The Griffin
c. 3000 BCE to Medieval · Ancient Near East & Europe
- First attested
- around 3000 BCESusa seal impressions (3000 BCE), Minoan Knossos frescoes (1450 BCE), and Aeschylus.
True spiritual majesty unites terrestrial physical power with celestial visionary wisdom.
Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound; Pliny the Elder, Natural History; Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio XXIX.
Majestic composite creature with the body of a lion and head of an eagle, guarding divine treasure.
With origins in Bronze Age Elamite and Minoan iconography, the Griffin (or Gryphon) combines the King of Beasts (lion) with the King of Birds (eagle). In Greek myth (recorded by Aristeas and Aeschylus), griffins guarded the gold hoards of the Hyperboreans against the Arimaspians. In Dante’s Divine Comedy (Purgatorio XXIX–XXXII), the Griffin draws the triumphal chariot of the Church, its dual nature representing the divine and human natures of Christ unified without confusion.
Light
Majestic vigilance, integrating courage with higher vision, and safeguarding sacred truth.
Shadow
Fierce territorialism, predatory aggression, and hoarding treasures away from circulation.