The Griffin

The Griffin, griffon or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. 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 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, although in some older illlustrations it has a lion's forelimbs; it generally has a lion's hindquarters, however. It's eagle's head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion's ears, but are often elongated, and are sometimes feathered. Some writers describe the tail as a serpent, in the manner of a chimera.
Infrequentaly, a griffin is portrayed without wings; in 15th century and later heraldry such a beast may be called a male griffin, an alace or keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has aquiline forelimbs; the beast with leonine forelimbs is distinguished as the opinicus.