Overview
The Griffin, also spelled Griffon or Gryphon, is a legendary creature portrayed with the rear body of a lion, the head of an eagle with erect ears and a feathered breast with the forelegs of an eagle, including talons. This combination indicates intelligence and strength. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. In heraldry, the griffin’s amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness and it is always drawn to fierce monsters. It used to denote strength, military courage and leadership. Griffins were thought to be protectors of gold sources, particularly in India.
Griffin was a favourite decorative motif in the ancient Middle Eastern and Mediterranean lands. Probably originating in the Levant in the 2nd millennium bce, the griffin had spread throughout western Asia and into Greece by the 14th century bce. The Asiatic griffin had a crested head, whereas the Minoan and Greek griffin usually had a mane of spiral curls. It was shown either recumbent or seated on its haunches, often paired with the sphinx; its function may have been protective.
History
Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. Most contemporary illustrations give the griffin the forelegs of an eagle, with an eagle’s legs and talons. Its eagle’s head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion’s ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse’s), and are sometimes feathered. Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings (or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin); in 15th-century and later heraldry such a beast may be called a male griffin, an alce or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has aquiline forelimbs; the beast with leonine forelimbs is distinguished as the opinicus.
In the Iron Age the griffin was again prominent in both Asia and Greece. Greek metalworkers evolved a handsome stylized rendering, the beak open to show a curling tongue and the head provided with horses’ ears and a large knob on top. Apparently the griffin was in some sense sacred, appearing frequently in sanctuary and tomb furnishings. Its precise nature or its place in cult and legend remains unknown.
Origin
The Griffin was known in Egypt before 3300 BC and is possibly more ancient still.
Pliny believed griffins came from Northern Russia; Aeschylus thought they originated in Ethiopia; and Bulfinch wrote that their native country was India. Herodotus said that legends of griffins came from the Issedonians who lived beyond the Oural Mountains. Biedermann wrote later that it has typological antecedents in ancient Asia, especially in the Assyrian k’rub, which is also the source of the Hebrew cherub.
Roles and Abilities
Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of all creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present-day southeastern Kazakhstan, or in Mongolia. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine. In its body, the griffin is blessed with the speed, flight, and penetrating vision of the eagle and the strength, courage, and majesty of the lion.
Because of the griffin’s strength and powers of sight, it was believed to guard hidden treasures and in particular the vast gold mines of India and Scythia. The Arimaspians, a bold, one-eyed race of humans, constantly tried to steal their treasure and eventually drove the griffins away the mountains. Because of its association with the Holy Grail, one of the treasures most commonly guarded by griffins was emeralds.
Other popular treasures guarded by griffins were the Tree of Life, knowledge, and the roads to salvation. Greeks and Romans used griffin images to guard tombs.
Griffins mated for life and never sought a new mate if their partner was to die. According to Stephen Friar’s New Dictionary of Heraldry, “a griffin’s claw was believed to possess medicinal properties and that it’s feathers could restore sight to the blind.” By the 12th century, the appearance of the griffin had been settled upon and remains relatively unchanged in modern lore. “All of its bodily members are like lion’s but it’s wings and mask are like an eagle’s. It was not yet clear if it’s forelimbs are like a lions or an eagle’s or sometimes it is possible that they had the limbs of baby pigs.
In Media
Films
- A griffin was featured in Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra Doo with its own mythical backstory.
Literature
- In Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small Quartet, no lies could be spoken in their presence. In addition, wearing a band of griffin’s feathers revealed hidden things and dispelled illusions.
- In the film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the griffins could speak the language of humans. They did not appear in the book.
- A gryphon appears in The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
By: Ayu Anisa Budiarti
Source: Wikipedia, Wikia, Encyclopedia Britannica, DeviantArt
Christmas is coming!!! And this month is December. Everyone in the world is preparing for it. Christmas tree, Christmas decoration, Santa Claus, reindeers, all about red and white appears everywhere. Christmas is actually the birthday of Jesus Christ. 2000 years ago, he had come in the world to safe our life from sins.
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