The GryphonThe Gryphon - also spelled "Griffin" or "Griffon" - appears in a number of forms, one the the most common resembling a tailless dragon. They featured heavily in ancient Greek art where they were pictured as lions with the wings and beak of an eagle. This image of the gryphon as a cross between a lion and an eagle is still one of the most widely known.Although the Greeks liked to use the Gryphon in their art, the fantastic beast was not part of their own culture and legend. The Greek historian Herodotus said: "The Northern parts of Europe are very much richer in gold than any other region. The story runs that the one-eyed Arimaspians purloin it from the gryphons."This story of Europeans stealing gold from gryphons might be the origin of the legend regarding the Western dragon hoarding its pile of gold. The origin of the name "gryphon" is uncertain. Some etymologists trace it to the Old French "grifoun". This in turn is sometimes linked to the ancient Greek "grupos" for "hook nosed". Creatures resembling gryphons go back even further than the ancient Greeks. One of the earliest representations of a gryphon like creature was found on a cylinder seal from around 5000 BC. The gryphon also plays a part in heraldry where it is one of the most widely used monstrous creatures. Both full gryphons and gryphon heads appear in various blazons, in the latter case it is the ears that distingush the head of the gryphon from the head of the eagle.
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