads attached around the rim (like the ''protomes'', described above): it was an Argolic or Argive
Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...
''krater
A krater or crater (, ; , ) was a large two-handled type of vase in Pottery of ancient Greece, Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water.
Form and function
At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in ...
'', according to the text, standing on a tripod shaped like colossal figures.[, ]
Medieval accounts
The notion that griffins lay stones or agate instead of eggs was introduced "at some in the evolution of griffin lore". Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus ( 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Swabia, Albert von Bollstadt, or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop, considered one of the great ...
(d. 1280) attributes to other writers the claim that "this bird places an ' eagle-stone' () or agate () among its eggs" to change the ambient temperature and enhance reproduction.
Christian symbolism
The account of the "gryphes" by Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...
(d. 636) lacked any Christian allegorical interpretation, and the griffin is classified as a "beast of prey". Thus Isidore (''Etymologies'' xii.2 .17) gives:
Isidore's localization of the griffins in the mountains of Hyperborea derives from Servius Servius may refer to:
* Servius (praenomen), a personal name during the Roman Republic
* Servius the Grammarian (fl. 4th/5th century), Roman Latin grammarian
* Servius Asinius Celer (died AD 46), Roman senator
* Servius Cornelius Cethegus, Roma ...
(4th and 5th century). Griffins had already been localized Riphean Mountains
In Greco-Roman geography, the Riphean Mountains (also Riphaean; ; '; Latin: ''Rhipaei'' or ''Riphaei montes'') were a supposed mountain range located in the far north of Eurasia. The name of the mountains is probably derived from ("wind gust") ...
by Mela (1st century) as quoted above, while the Hyperboreans are sometimes said to dwell further north than these mountains.
The idea that griffins hated horses can be explained as an offshoot of the lore that griffins had their gold stolen by horseback-riding Arimaspians. The griffin were already being depicted attacking the horse in ancient art, as on the gold pectoral of the Scythian King noted above.
Despite Isidore passing on classical without religious connotation, the griffin, being a union of an aerial bird and a terrestrial beast, came to be regarded in Christendom
The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
as a symbol of Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, who was both human and divine, espoused by many commentators, who see this evidenced in the griffin that draws the chariot in Dante's ''Purgatorio'' (cf. §In literature below).
A slightly different interpretation was that the griffin symbolized the pope or papacy rather than Christ himself, as proposed by French critic Didron, who built this interpretation upon the observation that Herrad of Landsberg
Herrad of Landsberg (; 1130 – July 25, 1195) was a 12th-century Alsatian nun and abbess of Hohenburg Abbey in the Vosges mountains. She was known as the author of the pictorial encyclopedia '' Hortus deliciarum'' (''The Garden of Delights'') ...
's manuscript (''Hortus deliciarum
The (Latin for ''Garden of Delights'') was a medieval pictorial encyclopedia compiled by the nun Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace, better known today as Mont Sainte-Odile.
Description
The is one of the first sources of ...
'', completed c. 1185) clearly depicted the two-colored bird as symbolic of the Church.
At any rate, the griffin can be found sculpted at a number of Christian churches.
Claw, egg, feather
Alleged griffin's claws, eggs, and feathers were held as valuable objects, but actually derived from exotic animals, etc. The eggs were often ostrich eggs, or in rare cases, fossilized dinosaur eggs. The feather is a piece of forgery, an object crafted from raffia palm
Raffia palms are members of the genus ''Raphia''. The Malagasy name is derived from ' "to squeeze juice". The genus contains about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species ('' R ...
fiber, with painted colors.
The supposed claws were often turned into drinking cups (and griffin egg artifacts were also used as goblets, according to heraldry scholars).
A number of medieval griffin's claws existed, sometimes purported to be very large. St. Cuthbert is said to have obtained claw and egg: two claws and two eggs were registered in the 1383 inventory of the saint's shrine, but the two-feet claws that still remain on display have been identified as Alpine ibex horns.
There is said to be a legend that a griffin's claw was made into a cup and dedicated to Cuthbert. As a matter of fact, griffin claws were frequently fashioned into goblets (drinking cups) in medieval Europe, and specific examples can be given, such as Charlemagne's griffin-claw drinking horn, formerly at Saint-Denis and now housed in the Bibliothèque Nationale, is a drinking cup made of a bovine horn. Additional ornamentation were attached to it, such as a gilt copper leg for it to stand on, realistically resembling the taloned foot of a raptor
Raptor(s) or RAPTOR may refer to:
Animals
The word "raptor" refers to several groups of avian and non-avian dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons.
* Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunt ...
. Kornelimünster Abbey
Kornelimünster Abbey (), also known as Abbey of the Abbot Saint Benedict of Aniane and Pope Cornelius, is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery that has been integrated since 1972. The abbey is located in Aachen (in the Stadtbezirk, ...
located in Charlemagne's former capital of Aix-la-Chapelle (now Aachen
Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants.
Aachen is locat ...
, Germany) also houses a griffin horn of Pope Cornelius
Pope Cornelius () was the bishop of Rome from 6th or 13 March 251 until his martyrdom in June 253.
He was pope during and following a period of persecution of the church, while a schism occurred over how Lapsi (Christianity), repentant church mem ...
, made of Asian buffalo horn.
Medieval iconography
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.
Griffins also appear on a wide range of medieval luxury objects, such as textiles, and in these contexts are part of a shared visual language deployed by artisans in the Byzantine, western medieval, and Islamic worlds.
Folklore
According to Stephen Friar's ''New Dictionary of Heraldry'', a griffin's claw was believed to have medicinal
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
properties and one of its feathers could restore sight
Visual perception is the ability to detect light and use it to form an image of the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment. Photodetection without image formation is classified as ''light sensing''. In most vertebrates, visual percept ...
to the blind.
Attestation of griffin's feather as cure for blindness does occur in an Italian folktale, classed as "The Singing Bone
"The Singing Bone" () is a German fairy tale, collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 28. It is Aarne-Thompson type 780.
Synopsis
A boar lays waste to a country, and two brothers set out to kill it, with the prize being given the princess ...
" tale type ( ATU 780). There is also a study that considers the griffin's feather tale as a variant of "The Twa Sisters
"The Two Sisters" (also known by the Scots title "The Twa Sisters") is a traditional murder ballad, dating at least as far back as the mid 17th century. The song recounts the tale of a girl drowned by her jealous sister. At least 21 English va ...
" ballad (Child Ballad
The Child Ballads are List of the Child Ballads, 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies ...
10), as the tale incorporates the song in Italian, supposedly sung by the bones of the murdered finder of the feather). It may not be a griffin's feather but another kind of avian plumage (peacock feather) that remedies blindness in other Italian variants of this folktale type.
In heraldry
Griffins in heraldry are usually 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.
The heraldic griffin "denote strength and military, courage and leadership", according to one source. That it became a Christian symbol
A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...
of divine power and a guardian of the divine, was already touched upon above.
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 or Attitude may refer to:
Philosophy and psychology
* Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind
** Attitude change
* Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition
Science and technology
* Orientation ...
terminology as the lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
, with the exception that where a lion would be described as rampant a griffin is instead described as segreant.
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 unico ...
. In some blazons, this variant is termed a keython
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. One example is John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond (died 14 December 1476) was considered one of the first gentlemen of the age in which he lived. He was an ambassador to the most important courts of Europe.
Family
John Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond was the second ...
, whose badge was described as featuring a "peyr air of
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
keythongs". It is possible that the male griffin/keythong originated as a derivation of the heraldic panther
Panther may refer to:
Large cats
*Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis''
**''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards
***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...
.[
]
Houses and cities using the device
When Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
and the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, griffins commenced to be depicted as part of the republic's coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
, rearing at the sides of the shield bearing the Cross of St. George.
The red griffin rampant was the coat of arms of the dukes of Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
and survives today as the armorial of West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) in northwestern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Szczecin. Its area equals , and in 2021, it was inhabited by 1,682,003 people.
It was established on 1 Janua ...
(historically, Farther Pomerania
Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (; ), is a subregion of the historic region of Pomerania in north-western Poland, mostly within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while its easternmost parts are within the Po ...
) 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).
Variants
Hippogriff
A hippogriff
The hippogriff ( Italian: ) or hippogryph is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse.
It was invented at the beginning of the 16th century by Ludovico Ariosto in his '' Orlando Furioso''. Within the poem, ...
is a related legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare.
Heraldic subtypes
Wingless griffin
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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...
, such a wingless griffin may be called an alke
In Greek mythology, the name Alke or Alce (, "prowess, courage") may refer to:
*Alke, the spirit and personification of the abstract concept of courage and battle-strength. In the ''Iliad'', she was depicted on Athena's aegis alongside Ioke, ...
, a keythong or a male griffin.
Sea-griffin
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
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
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, Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are ...
. Sea-griffins are present on the arms of a number of German noble families, including the Mestich family of Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
and the Barony of Puttkamer
The Puttkamer family (also abbreviated to ''v. Puttkamer'') is a widely extended German noble family whose earliest ancestor is first recorded between 1257 and 1260 in Sławno, Farther Pomerania.
History
The Puttkamer family considers Swienca ...
.[
]
Opinicus
The opinicus or epimacus is another heraldic variety of griffin, which is depicted with the head and wings of an eagle, the body and legs of a lion, and the tail of a camel
A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...
. It is sometimes wingless. The opinicus is rarely used in heraldry, but appears in the arms of the Worshipful Company of Barbers
The Worshipful Company of Barbers is one of the livery companies of the City of London, and ranks 17th in precedence.
The Fellowship of Surgeons merged with the Barbers' Company in 1540, forming the Company of Barbers and Surgeons, but after t ...
.
In architecture
The Pisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture that has been in Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 the Leaning Tow ...
in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it is of Islamic
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
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
Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
(Islamic Spain). From about 1100 it was placed on a column on the roof of Pisa Cathedral
Pisa Cathedral (), officially the Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the three s ...
until replaced by a replica in 1832; the original is now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum), Pisa.
In 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 construction, constructi ...
decoration the griffin is usually represented as a four-footed beast with wings and the head of an eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
with horn
Horn may refer to:
Common uses
* Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide
** Horn antenna
** Horn loudspeaker
** Vehicle horn
** Train horn
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals
* Horn (instrument), a family ...
s, or with the head and beak of an eagle.
The statues that mark the entrance to the City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
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 fiction
: ''For fictional characters named Griffin, see Griffin (surname)
Griffin is a surname of Irish, English and Welsh origin. Griffin was the 75th most common surname on the island of Ireland in 1891. It was estimated in 2000 that Griffin is the 114th most common surname in the U.S., with a population in the order ...
''
Griffins are used widely in Persian poetry
Persian literature 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 have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
; Rumi
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...
is one such poet who writes in reference to griffins.[''The Essential Rumi'', translated from ]Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
by Coleman Barks
Coleman Barks (born April 23, 1937) is an American poet and former literature faculty member at the University of Georgia. Although he neither speaks nor reads Persian, he is a popular interpreter of Rumi, rewriting the poems based on other Engl ...
, p 257
In Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
's ''Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...
'' story ''Purgatorio
''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...
'', 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.
Sir John Mandeville
''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'', commonly known as ''Mandeville's Travels'', is a book written between 1357 and 1371 that purports to be the travelogue of an Englishman named Sir John Mandeville across the Near East as far as India and ...
wrote about them in his 14th century book of travels:
John Milton
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
in ''Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...
'' he mentions the griffin as an allusion to Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
:
Theories of origin
Possible influence by dinosaurs
Adrienne Mayor
Adrienne Mayor (born ) is a historian of ancient science and a classical folklorist.
Mayor specializes in ancient history and the study of " folk science", or how pre-scientific cultures interpreted data about the natural world, and how these int ...
, a classical folklorist and science historian, speculates 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 preserve ...
ized remains of beaked dinosaurs such as ''Protoceratops
''Protoceratops'' (; ) is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 75 to 71 million years ago. The genus ''Protoceratops'' includes two species: ''P. andrewsi'' and the larger ''P. hellenik ...
'' and ''Psittacosaurus
''Psittacosaurus'' ( ; "parrot lizard") is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 125 and 105 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur ...
'' that ancient Scythian (Central Asian) nomadic prospectors saw on the way to gold deposits. 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 (referenced by Herodotus, ca. 450 BC) and ending with Aelian (3rd century AD), the last ancient author to report any "new" details about the griffin.
Mayor took a paleo-cryptozoological approach, trying to identify the unknown creature by its features: mammalian body but head with raptor's beak, dwelling in Eastern deserts en route to gold deposits, laying eggs in nests on the ground. No living animal matched this description, but some dinosaurs had all these features, raising the question of whether the ancient nomads who told Greeks about griffins could have seen fossils of beaked dinosaurs and nests with eggs. Traffic went both ways on the ancient trade routes; traders and gold seekers traveling west from China recounted tales of these strange creatures that were transmitted to the Greco-Roman world through translators. On their way to the gold-dust-bearing gullies of the Altai ("Gold") Mountains and Tien Shan gold belts, travelers from the east would pass through the Gobi and arrive in Issedonian territory (Issedon Serica and Issedon Scythica, desert stations where the griffin was first described to Greeks), having observed or heard garbled descriptions of strange beaked quadrupeds east of those points.
Mayor argues that ''Protoceratops'' and other fossils, seen by ancient observers, may have been interpreted as evidence of a half-bird-half-mammal creature. She argues that repeated oral descriptions and artistic attempts to illustrate a bony neck frill (which is rather fragile and may have been broken or entirely weathered away) may have been rendered as large mammal-type external ears, and its beak may have been treated as evidence of a part-bird nature, leading to stylized wings being added to match the creature's avian-like attributes. The narrow, elongated scapula of beaked dinosaurs resembles that of birds, and this avian feature may have suggested to ancient observers that the creature had wings.
Paleontologist Mark P. Witton contests this hypothesis. Witton and Richard A. Hing argue that it ignores the existence of depictions of hybrid creatures bird's heads on mammal bodies throughout the Near East dating to long before the time Mayor posits the Greeks became aware of ''Protoceratops'' fossils in Scythia. They further argue 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. they note 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.
Modern culture
Popular fiction
Griffins, like many other fictional creatures, frequently appear within works under the fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
genre. Examples of fantasy-oriented franchises that feature griffins include ''Warhammer Fantasy Battle
''Warhammer'' (formerly ''Warhammer Fantasy Battle'' or just ''Warhammer Fantasy'') is a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme. The game was created by Bryan Ansell, Richard Halliwell, and Rick Priestley, and first publ ...
'', ''Warcraft
''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...
'', ''Heroes of Might and Magic
''Heroes of Might and Magic'' (commonly abbreviated ''HoMM''), known as ''Might & Magic Heroes'' in 2011–2024, is a series of video games created and developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing.
As part of the ''Might and Magic ...
'', the Griffon in ''Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'', ''Ragnarok Online
''Ragnarok Online'' (, ''Rageunarokeu Onrain'' marketed as ''Ragnarök'', and alternatively subtitled ''The Final Destiny of the Gods'') is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Gravity (Korean company), Gravity based ...
'', ''Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'', ''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'', and ''The Battle for Wesnoth
''The Battle for Wesnoth'' is a free and open-source software, free and open-source turn-based strategy video game with a high fantasy setting (similar to J. R. R. Tolkien's Tolkien's legendarium, legendarium), designed by Australian-American d ...
''.
Griffins appear in the fairy tales "Jack the Giant Killer
"Jack the Giant Killer" is a Cornish fairy tale and legend about a man who slays a number of bad giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterised by violence, gore and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklore, Breto ...
", " The Griffin" and " The Singing, Springing Lark".
In ''Digimon
, short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise, which encompasses virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films, and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures who inhabit a ...
'', there is a Digimon called Gryphomon who is based on the depiction of a griffin that has a snake-headed tail.
In ''The Son of Neptune
''The Son of Neptune'' is a 2011 fantasy-adventure novel written by American author Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It is the second book in ''The Heroes of Olympus'' series, preceded by '' The Lost Hero'' and followed by '' ...
'' by Rick Riordan
Richard Russell Riordan Jr. ( ; 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 cop ...
, Percy Jackson
Perseus "Percy" Jackson is a fictional character, the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan's ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. He is also one of seven main protagonists of the sequel series '' The Heroes of Olympus'', appeari ...
, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang
A description of most characters featured in various mythology series by Rick Riordan.
Overview
*"Mentioned" indicates the character was not in the property but was talked about.
*“Guest” Indicates a character that briefly appeared in the s ...
are attacked by griffins in Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
.
In the ''Harry Potter
''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' series, the character Albus Dumbledore
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is also the founder and ...
has a griffin-shaped knocker. Also, the character Godric Gryffindor
The following is a list of characters from the ''Harry Potter'' series. Each character appears in at least one ''Harry Potter''–related book or story by J. K. Rowling. These books and stories include the seven original ''Harry Potter'' nov ...
's surname is a variation on the French ''griffon d'or'' ("golden griffon"), and the school house named after him uses the symbol of a Griffin as their house mascot.
In '' The Empyrean'' series by Rebecca Yarros
Rebecca Yarros (born April 13, 1981) is an American author. She is best known for the ''Empyrean'' fantasy book series, which will be adapted into a television series with Amazon (company), Amazon; Yarros will serve as a non-writing executive pro ...
, griffins are the chosen mounts for the fliers of Poromiel.
Modern art
The griffin appears in French symbolist precursors to the modernist period in the work of Gustave Moreau
Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism ...
as noted in his painting of "the Fairy and the Gryphons" ("La fée aux griffons," 1876) shown below.
Through his friendship with Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...
, Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...
the twentieth-century surrealist artist, writer and filmmaker, became familiar with the paintings of Gustave Moreau. Whether or not this is related to Cocteau's own rendering of "Le Griffon" which is a 1957 colored lithograph depicting an eagle-headed, winged male dancer in the style of a costume design for les Ballets Russes is unknown, yet clearly shows the lion part of the griffin replaced by the strong physique of the ballet dancer in red tights.
The griffin is also the symbol of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, 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 ...
; bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
castings of them perch on each corner of the museum
A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
's roof, protecting its collection.[, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Glass Steel and Stone]
The "Griff" statue by was erected in 2007 at the forecourt of the Farkashegyi cemetery in Budapest, Hungary.
Logos, mascots
An archaic griffin design, created by artist (1915–1993), was adopted as the official symbol of the city of Heraklion on 22 March 1961 (cf. figure right).
Film and television company Merv Griffin Entertainment
Merv Griffin Entertainment is an American production company founded by American media mogul Merv Griffin on May 13, 1996. It is part of The Griffin Group. Its productions include revivals of recent franchises, such as ''Dance Fever'', revived i ...
uses a griffin for its production company. Merv Griffin Entertainment was founded by entrepreneur Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...
and is based in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
. His former company Merv Griffin Enterprises
Merv Griffin Enterprises was an American television production company founded by Merv Griffin, in operation from March 7, 1963, to June 4, 1994.
History
The company was first established as Milbarn Productions on March 7, 1963, and later as M ...
also used a griffin for its logo.
The griffin is used in the logo of United Paper Mills, Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company 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 Automoti ...
, and of Scania
Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...
and its former partners Saab Group
Saab AB (originally , , acronym SAAB), with subsidiaries collectively known as the Saab Group (), is a Swedish aerospace and defence company primarily operating from Sweden. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, but its development and ma ...
and Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB () was a automotive industry, 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. ...
.
Similarly, prior to the mid-1990s a griffin formed part of the logo of Midland Bank
Midland Bank plc was one of the Big Four (banks)#United Kingdom, Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birming ...
(now HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...
).
Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB () was a automotive industry, 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. ...
previously used the griffin in their logo (Cf. Saab fighter Gripen
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen ( ; English: ''Griffin'') is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with rela ...
)
Griffin Beverage Company
features a griffin in the name and logo.
Sprecher Brewing Co.
has a griffin in the logo and named a beer product after it.
Information security fir
Halock
uses a griffin to represent protecting data and systems.
School emblems and mascots
Three gryphons form the crest of Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
(founded 1555), originating from the family crest of founder Sir Thomas Pope
Sir Thomas Pope (150729 January 1559) was a prominent public servant in mid-16th-century England, a Member of Parliament, a wealthy landowner, and the founder of Trinity College, Oxford.
Early life
Pope was born at Deddington, near Banbury, O ...
. 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 as the Oxford Union, is a 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 oldest unive ...
. Griffins are also mascots for VU University Amsterdam
The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the othe ...
, Reed College
Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...
, Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...
, the University of Guelph
The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...
, and Canisius College
Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...
.
The Gryphon is the official school mascot for Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...
, appearing also on the top of the school crest.
The official seal of Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
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 (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...
in Virginia changed its mascot to Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
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'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
Initially, "USARV formed an "Aviation Group (Provisi ...
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 private school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
of Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College () is an evangelical Colleges of the University of Toronto, graduate school of theology of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded i ...
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
Glebe Collegiate Institute (GCI) is a high school in the Glebe neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), Glebe Collegiate Institute has approximately 1,700 students and is the di ...
in Ottawa is the gryphon, and the team name is the Glebe Gryphons.
The griffin is the official mascot of Chestnut Hill College
Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount S ...
and Gwynedd Mercy University
Gwynedd Mercy University (GMercyU) is a private Catholic university in Lower Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It occupies a campus in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Gwynedd Mercy University was founded in 1948, as Gwynedd-Mer ...
, 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 leade ...
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
Glenlyon Norfolk School (GNS) is an independent, co-ed, university preparatory day school in Victoria and Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed in 1986 with the amalgamation of Glenlyon School and Norfolk House. The school offers ins ...
, an independent, co-ed, university preparatory day school in Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
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 bordered ...
, British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada.
Police and military
A griffin appears in the official seal of the Waterloo Police Department (Iowa)
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces
* Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Australia
*Waterloo, New South Wales
...
.
The Royal Air Force Police
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington, and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK def ...
depicts a griffin for their unit badge.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...
Police depicts a griffin holding a taiaha
A taiaha () is a traditional weapon of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand; a close-quarters staff weapon made from either wood or whalebone, and used for short, sharp strikes or stabbing thrusts with efficient footwork on the part of the wi ...
for their unit badge.
Professional sports
The Grand Rapids Griffins
The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of t ...
professional ice hockey team of the American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...
's mascot "Aguileon" is a griffin. The name "Aguileon" is a compound using two Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
words; "aguila" meaning "eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
" and "leon" meaning "lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
".
Amusement parks
One of Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States, located approximately northwest of Virginia Beach. The park w ...
's attractions 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 Erie County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( west) and Cleveland ( east). At the 2020 United Stat ...
opened the "GateKeeper
A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...
" steel roller coaster, which features a griffin as its mascot.
Iran Air Logo
The logo design of Iran Air
Iran Air, officially known as The Airline of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), or before known as The National Airline of Iran (), is the flag carrier of Iran, which is headquartered at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. As of 2024, it operates sched ...
features a griffin. The pattern of this design, created by Edward Zahrabian
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, is based on a griffin statue found in Persepolis
Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
. A common mistake regarding this is the assumption that the griffin is the same as the mythical bird Homa, but this is incorrect. This mistake has arisen because the acronym for the National Airline of Iran in Persian is "Homa".
In film and television
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 '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, World of Quest
''World of Quest'' is a science fiction comedy animated television series based on the graphic novel series of the same name by Jason T. Kruse. The series was produced by Cookie Jar Entertainment, in association with Teletoon and Kids' WB!. It ...
'', ''Yin Yang Yo!
''Yin Yang Yo!'' is an animated television series created by Bob Boyle for Jetix. Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation as the third Jetix original series, it first aired on August 26, 2006, as a sneak peek and premiered on September 4, ...
'', and ''Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
''.
A griffin appeared in the 1974 film ''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1973 fantasy adventure film directed by Gordon Hessler, featuring stop-motion effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film stars John Phillip Law, Tom Baker, Takis Emmanuel, and Caroline Munro. Based on the ''Ar ...
'' fighting a centaur
A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...
.
In the 1969 movie ''Latitude Zero'', a creature called "Griffin" is made by inserting a woman's brain
The brain is an organ (biology), 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 ...
into a lion–condor
Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere.
One species, the And ...
hybrid.
In an episode of the sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes.
The show originally centered on five charact ...
'', Dr. Sheldon Cooper
Sheldon Lee Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D., is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the 2007–2019 CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'' and its 2017–2024 spinoff series ''Young Sheldon'', portrayed by act ...
mentions that he attempted to create a griffin but could not obtain the "necessary eagle eggs and lion semen".
Eponymy
The latest fighter produced by the Saab Group bears the name "Gripen
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen ( ; English: ''Griffin'') is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defence company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with rela ...
" (Griffin), as a result of public competition.
During World War II, the Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, wit ...
firm named its heavy bomber design for the Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
after the legendary animal, as the Heinkel He 177
The Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'' (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The introduction of the He 177 to combat operations was significantly delayed by problems both with the development of its ...
''Greif'', the German form of "griffin". General Atomics
General Atomics (GA) is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, that specializes in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion en ...
has used the term "Griffin Eye" for its intelligence surveillance platform based on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 35ER civilian aircraft.GA-ASI Introduces Griffin Eye Manned ISR System
. GA-ASI.com (20 July 2010). Retrieved on 2 January 2012.
Fauna names
Some large species of Old World vulture
Old World vultures are vultures that are found in the Old World, i.e. the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and which belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.
Old World vultures are not ...
s 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 is also known as the griffon vulture, although this term is sometimes used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confuse ...
(''Gyps fulvus''). The scientific name for the Andean condor
The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a South American New World vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. It is found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America. With a maximum wingspan of and ...
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).
Gallery
File:Johann-Vogel-Meditationes-emblematicae-de-restaurata-pace-Germaniae MGG 1034.tif, Griffin in Johann Vogel: ''Meditationes emblematicae de restaurata pace Germaniae'', 1649
File:Griffioen, Kasteel de Haar, juli 2003.JPG, Heraldic guardian griffin at Kasteel de Haar
De Haar Castle (Dutch: ''Kasteel de Haar'') is located outside Utrecht, Netherlands. It is the largest castle in The Netherlands.
Original site
The oldest historical record of a building at the location of the current castle dates to 1391. In ...
, Netherlands, 1892–1912
File:Stuffed griffin.jpg, Rogue taxidermy griffin, Zoological Museum, Copenhagen
The Copenhagen Zoological Museum ( Danish: ''Zoologisk Museum'') was a separate zoological museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is now a part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, which is affiliated with the University of Copenhagen. The separa ...
File:Griffin of Monti's Planisphere.jpg, A griffin portrayed in a mythical land located south of the world's known continents, from Urbano Monti
Urbano Monti (16 August 1544 – 15 May 1613), alternatively spelled Urbano Monte, was an Italian geographer and cartographer.
Life
He was born and raised in Milan, Italy, in a family of the minor nobility. He grew up together with his two y ...
's map (1587).
File:Aarnikotka.jpg, UPM (company)
UPM-Kymmene Oyj is a Finnish forest industry company. UPM-Kymmene was formed by the merger of Kymmene Corporation with Repola Oy and its subsidiary United Paper Mills Ltd in 1996. UPM consists of six business areas: UPM Fibres, UPM Energy, UPM ...
Finnish forest industry
The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry – when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. fu ...
company. Symbol came into use in 1899.
See also
* Chimera
Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to:
* Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals
* Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...
, Greek mythological hybrid monster
* Duck billed platypus, an egg-producing mammal with a beak
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...
* Hybrid creatures in mythology
* List of hybrid creatures in mythology
The following is a list of Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid entities from the folklore record grouped morphologically. Hybrids not found in classical mythology but developed in the context of modern popular culture are listed in .
Mythology Hea ...
* Nue
The Nue (鵺, 鵼, 恠鳥, or 奴延鳥) is a legendary yōkai or mononoke from Japanese mythology.
Appearance
In the ''The Tale of the Heike, Tale of Heike'', it is described as a Japanese Chimera (mythology), Chimera having the head of a Ja ...
, Japanese legendary creature
* Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
, winged stallion in Greek mythology
* Pixiu
Pixiu ( "PEA-show", zh, c=, p=píxiū, w=pʻi2-hsiu1, j=, cy=, sl=, poj=, zhu=, l=, labels=, links=, first=, scase=; ) is a Chinese mythical hybrid creature. Pixiu are considered powerful protectors of the souls of the dead, ''xian'', and f ...
or Pi Yao, Chinese mythical creature
* Sharabha
Sharabha (, ) or Sarabha is an eight-legged part-lion and part-bird deity in Hindu religion, who is described as more powerful than a lion or an elephant, possessing the ability to clear a valley in one jump in Sanskrit literature. In later li ...
, Hindu mythology: lion-bird hybrid
* Snow Lion
The Snow Lion (sometimes spelled snowlion; ; ) is a celestial animal of Tibet. It is the emblem of Tibet, representing the snowy mountain ranges and glaciers of Tibet, and may also symbolize power and strength, and fearlessness and joy, east and ...
, Tibetan mythological celestial animal
* Yali, Hindu mythological lion-elephant-horse hybrid
Explanatory notes
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* , abbreviated ''GG''.
*
*
*
*
*
* McClanan. A. L. ''Griffinology: The Griffin’s Place in Myth, History and Art.'' Reaktion Books. 2024.
* Reprint
A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields.
Academic publishing
In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known ...
C. N. Potter, 1976
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Bisi, Anna Maria, ''Il grifone: Storia di un motivo iconografico nell'antico Oriente mediterraneo.'' Rome: Centro di studi semitici, Istituto di studi del Vicino Oriente, Sapienza Università di Roma
The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...
, 1965.
* McClallen, Anne L. ''Griffinology: The Griffin’s Place in Myth, History and Art.'' London: Reaktion
Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In recen ...
, 2024.
* Wild, Friedrich. ''Gryps-Greif-Gryphon (Griffon). Eine sprach-, kultur- und stoffgeschichtliche Studie'' Wien: Herman Böhlaus, 1963. (Oesterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philologisch-historische Klasse, Sitzungberichte, 241).
External links
Griffin bones
at amnh.org
*
The Gryphon Pages
a repository of griffin lore and information
source texts in Greek, Hebrew, and Old English, with new English translations.
*
{{Authority control
Legendary creatures in Egyptian mythology
European legendary creatures
Greek legendary creatures
Heraldic beasts
Mythological birds of prey
Mythological hybrids
Fairy tale stock characters