As these bones, especially the skull, which has a bird-like beak, were exposed on the desert floor, ancient observers may have interpreted them as proof that such a hybrid creature once lived in the desert. In this desert, the fossils of a dinosaur called the Protoceratops can be found. One theory suggests that the griffin was brought to Europe by traders travelling along the Silk Road from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It is unclear, however, whether this was the actual belief, or just a modern interpretation.Īlthough the griffin might seem like a creature conjured from the imagination of mankind, there might actually be some truth to this creature. This has led to claims that the griffin was used by the Church as a symbol against re-marriage. In European legend of this period, it was believed that griffins mated for life, and that when one partner died, the other would live the rest of his/her without seeking another partner (perhaps due to the fact that there weren’t many griffins around). This may hold true for the griffin in the Middle Ages. Perhaps the fascination with such hybrid creatures is due to the fact that it allows people to combine the best characteristics of two or more creatures into one ’super creature’, allowing meaningful symbolism to be attached to them. Credit: Wikipediaįurther to the east, a part-man, part-bird creature, the Garuda, served as a mount for the Hindu god Vishnu. University of Chicago Oriental Institute. For instance, the Lamassu was an Assyrian mythical creature that had the head of a man, a body of a lion or bull, and the wings of an eagle. Interestingly, there are various hybrid creatures that are similar to the griffin. Griffin fresco in the "Throne Room", Palace of Knossos, Crete. On the island of Crete in Greece, archaeologists have uncovered depictions of griffins in frescoes in the ‘Throne Room’ of the Bronze Age Palace of Knossos dating back to the 15 th century BC. While griffins are most common in the art and mythology of Ancient Greece, there is evidence of representations of griffins in ancient Persia and ancient Egypt dating back to as early as the 4 th millennium BC. The most outlying lands, though, as they enclose and wholly surround all the rest of the world, are likely to have those things which we think the finest and the rarest.” (Herodotus, The Histories, 3.116) But I do not believe this, that there are one-eyed men who have a nature otherwise the same as other men. In this matter again I cannot say with assurance how the gold is produced, but it is said that one-eyed men called Arimaspians steal it from griffins. “But in the north of Europe there is by far the most gold. For instance, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote During the Persian Empire, the griffin was seen as a protector from evil, witchcraft, and slander.Īlthough the griffin is often seen in medieval heraldry, its origins stretch further back in time. As the eagle was considered the ‘king of the birds’, and the lion the ‘king of the beasts’, the griffin was perceived as a powerful and majestic creature. The griffin is a legendary creature with the head and wings of an eagle, and the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion.
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