Griffin
The
Griffin (
Greek gryphos,
Persian شیردال‌
shirdal "lion-eagle") (also spelled
gryphon and, less commonly,
gryphen,
griffon,
griffen, or
gryphin) is a
legendary creature with the body of a
lion and the head and wings of an
eagle. As the lion was considered the "
King of the Beasts" and the eagle the "
King of the Air", the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin is generally represented with four legs, wings and a beak, with eagle-like
talons in place of a lion's forelegs and
equine ears jutting from its
skull. Some traditions say that only female griffins have wings. Some writers describe the tail as a serpent. See the entry
European dragon for a
19th century painting of
St George and the dragon, showing a dragon very like a classically-conceived griffin.
Classical and heraldic griffins are male and female. A "male" griffin, called a
keythong in a single
15th century English heraldic manuscript, is an anomaly that belongs strictly to a late phase of English
heraldry: see below.
Tales of griffins and the
Arimaspi of distant
Scythia near the cave of
Boreas, the North Wind (
Geskleithron) were elaborated in the lost archaic poem of
Aristeas of Proconnesus,
Arimaspea, and eagerly reported by
Herodotus and in
Pliny's Natural History.The griffin was said to build a
nest, like an eagle. Instead of eggs, it lays
agates. The animal was supposed to watch over
gold mines and hidden treasures, and to be the enemy of the
horse. The incredibly rare offspring of griffin and horse would be called
hippogriff.
Griffin was consecrated to the
Sun; and ancient painters represented the chariot of the Sun as drawn by griffins. The griffin was a common feature of "animal style" Scythian gold; it was said to inhabit the
Scythia steppes that reached from the modern Ukraine to central
Asia; there gold and precious stones were abundant; and when strangers approached to gather the stones, the creatures would leap on them and tear them to pieces. The Scythians used giant
petrified bones found in this area as proof of the existence of griffins and to keep outsiders away from the gold and precious stones. It has recently been suggested that these "griffin bones" were actually
dinosaur fossils, which are common in this part of the world.
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Heraldic guardian griffin at Kasteel de Haar, Netherlands |
Adrienne Mayor, a classical
folklorist, has made tentative connections, in
Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times, between the rich fossil beds around the
Mediterranean and across the steppes to the
Gobi Desert and the myths of griffins,
centaurs and archaic giants originating in the classical world. Mayor draws upon striking similarities that exist between the
Protoceratops skulls of the steppes leading to the Gobi Desert, and the legends of the gold-hoarding griffin told by nomadic Scythians of the region; among the artistic evidence, the
6th century Greek vase on the book's cover is incontrovertible. The size of that fossil skull may be the source of the claim that a griffin is eight times the size of a lion.
Ancient
Elamites used griffin symbol extensively in their architecture. In Elam legends, a Griffin was presented to a Elamite Gods. In
Persian mythology, in particular during the
Achaemenid dynasty, griffins called
Homa were used widely as statues and symbols in palaces. Homa also had a special place in
Persian literature as guardians of light.
A 9th century Irish writer by the name of Stephen Scotus asserted that griffins were highly monogamous. Not only did they mate for life, but if one partner died, the other would continue throughout the rest of its life alone, never to search out for a new mate. The griffin was thus made an emblem of the Church's views on
remarriage. Being in part both a flying and a landbound animal, it was seen in Christianity to be a symbol of Jesus (who was both human and divine).The egg-laying habits of the female were first clearly described by St.
Hildegard of Bingen, a German nun author of the 12th century. She outlined how the expectant mother would search out a cave with a very narrow entrance but plenty of room inside, sheltered from the elements. Here she would lay her 3 eggs (about the size of Ostrich eggs), and stand guard over them.
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Gryphon illustration by Sir John Tenniel for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland |
In
architectural decoration the griffin is usually represented as a four-footed beast with wings and the head of a
leopard or
tiger with
horns, or with the head and beak of an eagle. The griffin is the symbol of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and you can see
bronze castings of them perched on each corner of the
museum's roof, protecting its collection.
A griffin (spelled "gryphon") is featured in
Lewis Carroll's
Alice in Wonderland in which the Queen of Hearts' orders the gryphon to take Alice to see the
Mock Turtle and hear its story. The original illustrations by Sir
John Tenniel depict the gryphon in an unusually naturalistic style (pictured to the left).
Some large species of
Old World vultures are called gryphons, including the
griffon vulture (
Gyps fulvus), as are
some breeds of
dog (griffons).
The scientific species name for the
Andean Condor is
Vultur gryphus; Latin for "griffin-vulture".
Hippogriffs
Griffins are traditionally regarded as having an antipathy for horses. Therefore the
hippogriff, being the offspring of a horse and a griffin, was a doubly impossible being. Nevertheless, some tales depicted their existence.
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Medieval figure of a heraldic griffin |
The griffin is often seen as a
charge in
heraldry.
A heraldic griffin (or gryphon) has the hind parts (including legs and tail) of a
lion, the upper parts (including feathered neck, wings, claws, and head with beak) of an
eagle and also ears. It is the ears which distinguish the griffin's head from an eagle's head in heraldry, which is important because, as well as the full griffin, the griffin's head is also often found in heraldry and would otherwise be identical to the head of the eagle.
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Modern illustration of a heraldic griffin - coat of arms of the Griffiths family |
According to the
Tractatus de armis of
John de Bado Aureo (late fourteenth century) "A griffin borne in arms signifies that the first to bear it was a strong pugnacious man in whom were found two distinct natures and qualities, those of the eagle and the lion". This is clearly fanciful, but since the lion and the eagle were both important charges in heraldry, it is perhaps not surprising that their
hybrid, the griffin, was also a frequent choice. The symbolism of the lion-eagle combination was also the subject of a quotation attributed to Chassaneus by Alexander Nisbet in his
System of Heraldry (1722; p 343 of Vol I of the 1816 edn): "Gryphus significat sapientiam jungendam fortitudini, sed sapientiam debere praeire, fortitudinem sequi.". This translates as: "The griffin represents wisdom joined to fortitude, but wisdom should lead, and fortitude follow".
Heraldic griffins are usually shown rearing up, facing left, and standing on one hind leg with the other leg and the claws raised: this posture is described in the Norman-French language of heraldry as "segreant", a word uniquely applied to griffins, and which is the exact equivalent of the description of lions and other creatures in heraldry as "rampant".
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Arms of the City of London flanked by the dragons popularly referred to as griffins |
A heraldic griffin was included as one of the ten
Queen's Beasts sculpted for the coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (following the model of the King's Beasts at Hampton Court) and this is now on display at
Kew Gardens.
The
City of London adopted what are usually described as griffins as
supporters for its
coat of arms, and it marks its boundaries with statues of a single "griffin" carrying the City coat of arms at each road leading into the City of London. However, the City of London griffins are, in fact, heraldic
dragons, with scaly bodies and wings, no feathers, and no eagle's beak.
The "keythong"
The heraldic beast called a "keythong" much enjoyed among members of the
Society for Creative Anachronism is claimed to appear in a single English manuscript of the reign of
Edward IV, a heraldic solipsism. J.R. Planche's
Pursuivant of Arms (London 1859) notes, under the badge of the
Earl of Ormonde (first creation) as recorded in a College of Arms manuscript under Edward IV, the single contemporary reference: "A pair of keythongs." Planche's footnote: "The word is certainly so written, and I have never seen it elsewhere. The figure resembles the Male Griffin, which has no wings, but rays or spikes of gold proceeding from several parts of his body, and sometimes with two long straight horns. ÂÂVade Parker's Glossary, under Griffin." (
Society of Creative Anachronism website). At the end of the 20th century the "keythong" began to be taken up enthusiastically among amateurs of heraldry.
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Collinsfort Village book cover by Nick Greenwood, published by WindRiver Publishing. |
*A griffin ghost-writes myth and legend novels and reads stories to children at a local library in
Collinsfort Village by Joe Ekaitis.
Alice in Wonderland by
Lewis Carroll (see reference in summary above)
*The
Crossroads series by Nick O'Donohoe, including
The Magic and the Healing,
Under the Healing Sign, and
Healing of Crossroads. Griffins play a significant role in this series about veterinary students called upon to help mythological creatures.
*Three varieties of griffins, with different spellings and very different dispositions, appear in the popular children's novel
David and the Phoenix by Edward Ormondroyd.
*
Griffins are among the
magical creatures that exist in the
Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter's house (i.e., grouping of pupils) at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is called
Gryffindor, after its founder
Godric Gryffindor. "Gryffindor" may come from the French "gryffon d'or" or "golden griffin", but, oddly, its emblem is a lion and not a griffin. The gargoyle guarding the
Hogwarts headmaster's office is depicted in the Harry Potter movies as a half-phoenix, half-lion griffin.
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Cover of The Griffin and the Minor Canon drawn by Maurice Sendak, re-issued by HarperCollins. |
The Griffin and the Minor Canon by Frank R Stockton, illustrated by
Maurice Sendak (
1968)
* Gryphons are among the creatures in Aslan's army in
The Chronicles of Narnia.
The Mage Wars Trilogy by
Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. A gryphon known as Skandranon is one of the lead characters. Titles are
The Black Gryphon,
The White Gryphon and
The Silver Gryphon.
The Divine Comedy by
Dante Alighieri. A griffin pulls the chariot which brings Beatrice to Dante in Canto XXIX of the
Purgatory.
Revenge of the Shadow King by
Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis*A human baby turns into a griffin in Wilanne Schneider Belden's
Frankie!*Griffins play a part in the
Dragonlance novels, under the command of
Elves.
*In the
Eberron campaign setting for
Dungeons & Dragons, the griffon is the heraldic beast of the dragonmarked
House Jorasco.
*In
The Once and Future King by
T. H. White, young
Arthur and his step-brother
Kay battle a fierce griffin with aid from
Robin Hood soon after freeing captives of
Morgan le Fay.
*In Baldur's Gate 2, the
gnome NPC Jan Janssen's family (according to him) has had a number of encounters with griffins, mostly as a food source. One spoken line from the character is a panicked 'what? Is there a griffin about?"
Griffin has been spelled various ways: gryphon, griff, griffen, griffon, griffoun, griffun, griffyn, grifo, grifon, grifyn, grefyne, grÃobhán, griphin, griphon, gryffen, gryffin, gryffon, gryfon, gryf, gryphen, and gryphin.
*
Simurgh*
Homa *
JAS-39 Gripen, a fighter aircraft built by
Saab*
Pomfret School in
Pomfret, Connecticut; whose mascot is the griffin
*
Lincoln-Way East High School in
Frankfort, IL; whose mascot is the griffin
*
Canisius College in
Buffalo, New York; whose mascot is the griffin
*
Chestnut Hill College in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; whose mascot is the griffin
*
Reed College in
Portland, Oregon; whose mascot is the griffin
*
Grand Rapids Griffins, a team in the
American Hockey League* St. George's Independent School in Collierville, TN. Whose mascot is the gryphon.
*
The Gryphon Pages, a comprehensive collection of all things pertaining to gryphons, from history and literature, to heraldry, to art both ancient and new.
*
Griffins in Art and on the Web, an "art history through griffins"
*
Greek Mythology Link Bestiary: Griffin, quoting
Herodotus,
Pausanias,
Strabo*
Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times*
Lady Gryphon's Mythical Realm: Griffin Aerie 
