Griffin Guardians
Welcome back FairyFindrs!
Today..... is for the Griffin!
Meet Petra the Griffen, She demanded to be seen and heard the whole time while compiling and writing this blog and all of the vast amounts of information in it!
(Petra (Rock) the Griffen came about while preparing this blog, and directly inspired by things that I learned about the griffin. Drawn by me ADHDalex/Marvelous Magical Miniatures Nov 2024)
Today for #MysteriousMichiganMondays we have a very special deep dive on the glorious, graceful, godly guardians, called Griffins (also spelled Griffon, Griffen, and Gryphon depending on who you ask).
(Griffin Statue by Ryan McCallister-- Half eagle, half lion. Made from steel, river rock, and blown glass (eyes). 6’ long x 5’ tall.)
The Griffin is a chimera or hybrid beast of folklore, antiquity, mythology, and legend. I was extremely surprised to learn, unlike many other creatures or entities mentioned throughout history, the griffin doesn't really have an origin story, it's kind of just always been there throughout the entirety of human history.
(From the Chimera(mythology) Wikipedia page)
How the hell is the Griffin related to Michigan, you might ask? Well.... you'll have to read on to find out!
(Griffin artwork ancient painting)
Fun "Facts" about the Griffin!
Griffins are monogamous and have only one mate for life. Once they have found a partner, even if the partner dies, the other griffin will remain alone for the remainder of their life.
Griffin wings are said to shimmer in the sunlight, showing glimpses of its divine essence.
Griffin feathers can cure blindness.
Their talons were so large they were known to be turned into drinking cups.
According to some mythologies, only female griffins have wings.
Griffins carry precious stones that can heal wounds.
Griffins are guardians of sacred portals and treasures of the gods.
In the middle ages, counterfeit Griffin eggs and claws were sold; made from ibex horns, ostrich eggs, and possibly even fossilized dinosaur eggs.
Griffin claws can detect poison by changing color.
In medieval lore, Griffins were known to detect liars, judging between truth and justice
The Griffin was the symbol of Old World Tartary / Tartaria (I'll let you jump down that rabbit hole if you'd like but its a very interesting alternative history theory about the erasure of an ancient advanced technology civilization with giants and griffins and other mythological beasts and creatures).
(Tartary flag featuring a griffin-- their symbol of power and wisdom,
as well as freedom of information and technology)
Ancient Origins of the Griffin:
World's Oldest Hybrid?
Griffins are GIANT creatures, much bigger than a horse! They are found in ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Persian, Minoan, Greek, and Roman mythology and artwork! The Griffin is a hybrid animal with the characteristics and body of a lion and the head and front legs and talons of an eagle-- king of the beasts--and king of the air, making the griffin the king of all kings!
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin)
The earliest artwork known to feature the griffin comes from 3300 BC in ancient Egyptian artwork and ancient Mesopotamia, often referred to as the "cradle of civilization", which makes the griffin an ancient being, indeed. Here's a mega-thread on reddit showing various griffins in ancient Egypt. And there are even more pictures in a second thread by the same person, showcasing griffins, and their close relative, the sphinx, in ancient Egyptian art and sculptures!
(Source: A relief sculpture of an ancient Egyptian griffin and a sphinx together)
(A griffin pictured at the tip of an ancient ceremonial axe)
(An ancient Griffin relief sculpture/carving in between two snakes)
(A giant Griffin trampling on the enemies of Egypt)
(https://mythologyworldwide.com/the-griffins-roots-in-mesopotamia-exploring-the-origins-of-the-beast/)
From the earliest mentions in antiquity of the giant glorious Griffin, it has been known to guard sacred realms, massive treasures of the gods, and priceless possessions, even sometimes building their nests out of gold!
( As a griffon family prepares for their yearly migration to the Valley of Griffons, one lone egg remains unhatched. -- By Liang Fang on DeviantArt.)
Griffins are fierce protectors of their young, and if you approach their nest, they will become defensive, sometimes even violent, depending on the intentions of the other party; this may be why we find a lot of the cautionary tales of griffins being dangerous.
In fact, the Griffin has rarely been known to harm a human unless attacked first, however, there were a tribe of giant cyclops, who infiltrated their nests and stole their guarded treasures, likely harming them and their babies in the process, who wouldn't defend themselves in that situation? We will revisit this subject later on in the blog when speaking of griffins in ancient literature.
According to legend, the greek god of the sun, Apollo, was known to have domesticated the griffin and ride it from his kingdom in Delphi and traveling to Hyperborea, as pictured below at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
(Source: The greek god Apollo riding his griffin around his kingdom, playing his lyre)
One legend tells of Alexander The Great, king of the Greek Empire in the fourth century BC, was obsessed with reaching the heavens, so he domesticated several griffins after chaining them to his throne and then training them to take him to the heavens, as seen below.
(Illustration of Alexander the Great’s Flying machine, consisting of a cage held aloft by 6 griffins. Originally published in The True History of the Good King Alexander, circa 1420.)
The griffin was not only a creature believed to be real in ancient times, but also a symbol of strength and royalty used by ruling families, places of worship, and oftentimes even appearing in family crests or on shields and swords in Heraldry.
(Catholic Griffin statues from Nothern Italy, made between 1150–1175; on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art)
According to the webpage for these griffin statues (that I'm most certainly going to go see with my girlfriend, Ammie, ASAP-- its only three hours away from me!!), they had dual meaning for the christian church:
"Griffins are fabled creatures that have the characteristics of an eagle and a lion—combining watchfulness and courage. In Christian art, the dual nature of the griffin was often used to signify that of Christ himself: divine (bird) and human (animal). Griffins were often used as guardian figures in church sculpture and were placed in portals and choir screens. The creatures seen here, with their inward-turning heads, were certainly used for such a purpose. When viewed from the front, one griffin may be seen clutching the figure of a knight between its paws, while the other griffin holds a calf. Their original function was probably to support the columns of a porch in front of a church doorway."
(Source: A satyr, a griffin and an Arimaspus. Detail from an Attic red-figure calyx-krater,
ca. 375–350 BC. From Eretria.)
The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections released a paper written by Nicolas Wyatt of The University of Edinburgh on griffins, its a super interesting read!
(From the paper written by Nicolas Wyatt Grasping the Griffin: Identifying and Characterizing the Griffin in Egyptian and West Semitic Tradition by The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections)
(Source: The chief coin type of the Greek city state of Abdera was
known as "the Griffon" because of the mythical animal depicted on it)
(Source: https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Griffin)
Griffins in Ancient Literature
A Greek man named Aristeas of Proconnesus was the first one to document the Griffin creature in writing, collecting the stories from local natives during his travels, of the infamous griffin! His original poems have been lost to time, but the stories have been passed on by his contemporaries, the playwright Aeschylus (ca. 460 BC), and later his contemporary, Herodotus the historian.[82][83]
Herodotus writes of the griffin warring with the one-eyed tribe of cyclops giants, called Arimaspians, over their hoards of gold which they stood guard.
Herodotus, Histories 3. 116. 1 (trans. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) :
"But in the north of Europe there is by far the most gold. In this matter again I cannot say with assurance how the gold is produced, but it is said that one-eyed men called Arimaspoi (Arimaspians) steal it from Grypes (Griffins). 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."
Ctesias, a Greek physician who lived in Persepolis. In approximately 400 BC. he wrote that Asian gold was hard to get because it was "in high mountains inhabited by griffins, a race of four-footed birds as large as wolves and with legs and claws like lions."
Pliny the Elder was the first to claim that the griffins as had wings and long ears.[92][93][s] In one of the two passages, Pliny also located the "griffons" in Æthiopia.[93] According to Adrienne Mayor, Pliny also wrote, "griffins were said to lay eggs in burrows on the ground and these nests contained gold nuggets".[94]
Around the same time as Pliny the Elder, the sage Apollonious of Tyana travelled to Far Asia, and he added important new details regarding the griffin. In his biography, (AD 200), Apollonious reported that the rocks in the region of the griffins were 'flecked with drops of gold like sparks'. He mentioned griffins' strong beaks and said they were the size of lions. As for wings, he claimed that they were not true bird-wings but only webbed membranes that helped griffins make short hops when they fought. Source.
All The Griffins! Breeds and Varieties of the Griffin
There are several types of Griffins and griffin-like creatures including: Hippogriff and Opinicus, as well as wingless griffins such as Alce, Keythong, Hieracosphinx, and the Sphinx.
In Assyria, the Lamassu is a griffin-like being that is a protective deity. It has the body of a lion or a bull, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a human.
(Lamassu, Neo-Assyrian Empire, c. 721–705 BC)
Sumerian and Akkadian mythology talk of a demon named Anzû, who looks very much like a griffin.
(Ninurta with his thunderbolts pursues Anzû stealing the Tablet of Destinies from Enlil's sanctuary (Austen Henry Layard Monuments of Nineveh, 2nd Series, 1853)
Jewish mythology talks of the Ziz, which resembles Anzu, and is mentioned in the Bible in Psalms 50:11 and Psalms 80:13
"I know all the birds of the mountains and Zīz śāday [וְזִיז שָׂדַי] is mine" and Psalms 80:13 "The boar from the forest ravages it, and zīz śāday feeds on it", and these are often lost in translation from the Hebrew,[1]
Another griffin-like creature is called the Minoan Genius. It was a legendary chimera of the Bronze Age, usually pictured with a lion's head or a hippopotamus head. The being was sometimes referred to as a demon, although it was a benign entity in Minoan religion.
(Cylinder seal and modern impression: Master of Animals between lions, griffins, Minoan genius. Thought to be from Cyprus)
In Hindu religion, there is a god named Garuda, who is half man and half bird and can transition between states. Sometimes he was shown in full bird form, sometimes anthropomorphic with human features mixed in. Some myths say Garuda was so massive he could block out the sun with his wing span!
(Balinese wooden statue of Vishnu riding Garuda, Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, Jakarta, Indonesia.)
The sphinx is a griffin-like chimera with a lion's body, wings of a bird, and a human head. It is shown in various artworks and statues through ancient history including Egypt, ancient Greece.
In Greek mythology, the sphinx has the head of a woman and she would come to you with a riddle, and if you failed to solve the riddle, she would eat you! Contrastly, in Egyptian mythology, the sphinx was a man (or an androsphinx)
(Source: An ivory from Tel Megiddo showing a king sitting on a throne which is supplicated by a sphinx-esque winged hybrid.)
In ancient Persian mythology we have the Simurgh. According to Wikipedia:
Simurgh are depicted in Iranian art as a winged creature in the shape of a bird, gigantic enough to carry off an elephant or a whale. It appears as a peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion – sometimes, however, also with a human face. The Simurgh is inherently benevolent.[12]
(Simurgh returning to nest to Zal and its chicks (detail). —"Zal is Sighted by a Caravan" (Tahmasp Shahnamah, fol. 62v), Sackler Gallery LTS1995.2.46)
The mušḫuššu (𒈲𒍽; formerly also read as sirrušu or sirrush) is a hybrid creature from ancient Mesopotamian mythology that has the front paws of a lion, the back talons of an eagle, a body of scales, and two horns protruding from its head, and the tongue of a snake. They are also pictured with wings.
(Mušḫuššu holding a gate post on a vase of Gudea c. 2100 BCE. Louvre Museum[1])
Hippogriff / Hippogryph: Known as the only technically related to the griffin-hybrid with the body of a horse and the wings and head of an eagle, born of the union of a male griffin and a filly (a young female horse, especially one less than four years old.) The hippogryph was said to be easily tamed, unlike the griffin, who was far more stubborn. The hippogryph represents the power of love, since they are formed from the unlikely union of a griffin and a horse, which is typically their (the griffin's) source of food!
Opinicus: serpentine like body, the powerful clawed paws and muscular legs of a lion, the head, neck and wings of an eagle and the short tail of a camel. The were said to be born without wings which reportedly develop over the course of the creature's life. They have twins or triplets every time they give birth.
Alce: One of the earliest mentioned forms of a wingless griffin, but instead of being a lion/eagle its a lion. body with a falcon head and talons on the front paws. The ancient Sythians, inhabitants just north of the Black Sea, depicted Alces in their artworks.
(Artist: Anxious Fish Noises)
Keythong: Another wingless form of griffin which instead of wings, has spikes protruding from its body. According to some lore this would be the male form of a classic griffin, without wings.
(Keythong Griffin Artist: EvolutionsVoid on DeviantArt)
Hieracosphinx: A wingless griffin with the body of a lion and the head of a hawk, depicted in ancient Egyptian artwork.
(Source: Wall relief of Horus at the temple of Edfu, Egypt)
Sphinx: in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian artwork, the sphinx is a hybrid being with the body of a lion and the head of a human. In Ancient Mesopotamia they had female heads and in Egypt they had male heads (or an androsphinx).
(Source: Attic red-figure pyxis, 2nd half of the 5th century BC. From Nola, Italy.)
The Griffin in the Great Lake State
And this is the part you have all been waiting for.... drumroll please ... how the hell does the griffin connect to Michigan? Well, in more than a few ways, actually!
The earliest connection of the energy and essence of the griffin in Michigan was wayyyy back in the 1679 when a french fur trader named René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built his might vessel, Le Griffon! The 45-tonne ship was the first of its size to sail the Great Lakes!
(A 17th Century Woodcut/Sketch of Le Griffon)
Le Griffon set out on her maiden voyage on my birthday, in fact, the 7th of August, in the year of 1679! What a nice little synchronicity! She sailed the Great Lakes for a few months doing some trading. On the 18th of September, Le Griffon embarked on her return trip, and mysteriously VANISHED, never to be seen again, crew, pelts, and all.
(Source: Griffins relief sculpture on the ceilings of Cadillac Place in Downtown Detroit)
At the Cadillac Place (the old General Motors Headquarters), was designed by famous Detroit architect, Albert Kahn, and built between 1919-1922 in Downtown Detroit. In 1923 it was opened as the second largest office building in the world! There are relief sculptures of the griffin and green man and lots of other mythological and magickal beings in the archway ceilings before entering the building! I'm going to go see them for myself ASAP since I'm not too far from Detroit, where I'm living right now.
(Griffins shown on the architecture of Trinity Episcopal Church in Detroit.
Also in Detroit, we have a gorgeous old church called Trinity Episcopal Church, built between 1890-1893 by architects George D. Mason and Zachariah Rice. The building features over two hundred sculptures, carvings, and architectural elements that include griffins, gargoyles, and demons, among other mythological creatures, as well as angels. I will be visiting both of these Detroit locations for myself very soon, and I will document the findings for you all first hand!
The griffin has become a symbol of Detroit, most likely due to LaSalle's ship, Le Griffon, and its sudden disappearance, leaving an heir of mystery and magic around the spirit of. the Griffin.
Another example of a really cool Griffin-like Chimera that you can visit in Detroit is the "Detroit Chimera Mural" one of the world's largest spray paint murals, featured on the side of the Russel Industrial Center. The mural features many symbols of Detroit and their sports teams! It's been one of my favorite murals for the better part of a decade!
(The outlines and beginning of the Detroit Chimera Mural)
(Source: Twitch Photography- Detroit Chimera Mural)
My own local highschool even has the Griffin as their mascot-- The Taylor High School Griffins!
Michigan is also home to the Grand Rapids Griffins, a local hockey team!
Michigan is also home to Griffin Claw Brewing Company, a Michigan based distillery and restaurant chain!
In Royal Oak, there are luxury apartments called The Griffin Royal Oak, and they have a badass griffin mural in their lobby, created by local artist Jesse Kassel. I can't wait to go see this mural in person as well!
(Griffin Mural by Jesse Kassel at The Griffin Royal Oak Luxury Apartments)
The Griffin has inspired me since I was young, I remember having a griffin toy and it captivated me with its whimsy and wonder! The Griffin has been calling to me, and I hope I did them justice teaching you all about them in this deep dive! Thank you again, FairyFindr Fam, for joining me for another #MysteriousMichiganMondays and I hope you all have a marvelous magical day!
So what was YOUR favorite griffin tidbit from today?
✨✨🧚♂️🧚♂️🍀🍀 ✨✨🧚♂️🧚♂️🍀🍀 ✨✨🧚♂️🧚♂️🍀🍀 ✨✨🧚♂️🧚♂️🍀🍀 ✨✨🧚♂️🧚♂️🍀🍀
Please leave a comment or message below and let us know how YOU got started in your magical or fairy related artwork or creative avenues! We can’t wait to hear your stories!! If you want to be a part of the blog and do your own magical interview of your dreams. Please feel free to find all our links on our LinkTree or connect on our FairyFindr Website, OR email me at FairyFindr@gmail.com
May the griffin bless you,
Comments