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.[3]
In Greek and Roman texts, griffins andArimaspians were associated with gold deposits of Central Asia. The earliest classical writings were derived fromAristeas (7th cent. BC) and preserved byHerodotus andAeschylus (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 (1st century) was the first to state explicitly that griffins were winged and long eared. ButApollonius of Tyana 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 depositedagate stone among the eggs in their nest.[citation needed]
In the Christian era,Isidore of Seville (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.[citation needed]
The derivation of this word remains uncertain. It could be related to the Greek wordγρυπός (grypos), meaning 'curved', or 'hooked'. Greekγρύφ (gryph) fromγρύφ 'hook-nosed' is suggested.[5]
It could also have been an Anatolian loan word derived from a Semitic language; compare the Hebrewכרובkərúv.[6][7]
In the modernPersian language, the griffin has come to be calledšērdāl (Persian:شیردال), meaning 'lion-eagle'. However, the practice of referring to ancient Iranian griffin objects or monuments assherdal,[8] is not followed by other current archaeological scholarship (e.g., here[9]).
PossibleOld or Middle Iranian names for the creature have been discussed.Middle PersianSēnmurw inSasanian culture was a fabulous composite creature, and Russian archaeologistBoris A. Litvinskij [ru] argued for the possibility that the application of this term may extend to the griffin.[10][11] The termSēnmurw is recognized as the etymological ancestor ofsimurgh, which is generally regarded as a mythological bird (rather than a composite) in later medieval Persian literature,[12][b] though some argue that this bird may have originated from the Mesopotamian lion-griffin.[13]
There is also theArmenian termPaskuč (Armenian:պասկուչ) that had been used to translate Greekgryp 'griffin' in theSeptuagint,[14] whichH. P. Schmidt characterized as the counterpart of the simurgh.[12] However, the cognate termBaškuč (glossed as 'griffin') also occurs in Middle Persian, attested in theZoroastrian cosmological textBundahishn XXIV (supposedly distinguishable fromSēnmurw which also appears in the same text).[15] Middle PersianPaškuč is also attested inManichaean magical texts (Manichaean Middle Persian:pškwc), and this must have meant a "griffin or a monster like a griffin" according toW. B. Henning.[16]
Egyptian names
The griffin was given names which were descriptive epithets, such astštš[c] ortesh-tesh[17] meaning "Tearer[-in-pieces]"[18][17] inscribed on a griffin image found in a tomb atDeir El Bersha;[19][21] andsfr/srf "fiery one", attested atBeni Hasan[22][23] (compare Hebrewsaráf). The descriptive epithet "Tearer" is not uniquely applied to the griffin beast, andtštš (Teš-teš) has also been used to denote the godOsiris elsewhere.[24][27]
Form
Bronze figure of a griffin, Roman period (AD 50–270)
Most statuary representations of griffins depict them with bird-like forelegs andtalons, 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 prominentears; these are sometimes described as the lion's ears, but are often elongated (more like ahorse's), and are sometimes feathered.
Cauldron figurines
The griffin of Greece, as depicted in cast[d] bronze cauldron protomes (cf. below), has a squat face with short beaks[e] that are open agape as if screaming, with the tongue showing.[30] There is also a "top-knob" on its head or between the brows.[30]
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.[30][32][f] The tendril motif emerged at the beginning of the first millennium, BC., in various parts of the Orient.[33] The "double spiral of hair running downwards from the base of the ear" is said to be a hallmark of Iranian (Uratrian) art.[34] TheEtruscan cauldron-griffins (e.g., fromBarberini tomb [it], figure right[g][h]) also bear the "curled tresses" that are the signature of Uratrian workmanship.[35][i] 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.[38][j]
Top-knob
One prominent characteristic of the cauldron griffins is the "top-knob between the brows"[30] (seemingly situated at the top of the head[39]).
The top-knob feature has clear oriental origins.[40]Jack Leonard Benson says these appendages were "topknots" subsequently rendered as "knobs" in later development of the cauldron Griffins.[41] Benson's emphasis is that the Greeks attached a stylized "anorganic" topknot[41] or an "inorganic" plug on the griffin's head (due to lack of information),[41][k] while in contrast, a known oriental example (stone protomes fromNimrud) is simple but more "plausible" (naturalistic), resembling a forelock.[42]
Warts
A cluster of "warts" between the eyes are also mentioned.[43] One conjecture is that these derive from the bumps (furrows) on a lion's snout.[44] Another view regards the wart as deriving from the bumpycockscomb on a rooster or other such fowls.[45]
Griffin-like animals were depicted oncylinder seals in Mesopotamiac. 3000 BC,[48] perhaps as early as theUruk period (4000–3100BC) and subsequentProto-Elamite (Jemdet Nasr) period.[47] An example of a winged lion with beaks, unearthed inSusa (cf. fig. right[46]) dates to the 4th millennium B.C., and is a unique example of a griffin-like animal with a male lion'smane.[47] However, this monster then ceased to continue to be expressed after the Elamite culture.[47]
In theAkkadian Empire that succeeded Sumer, early examples (from early 3rd millennium BC[50]) of lions with bird heads appeared on cylinder seals, shown pulling the chariots for its rider, the weather god.[52][53] The "lion-griffin" on Akkadian seals are also shown as fire-belching, and shaggy (at the neck) in particular examples.[54][55][50]
The bronzeworks ofLuristan, the North and North West region of Iran in theIron Age, include examples ofAchaemenid art depicting both the "bird-griffin" and "lion-griffin" designs, such as are found onhorse-bits.[56][8]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".[57] The Luristan griffin-like creatures resemble and perhaps are descended from Assyrian creatures, possibly influenced byMitannian animals,[58][59] or perhaps there had been parallel development in both Assyrian andElamite cultures.[56]
Iran
Bird-headed mammal images appeared in art of theAchaemenianPersian Empire. Russian jewelry historian Elena Neva maintained that the Achaemenids considered the griffin "a protector from evil, witchcraft, and secret slander",[60] 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 atPella, from the 4th century BC,[61][62] perhaps serving as an emblem of the kingdom of Macedon or a personal emblem ofAntipater, one ofAlexander's successors.
A golden frontal half of a griffin-like animal from theZiwiye hoard (nearSaqqez city) inKurdistan province, Iran resembles the western protomes in style.[63][l] They were ofUrartian workmanship (neither Assyrian or Scythian),[m][34] though the hoard itself may have represented a Scythian burial.[64] The animal is described as having a "visor" (i.e., beaks) made by Urartian craftsmen, similar to what is found on Greek protomes.[34]
Griffin-type creatures combining raptor heads and mammalian bodies were depicted in theLevant,Syria, andAnatolia during the MiddleBronze Age,[71][72] dated at about 1950–1550 BC.[73]
The griffin-like hybrid became a fixture of Aegean culture since theLate Bronze Age,[75] but the animal called the gryps, gryphon, or griffin in Greek writings did not appear in Greek art until about 700 BC,[34] or rather, it was "rediscovered" as artistic motif in the 8th to 7th centuries BC, adapting the style of griffin current inNeo-Hittite art.[75][76] 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 asAristeas of Proconnesus. A number of bronze griffin protomes on cauldrons have been unearthed in Greece (onSamos, and atOlympia, etc., cf. fig. right).[77] 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).[78] It has thus been controversially argued (byUlf Jantzen [de]) that these attachments had always since the earliest times been crafted by Greek workshops,[n] added to the plain cauldrons imported from the Near East.[o] Detractors (notablyK. R. Maxwell-Hyslop) believe that (early examples of[79]) the griffin-ornamented cauldron, in its entirely, were crafted in the East, though excavated finds from the Orient are scarce.[80][81]
Central Asia
InCentral Asia, the griffin image was included in Scythian "animal style" artifacts of the 6th–4th centuries BC, but no writings explain their meaning.[citation needed] TheGolden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla, interred in Scythian king's burial site, perhaps commissioned to Greekgoldsmiths, 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.
Griffin inscription atSanchi Stupa from 3rd century BCE
Ancient parallels
Several ancient mythological creatures are similar to the griffin. These include theLamassu, anAssyrian protective deity, often depicted with a bull or lion's body, eagle's wings, and human's head.
Sumerian andAkkadian mythology feature the demonAnzu, half man and half bird, associated with the chief sky godEnlil. This was a divine storm-bird linked with the southern wind and the thunder clouds.
Jewish mythology speaks of theZiz, which resembles Anzu, as well as the ancient GreekPhoenix. The Bible mentions the Ziz in Psalms 50:11. This is also similar to acherub. The cherub, or sphinx, was very popular inPhoenician iconography.
In ancient Crete, griffins became very popular, and were portrayed in various media. A similar creature is theMinoan Genius.
In theHindu religion,Garuda is a large bird-like creature that serves as amount (vahana) of the deityVishnu. It is also the name for the constellationAquila.
Classical accounts
Grecian accounts of the gryphon
Local lore on thegryps or griffin was gathered byAristeas 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, thegryps lore was preserved in secondhand accounts by the playwright Aeschylus (ca. 460 BC) and later his contemporary, Herodotus the historian.[82][83]
Herodotus explains (via Aristeas) that the gold-guarding griffin supposedly dwelled further north than the one-eyedArimaspi people[p] who robbed the gold from the fabulous creatures. Aristeas is said to have been informed through theIssedones people, who neighbored the region of the Arimaspi in the northern extremes (of Central Asia).[86][87] 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.[89]
Aeschylus likened thegryps to "silent hounds of Zeus"[90][q] Since they are called dogs or hounds, scholars have conjectured that Aeschylus considered them wingless or flightless.[82][r]
Griffins of India and gold-digging ants
In contrast to the Greeks,Ctesias located the griffins in India and more explicitly classed them as beaked, four-legged birds.[82]
Herodotus mentions elsewhere that there aregold-collecting ants inKashmir, India, and modern scholars have interpreted this account as "doublets or garbled versions" of the lore of gold-hoarding griffins.[91] It appears that the accounts of griffins given by Pliny had been mixed with the lore of the gold-guarding ants of India,[90] and laterAelian also inserted attributes of the ant into his description of griffins.[84]
Pliny and later
Later,Pliny the Elder became the first to state explicitly that griffins have wings and long ears.[92][93][s] In one of the two passages, Pliny also located the "griffons" inÆthiopia.[93] According toAdrienne Mayor, Pliny also wrote, "griffins were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests containedgold nuggets".[94]
Apollonius of Tyana,[t] 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.[95][82][u]
In Europe, constantly falling snow makes those places contiguous with theRiphaean Mountains.. so impassable that, in addition, they prevent those who deliberately travel here from seeing anything. After that comes a region of very rich soil but quite uninhabitable because griffins, a savage and tenacious breed of wild beasts, love.. the gold that is mined from deep within the earth there, and because they guard it with an amazing hostility to those who set foot there.[97]
The aforementioned Aelian (Claudius Aelianus, 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".[99] 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).[100]
Divine creature
The griffin has been associated with various deities (Apollo, Dionysus, Nemesis) in Greekmythography, but here, the identifiable attested "accounts" presented in scholarship are largely not literary, but artistic[101] ornumismatic.
The griffin was linked to Apollo, given the existence of the cultus ofHyperborean Apollo, with a cult center at the Greek colony ofOlbia on theBlack Sea.[102][103] The mainTemple of Apollo atDelphi featured a statue of the god flanked by griffins, or so it is presumed based on its representation on thetetradrachm coinage of Attica.[103] Apollo rode a griffin to Hyperboria each winter leaving Delphi, or so it was believed.[104] Apollo riding a griffin is known from multiple examples ofred-figure pottery.[107][108] Apollo also hitched griffins to his chariot, according toClaudian.[110]
Dionysus was also depicted on a griffin-chariot[111] or mounting a griffin; the motif was borrowed from the god Apollo due to "syncretism between the two gods."[113]
At the Temple of Hera atSamos, a griffin-themed bronze "wine-cup"[114] or "cauldron"[115] had been installed, according to Herodotus. The vessel had griffin heads attached around the rim (like theprotomes,[116] described above): it was anArgolic orArgivekrater, according to the text,[v] standing on a tripod shaped like colossal figures.[114][115]
Medieval accounts
A soldier fighting a griffin, 'Alphonso' Psalter, 1284Stonemasonry with Griffins, late 11th-12th c, Gradina, Rakovac. SerbiaMedieval tapestry,Basel,c. 1450 CE
The Gryphes are so called because they are winged quadrupeds. This kind of wild beast is found in theHyperborean Mountains. In every part of their body they are lions, and in wings and heads are like eagles, and they are fierce enemies of horses. Moreover they tear men to pieces".[122][120]
Isidore's localization of the griffins in the mountains of Hyperborea derives fromServius (4th and 5th century).[123] Griffins had already been localizedRiphean Mountains by Mela (1st century) as quoted above,[97] 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.[124] The griffin were already being depicted attacking the horse in ancient art, as on thegold pectoral of the Scythian King noted above.[102]
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 inChristendom as a symbol ofJesus, who wasboth human and divine, espoused by many commentators, who see this evidenced in the griffin that draws the chariot in Dante'sPurgatorio (cf.§In literature below).[125][126][3]
A slightly different interpretation was that the griffin symbolized the pope or papacy rather than Christ himself, as proposed by French criticDidron, who built this interpretation upon the observation thatHerrad of Landsberg's manuscript (Hortus deliciarum, completed c. 1185) clearly depicted the two-colored bird as symbolic of the Church.[125]
At any rate, the griffin can be found sculpted at a number of Christian churches.[126][3]
Claw, egg, feather
Martin Schongauer:The griffin, 15th century
Alleged griffin's claws, eggs, and feathers were held as valuable objects, but actually derived from exotic animals, etc.[127][128] The eggs were often ostrich eggs, or in rare cases, fossilized dinosaur eggs.[129] The feather is a piece of forgery, an object crafted fromraffia palm fiber, with painted colors.[130]
The supposed claws were often turned into drinking cups[127][131] (and griffin egg artifacts were also used as goblets, according to heraldry scholars).[127][132][133]
A number of medieval griffin's claws existed, sometimes purported to be very large.[134]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,[135] but the two-feet claws that still remain on display have been identified asAlpine ibex horns.[131]
There is said to be a legend that a griffin's claw was made into a cup and dedicated to Cuthbert.[136] As a matter of fact, griffin claws were frequently fashioned into goblets (drinking cups) in medieval Europe,[127][131] and specific examples can be given, such as Charlemagne's griffin-claw drinking horn, formerly atSaint-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 thetaloned foot of araptor.[137][w]Kornelimünster Abbey located in Charlemagne's former capital of Aix-la-Chapelle (nowAachen, Germany) also houses a griffin horn ofPope Cornelius, made of Asian buffalo horn.[138]
Medieval iconography
Byzantine silk with griffins, 11th century, now in Sion, Switzerland
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."[139] 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.[140]
Attestation of griffin's feather as cure for blindness does occur in an Italian folktale,[141] classed as "The Singing Bone" tale type (ATU 780).[142] There is also a study that considers the griffin's feather tale as a variant of "The Twa Sisters" ballad (Child Ballad 10), as the tale incorporates the song in Italian, supposedly sung by the bones of the murdered finder of the feather).[143] 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.[144]
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.[145]
The heraldic griffin "denote[d] strength and military, courage and leadership", according to one source.[145] That it became a Christiansymbol ofdivine power and a guardian of the divine,[146] 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 sameattitude terminology as thelion, with the exception that where a lion would be described as rampant a griffin is instead described assegreant.[147]
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 aunicorn.[148] In some blazons, this variant is termed a keythong.[1]. 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 isJohn Butler, 6th Earl of Ormond, whose badge was described as featuring a "peyr [pair of] keythongs".[149] It is possible that the male griffin/keythong originated as a derivation of the heraldicpanther.[147]
Ahippogriff 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 laterheraldry, such a wingless griffin may be called analke, akeythong or amale griffin.
Sea-griffin
Thesea-griffin, also termed thegryphon-marine, is a heraldic variant of the griffin possessing the head and legs of the more common variant and the hindquarters of afish or amermaid. Sea-griffins are present on the arms of a number of German noble families, including the Mestich family ofSilesia and the Barony ofPuttkamer.[147]
Opinicus
Theopinicus orepimacus 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 acamel. It is sometimes wingless. The opinicus is rarely used in heraldry, but appears in the arms of theWorshipful Company of Barbers.[150][151][152]
ThePisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture that has been inPisa in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it is ofIslamic 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 inAl-Andaluz (Islamic Spain).[153][154] From about 1100 it was placed on a column on the roof ofPisa Cathedral until replaced by a replica in 1832; the original is now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum), Pisa.
Inarchitectural decoration the griffin is usually represented as a four-footed beast with wings and the head of aneagle withhorns, or with the head and beak of an eagle.[citation needed]
The statues that mark the entrance to theCity of London are sometimes mistaken for griffins, but are in fact (Tudor) dragons, the supporters of thecity's arms.[155] They are most easily distinguished from griffins by their membranous, rather than feathered, wings.
Griffins are used widely inPersian poetry;Rumi is one such poet who writes in reference to griffins.[156]
InDante Alighieri'sDivine Comedy storyPurgatorio, 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.
Illustration for Mandeville's legend byH. J. Ford, 1899
In that country be many griffins, more plenty than in any other country. Some men say that they have the body upward as an eagle and beneath as a lion; and truly they say sooth, that they be of that shape. But one griffin hath the body more great and is more strong than eight lions, of such lions as be on this half, and more great and stronger than an hundred eagles such as we have amongst us. For one griffin there will bear, flying to his nest, a great horse, if he may find him at the point, or two oxen yoked together as they go at the plough. For he hath his talons so long and so large and great upon his feet, as though they were horns of great oxen or of bugles or of kine, so that men make cups of them to drink of. And of their ribs and of the pens of their wings, men make bows, full strong, to shoot with arrows and quarrels.[157][136]
With winged course ore Hill or moarie Dale, Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stelth Had from his wakeful custody purloind
The guarded Gold [...]
Theories of origin
Possible influence by dinosaurs
Early historic references to the gryphon describe the area of theDzungarian Gate, a region whereProtoceratops andPsittacosaurus skeletons are very common.
Adrienne Mayor, 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 thefossilized remains of beaked dinosaurs such asProtoceratops andPsittacosaurus that ancient Scythian (Central Asian) nomadic prospectors saw on the way to gold deposits.[159] 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.[160]
Mayor argues thatProtoceratops and other fossils, seen by ancient observers, may have been interpreted as evidence of a half-bird-half-mammal creature.[161] 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.[162]
PaleontologistMark P. Witton contests this hypothesis.[163] 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 ofProtoceratops 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.[164]
In theHarry Potter series, the characterAlbus Dumbledore has a griffin-shaped knocker. Also, the characterGodric Gryffindor's surname is a variation on the Frenchgriffon d'or ("golden griffon"), and the school house named after him uses the symbol of a Griffin as their house mascot.
The griffin appears in French symbolist precursors to the modernist period in the work ofGustave Moreau as noted in his painting of "the Fairy and the Gryphons" ("La fée aux griffons," 1876) shown below.[165]
The fairy and gryphons
Through his friendship withMarcel Proust,Jean Cocteau the twentieth-century surrealist artist, writer and filmmaker, became familiar with the paintings of Gustave Moreau.[166] 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.[167]
"Griff" Statue in the forecourt of the Farkashegyi Cemetery Budapest, 2007
The "Griff" statue byVeres Kálmán [hu] was erected in 2007 at the forecourt of the Farkashegyi cemetery in Budapest, Hungary.
Logos, mascots
Municipal official seal (modern) ofHeraklion, Greece
Merv Griffin Entertainment logo
An archaic griffin design, created by artistThomas Fanourakis [el] (1915–1993), was adopted as the official symbol of the city of Heraklion on 22 March 1961 (cf. figure right).[y][170]
The Gryphon is the official school mascot forRaffles Institution, appearing also on the top of the school crest.
The official seal ofPurdue University 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.[175]
TheCollege of William and Mary in Virginia changed its mascot toGriffin in April 2010.[176][177] The griffin was chosen because it is the combination of the British lion and the American eagle.
The mascot ofLeadership High School 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.
Suwon Samsung Bluewings's mascot "Aguileon" is a griffin. The name "Aguileon" is a compound using twoSpanish words; "aguila" meaning "eagle" and "leon" meaning "lion".
Amusement parks
Busch Gardens Williamsburg's highlight attraction is a dive coaster called the "Griffon", which opened in 2007.
The logo design ofIran Air features a griffin. The pattern of this design, created byEdward Zahrabian, is based on a griffin statue found inPersepolis. A common mistake regarding this is the assumption that the griffin is the same as the mythical birdHoma, but this is incorrect. This mistake has arisen because the acronym for the National Airline of Iran in Persian is "Homa".
In the 1969 movieLatitude Zero, a creature called "Griffin" is made by inserting a woman'sbrain into a lion–condor hybrid.
In an episode of thesitcomThe Big Bang Theory, Dr.Sheldon Cooper mentions that he attempted to create a griffin but could not obtain the "necessary eagle eggs and lion semen".[180]
Eponymy
The latest fighter produced by the Saab Group bears the name "Gripen" (Griffin), as a result of public competition.
During World War II, theHeinkel firm named its heavy bomber design for theLuftwaffe after the legendary animal, as theHeinkel He 177Greif, the German form of "griffin".General Atomics has used the term "Griffin Eye" for its intelligence surveillance platform based on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 35ER civilian aircraft.[181]
Fauna names
Some large species ofOld World vultures are called griffines, including thegriffon vulture (Gyps fulvus). The scientific name for theAndean condor isVultur gryphus, Latin for "griffin-vulture". The CatholicDouay-Rheims version of the Bible uses griffon for a creature referred to as vulture or ossifrage in other English translations (Leviticus 11:13).
Gallery
Griffin in Johann Vogel:Meditationes emblematicae de restaurata pace Germaniae, 1649
Heraldic guardian griffin atKasteel de Haar, Netherlands, 1892–1912
Yali, Hindu mythological lion-elephant-horse hybrid
Explanatory notes
^Abdera minted coins since it was founded in 544 BC as a colony ofTeos, which also used the griffin motif.
^Also,Sēnmurw etymological root wasAvestanmərəγō saēnō (marəya saēna) which also denoted a bird (falcon or eagle),[12] and not a composite, as conceded by Litvinskij.[11]
The "š" glyph seems to be 𓈚 rathe than 𓈙 and are thus superposed in Leibovitch's inline text; however the glyps are juxtaposed and seemingly the plain bar "š" is used on his Fig. 5 line sketch.
^The cast pieces could also have additional hammered details.[28] The "cast protomes" are grouped by Jantzen.[29]
^The beaks on the Greeks are identified as "visor" of beasts such as seen in Urartian art, byGhirshman (1964c), p. 108.
^The example on figure right is the broken off head, and it is not certain whether the paired spiral-locks ran down its neck, as in other examples of griffin protomes from Olympia (Jantzen,GG no. 80, p. 20).
^See the cover photo of this cauldron inPapalexandrou (2021) andFig. 3.2. The lateral side of the griffins are hard to see onthis picture shown right; the lions do not have these hanging tresses. Cf.Fig. 3.3 for another cauldron, from theBernardini tomb [it]. Both are bronze cauldrons on a conical stand.
^An additional example of Etruscan griffin is the one found in Vetulonia, Italy.[35][36]
^While Maxwell-Hyslop, thought early griffin protomes were made in the east, she regarded later Etruscan examples as being made locally, imitating the Eastern originals, but such "Vannic (Urartrians) originals" are yet to be found.[37]
^In addition to the Throne Room, Goldman provides the following Mycenaean examples: the "ivory plaque of Mycenae" (Demargne, Pierre (1947),La Crète dédalique, fig. 24); the "gold cylinder seal from Pylos" (Blegen, Carl W. (5 December 1953). "A Royal Tomb of Homeric Times",Illustrated London News, fig. 7)
^Benson thinks using a simplified "plug" shape was the Greek "solution" to the problem of not knowing exactly what 3-dimensional shape to use, having only access to 2-dimensional renderings from the East.
^Ghirshman (and others, cf.Maxwell-Hyslop (1956), p. 160, citingAndré Godard.) thought the Ziwiye griffin was a protome to a lost cauldron. Goldman thinks this unlikely, as the animal is posed incouchant position, and gold is too soft a metal.
^That later griffin protomes are Greek-made is "without question" (Goldman (1960), p. 321).
^George M. A. Hanfmann agreed with Jantzen that the protomes were always Greek, but disagreed with Jantzen on the caudron, and doubted cauldrons were separately made in the East.
^But "Herdotus doubted that Arimaspeans were monocular". The Scythian word "arimasp" signifies "rich in horses rather than one-eyed[84]
^Mayor's reasoning being that Aeschylus elsewhere refers to eagles as "winged dogs of Zeus".[82] However this seems contradictory to Apollonius being able to refer to winged harpies as "Zeus' dogs",[88] as noted previously.
^The word for "eared" in the text isaurita in declined form.auritus. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short.A Latin Dictionary onPerseus Project. gives the definition: "Furnished with ears (acc. to auris, l.), having long or large ears".
^Apollonius of Tyana's writings, as recorded in his biography byFlavius Philostratus.
^Apollonius also compares the griffins to gold-gathering ants, though he places the ants not in India but in Africa (Aethiopia).[96]
^Mayor seems to suggest it may have been the "carved ivory horn" obtained as a gift fromHarun al-Rashid, who also gave Charlemagne the live elephantAbul-Abbas.[137] However, the ivory horn given by the caliph seems more likely to be Charlemagne'solifant, perhaps the one held in Aachen.
^abcdFriar, Stephen (1987).A New Dictionary of Heraldry. London: Alphabooks/A & C Black. p. 173.ISBN978-0-906670-44-6.
^Bement, Clarence S. (1921).Descriptive Catalogue of Greek Coins selected from the cabinet. Philadelphia: American Numismatic Society. p. 43 andPlate X, 144.144 AR [silver] Phoenician Tetradrachm; 14.94 gr.; 27 mm.Obv. Griffin seated l. on a fish, with rounded, feathered wing; around, magistrate's name Καλλιδαμασ; around, circle of dots.Rev. → Αβδηριτων on border of an incuse square; within, smaller linear square in four compartments.
^Also seeRobert S. P. Beekes,Etymological Dictionary of Greek, volume 1, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010ISBN978-90-04-17420-7, p. 289, entry forγρυπος, "From the archaeological perspective, origin in Asia Minor (and the Near East: Elam) is very probable."
^Litvinskij, Boris A.[in Russian]; Pičikian, Igor R. (1995), Invernizzi, Antonio (ed.), "An Achaemenian griffin handle from the Temple of the Oxus: the makhaira in Northern Bactria",In the Land of the Gryphons: Papers on Central Asian Archaeology in Antiquity, Le lettere, p. 123,ISBN9788871662480
^Henning, W. B. (1947), "Two Manichæan Magical Texts with an Excursus on the Parthian Ending -ēndēh",Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London,12 (1): 41, 42,doi:10.1017/S0041977X0007988X,JSTOR608983,S2CID194111905; Reprinted in Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques ed. (1977) "B. Henning selected papers",Acta Iranica10,pp. 274–275
^abcGriffith, F. Ll;Newberry, Percy Edward (1895).El Bersheh. Vol. 2. Appended byGeorge Willoughby Fraser. Sold at the Offices of the Egypt Exploration Fund. pp. 34–35 andPl. XVI, tomb no. 5.Another monster is seen just above; a lion with the head of a hawk, the wings of an eagle, and the horns and feathers of a god... calledtesh-tesh, "the tearer-in-pieces"
^David glossestštš as "Crusher",[20] which is consistent with one of Leibovitch's several glosses.<!!-- But David note 8 indicates the source to be Newberry 1893b (Beni Hasan II), Pl. 16, which probably should by Griffith & Newberry (El-Bersheh II)0, Pl. 16-->
^The epithet "the Crusher" (or "Trampler") is also given byRiefstahl (1956), p. 2 citing Leibovitch, but the words do not actually occur as names/epithets in Leibovitch's reading of the inscription: "Spdw le seigneur des pays montagne, qui écrase (en les piétinant)Sopdu the lord of the mountain countries, who crushes (trampling them)". The inscription is fromSahure (pharaoh of Fifth Dynasty of Egypt).[25] A relief represents Sahure as an enemy-trampling griffin in the reliefs work found in his pyramid complex.[26]
^The positioning is between the brows, yet looks to be at the top of the head, as seen on the exampleGoldman (1960), p. 324 provides: Plate 90, fig. 1 (adapted fromGG 75).
^Goldman (1960), p. 321: "the top-knob on the cauldron griffin is a straight-forward carryover from its oriental counterparts".
^Goldman (1960), p. 321: "wart-like protuberances between the eyes..natural property of the lion". An example from the east is given as Fig. 10: "Lion-griffin. Middle Assyrian (after Corpus 596)".
^Fishbane's example from early 3rd millennium BC is a four-wheeled chariot, citing Pritchard.[50] There is another four-wheeled chariot which generally match the description, held by the Morgan Library (shelfmark Morgan Seal 220), dated to between 2340 and 2150 BC.[51]
^Frankfort's example is a two-wheeled chariot in the seal-impression image shown on Fig. 4.[49]
^Cf.Frankfort (1936–1937), p. 110: "The immediate source of non-Mesopotamian motives in Assyrian art is the kingdom of Mitan"; "The griffin is as common in Mitannian (Figs. 21, 22) as in Assyrian art, and the question arises whether it was peculiar to the ephemereal kingdom, or reached it from one of the sources".
^Neva, Elena (12 March 2008)."Central Asian Jewelry and their Symbols in Ancient Time".Artwis. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014; who citesPugachenkova, G. (1959). "Grifon v drevnem iskusstve central'noi Azii"Грифон в древнем искусстве центральной Азии [Griffin in the ancient art of Central Asia].Sovetskya Arheologia.2: 70, 83.
^Fox, R.L. (1973).Alexander the Great. p. 31, & notes on p. 506.
^Maxwell-Hyslop (1956), p. 156 viewed later examples to have been western, copied from eastern "originals" (cited byGoldman (1960), pp. 319–320) , as shall be iterated below.
^Jantzen (1951). "Die Bedeutung der Greifenprotomen aus dem Heraion von Samos".Festschrift für Hans Jantzen; alsoJantzen (1955)GG. Cited byGoldman (1960), p. 319
^Mayor & Heaney (1993), pp. 40, 42 : "Pliny wrote: 'Arimaspeans... are always fighting for gold with the griffins, winged animals whose appearance is well known. The griffins toss up gold when they make their burrows.'" and n11, citing 11. Pliny the Elder 10.70.136; 7.2.10
As to the gold which the griffins dig up, there are rocks which are spotted with drops of gold as with sparks, which this creature can quarry because of the strength of its beak. "For these animals do exist in India" he said, "and are held in veneration as being sacred to the Sun ; and the Indian artists, when they represent the Sun, yoke four of them abreast to draw the images ; and in size and strength they resemble lions, but having this advantage over them that they have wings, they will attack them, and they get the better of elephants and of dragons. But they have no great power of flying, not more than have birds of short flight; for they are not winged as is proper with birds, but the palms of their feet are webbed with red membranes, such that they are able to revolve them, and make a flight and fight in the air; and the tiger alone is beyond their powers of attack, because in swiftness it rivals the winds".
And the griffins of the Indians and the ants of the Ethiopians, though they are dissimilar in form, yet, from what we hear, play similar parts; for in each country they are, according to the tales of poets, the guardians of gold, and devoted to the gold reefs of the two countries.
^AelianDe natura animaliumIV , 27:"Gryphem, Indicum animal, audio similiter quadrupedem, ut leonem,.."[98] Quoted in English translation byMayor (2011), p. 33 and excerpted with somewhat different phrasing inMayor & Heaney (1993), pp. 44–45.
^Mayor & Heaney (1993), n14: "Aelian is the last literary text dealing with the griffin considered here; after his account,.. no new information about thegryps was added, except for 'agate eggs'"
^Towne, Elana B. (1994)."13. Griffin protome". In J. Paul Getty Museum; Cleveland Museum of Art (eds.).A Passion for Antiquities: Ancient Art from the Collection of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman. J. Paul Getty Museum. pp. 50–51.ISBN9780892362233.
^abcdBedingfeld, Henry;Gwynn-Jones, Peter (1993).Heraldry. Wigston: Magna Books. pp. 80–81.ISBN1-85422-433-6.Goblets in the shape of gryphon's claws or eggs were highly prized in the courts of medieval Europe, and were usually made from antelope horns and ostrich eggs.
^London, Hugh Stanford (1956).Royal Beasts. p. 17 n5apudEdwards (2005), p. 225 n10
^Gerald Leigh, in his work on heraldry (1563), surmised from his claw that the original griffin must have been as "bigge as two lyons".[130]Lady Mary Wortley Montague (1716) observed a gilded "prodigious claw" referred to as a griffin's claw while touring the Danube.[130]
^White, T. H. (1992) [1954].The Book of Beasts: Being a Translation From a Latin Bestiary of the Twelfth Century. Stroud: Alan Sutton. pp. 22–24.ISBN978-0-7509-0206-9.
^McClanan, A (2019). "Illustrious Monsters: Representations of Griffins on Byzantine Textiles".Animals in Text and Textile: Storytelling in the Medieval World, Riggisberger Berichte.23:133–45.
^J[ames] R[obinson] Planché (1852)."Badges".The Pursuivant of Arms, or Heraldry Founded upon Facts. London: W. N. Wright [Bookseller to the Queen, 60, Pall Mall]. p. 183..
^Rose, Carol (2001).Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: an Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 279.ISBN0393322114.OCLC48798119.
^Vinycomb, John (1906).Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art: With Special Reference to Their Use in British Heraldry. London: Chapman and Hall. p. 162.
^Glassteelandstone.com[usurped], Philadelphia Museum of Art: Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, Glass Steel and Stone
^"Ο Γρύπας, το μυθικό τέρας γίνεται το σύμβολο της πόλης του Ηρακλείου...".Cretalive News. 22 March 2021.
Álvarez-Mon, Javier (2011). Álvarez-Mon, Javier; Garrison , Mark B. (eds.).The Golden Griffin from Arjan. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, imprint of Penn State University Press. pp. 299–373.ISBN9781575066127.{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)
Benson, J. L. (1960). "Unpublished Griffin Protomes in American Collections".Antike Kunst.3 (2):58–70.JSTOR41318521.
Bolton, J. D. P. (1962).Aristeas of Proconnesus. Clarendon Press.
Leibovitch, J. (1942). "Quelques éléments de la décoration égyptienne sous le Nouvel Empire : Le Griffon".Bulletin de l'institut d'Égypte (in French).25:183–203.
McClanan. A. L.Griffinology: The Griffin’s Place in Myth, History and Art. Reaktion Books. 2024.
McCulloch, Florence (1962) [1960].Mediaeval Latin and French Bestiaries. North Carolina Studies in Romance Languages and Literatures 33 (revised ed.). Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 122–123.ISBN9780807890332.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) [ Reprint], C. N. Potter, 1976
Nigg, Joe (1982).The Book of Gryphons: A History of the Most Majestic of All Mythical Creatures. Cambridge, Massachusetts:Applewood Books.ISBN978-0918222374.
Phillips, E. D. (1955). "The Legend of Aristeas: Fact and Fancy in Early Greek Notions of East Russia, Siberia, and Inner Asia".Artibus Asiae.18 (2):161–177.doi:10.2307/3248792.JSTOR3248792.
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, 1965.
McClallen, Anne L.Griffinology: The Griffin’s Place in Myth, History and Art. London:Reaktion, 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).
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