Stone carved Faravahar in Persepolis.

The faravahar.

Part of a series on Zoroastrianism

Primary topics

Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda Zarathustra aša (asha) / arta

Angels and demons

Amesha Spentas · Yazatas Ahuras · Daevas Angra Mainyu

Scripture and worship

Avesta Gathas · Yasna Vendidad · Visperad Yashts · Khordeh Avesta Ab-Zohr The Ahuna Vairya Invocation Fire Temples

Accounts and legends

Dēnkard · Bundahišn Book of Arda Viraf Book of Jamasp Story of Sanjan

History and culture

Zurvanism Calendar · Festivals Marriage Eschatology

Adherents

Zoroastrians in Iran Parsis · Iranis • • • Persecution of Zoroastrians

See also

Index of Related Articles

Faravahar (OP *fravarti > MP: prʾwhr)^[1] is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism, the state religion of ancient Iran. This religious-cultural symbol was adapted by the Pahlavi dynasty to represent the Iranian nation.

The etymology of Faravahar is the Middle Persian root /frwr/ (the Pahlavi script of Middle Persian did not represent short vowels), and the word is thus variously pronounced/written farohar, frohar, frawahr, fravahr and so forth, as there is no agreed upon method of transliterating the Middle Persian word into English. In Dekhoda’s dictionary and the 17th century Persian dictionary Burhan Qati’, it appears as فروهر “furuhar”. The Encyclopedia Iranica renders it as frawahr (this reflects the Pazend dibacheh form, corresponding to Book Pahlavi prʾwhr).

The winged disc has a long history in the art and culture of the ancient Near and Middle East. Historically, the symbol is influenced by the “winged sun” hieroglyph appearing on Bronze Age royal seals (Luwian SOL SUUS, symbolizing royal power in particular)^{[citation needed]}. In Neo-Assyrian times, a human bust is added to the disk, the “feather-robed archer” interpreted as symbolizing Ashur.

While the symbol is currently thought to represent a Fravashi (c. a guardian angel) and from which it derives its name (see below), what it represented in the minds of those who adapted it from earlier Mesopotamian and Egyptian reliefs is unclear. Because the symbol first appears on royal inscriptions, it is also thought to represent the ‘Divine Royal Glory’ (khvarenah), or the Fravashi of the king, or represented the divine mandate that was the foundation of a king’s authority.

This relationship between the name of the symbol and the class of divine entities it represents, reflects the current belief that the symbol represents a Fravashi. However, there is no physical description of the Fravashis in the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, and in Avestan the entities are grammatically feminine.

In present-day Zoroastrianism, the faravahar is said to be a reminder of one’s purpose in life, which is to live in such a way that the soul progresses towards frasho-kereti, or union with Ahura Mazda, the supreme divinity in Zoroastrianism. Although there are a number of interpretations of the individual elements of the symbol, none of them are older than the 20th century.

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  Persepolis, Iran.

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  A Neo-Assyrian “feather robed archer” figure, symbolizing Ashur. The right hand is extended similar to the Faravahar figure, while the left hand holds a bow instead of a ring (9th or 8th c. BC relief).

• 

  The Faravahar portrayed in the Behistun Inscription

• 

  National bank of Iran (1946) containing the Farvahar icon.

• 

  Recent image of National Bank of Iran.

• 

  Tomb of Ferdowsi in Mashhad/Tous, Iran, containing Farvahar icon.

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  A Zoroastrian fire temple in Yazd, Iran.

In Iranian Culture

Even after the Islamic conquest of Persia Zoroastrianism continued to be part of Iranian culture in which throughout the year festivities are celebrated such as the Persian New Year or Nowrouz, Mehregan and ChaharShanbe Souri which are remnants of Zoroastrian traditions. From the start of the 20th century the Farvahar icon found itself in public places and became a known icon amongst all Iranians. The Shahname by Ferdowsi is Iran’s national epic and contains stories (partly historical and partly mythical) from pre-islamic Zoroastrian times. The tomb of Ferdowsi which is visited by numerous Iranians every year, contains the Farvahar icon as well.

After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 the Lion and Sun which was part of Iran’s original national flag had been banned by the government from public places in order to prevent people from being reminded of life prior to the revolution, nevertheless Farvahar icons were not removed. As a result, the Farvahar icon became a national symbol amongst the people which became somewhat tolerated by the government compared to the Lion and Sun. The Farvahar is the most worn pendant amongst Iranians and has become a national symbol rather than a religious icon, although it’s Zoroastrian roots are certainly not ignored.

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  Photo taken of a Zoroastrian Iranian in Tehran, Iran during the festivities of Mehregan.

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  A Zoroastrian Iranian in New York, wearing a Farvahar pendant.

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  An artwork from Iran depicting the Farvahar icon.

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  A young man wearing a Farvahar tattoo on his back.

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  Imperial coat of arms prior to the Revolution, containing Farvahar icon.

References

Horus
Horus was often the ancient Egyptians’ national patron god. He was usually depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing the pschent, or a red and white crown, as a symbol of kingship over the entire kingdom of Egypt.
God of the king, the sky and vengeance
Major cult center	Nekhen, Behdet Edfu
Symbol	The wedjat eye
Parents	Osiris and Isis in some myths, and Nut and Geb in others.
Siblings	Anubis (in some accounts) or Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys
Consort	Hathor (in one version)

Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists.^[1] These various forms may possibly be different perceptions of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality.^[2]

The earliest recorded form is Horus the Falcon who was the patron deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt and who is the first known national god, specifically related to the king who in time came to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death.^[1] The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris but in another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife.^[1] Horus served many functions in the Egyptian pantheon, most notably being the god of the Sky, god of War and god of Protection.

Etymology

ḥr “Horus” in hieroglyphs

Horus is recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs as ḥr.w and is reconstructed to have been pronounced *Ḥāru, meaning “Falcon”. As a description it has also typically been thought of as having the meaning “the distant one” or “one who is above, over”.^[3] By Coptic times, the name became Hōr. It was adopted into Greek as Ὥρος Hōros. The original name also survives in later Egyptian names such as Har-Si-Ese literally “Horus, son of Isis”.

Horus was also sometimes known as Nekheny, meaning “falcon”. Some have proposed that Nekheny may have been another falcon-god, worshipped at Nekhen (city of the hawk), but then Horus was identified with him early on. As falcon, Horus may be shown on the Narmer Palette dating from the time of unification of upper and lower Egypt.

Horus and the Pharaoh

Pyramid texts ca. the 25th Century BC describe the nature of the Pharaoh in different characters as both Horus and Osiris. The Pharaoh as Horus in life became the Pharaoh as Osiris in death, where he was united with the rest of the gods. New incarnations of Horus succeeded the deceased pharaoh on earth in the form of new Pharaohs.

The lineage of Horus, the eventual product of unions between the children of Atum, may have been a means to explain and justify Pharaonic power; The gods produced by Atum were all representative of cosmic and terrestrial forces in Egyptian life; by identifying Horus as the offspring of these forces, then identifying him with Atum himself, and finally identifying the Pharaoh with Horus, the Pharaoh theologically had dominion over all the world.

The notion of Horus as the Pharaoh seems to have been superseded by the concept of the Pharaoh as the son of Ra during the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt.^[4]

Origin mythology

Horus was born to the goddess Isis after she retrieved all the dismembered body parts of her murdered husband Osiris, except his penis which was thrown into the Nile and eaten by a catfish,^[5][6] and used her magic powers to resurrect Osiris and fashion a gold phallus^[7] to conceive her son. Once Isis knew she was pregnant with Horus, she fled to the Nile Delta marshlands to hide from her brother Set who jealously killed Osiris and who she knew would want to kill their son.^[8] There Isis bore a divine son, Horus.

Mythological roles

rˁ-ḥr-3ḫty “Re-Harachte” in hieroglyphs

Horus represented in relief with Wadjet and wearing the double crown – temple of Hatshepsut

Horus Falcon Statue from Hatshepsut’s temple

Horus relief in the temple of Edfu

Sky god

Horus depicted as a falcon

Since Horus was said to be the sky, he was considered to also contain the sun and moon. It became said that the sun was his right eye and the moon his left, and that they traversed the sky when he, a falcon, flew across it. Thus he became known as Harmerty – Horus of two eyes. Later, the reason that the moon was not as bright as the sun was explained by a tale, known as the contestings of Horus and Set, originating as a metaphor for the conquest of Upper Egypt by Lower Egypt in about 3000 BC. In this tale, it was said that Set, the patron of Upper Egypt, and Horus, the patron of Lower Egypt, had battled for Egypt brutally, with neither side victorious, until eventually the gods sided with Horus (see below).

As Horus was the ultimate victor he became known as Harsiesis, Heru-ur or Har-Wer (ḥr.w wr ‘Horus the Great’), but more usually translated as Horus the Elder. In the struggle Set had lost a testicle, explaining why the desert, which Set represented, is infertile. Horus’ left eye had also been gouged out, which explained why the moon, which it represented, was so weak compared to the sun.

It was also said that during a new-moon, Horus had become blinded and was titled Mekhenty-er-irty (mḫnty r ỉr.ty ‘He who has no eyes’). When the moon became visible again, he was re-titled Khenty-irty (ḫnty r ỉr.ty ‘He who has eyes’).

Horus was occasionally shown in art as a naked boy with a finger in his mouth sitting on a lotus with his mother. In the form of a youth, Horus was referred to as Neferhor. This is also spelled Nefer Hor, Nephoros or Nopheros (nfr ḥr.w) meaning ‘The Good Horus’.

Wedjat, eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal power from deities, in this case from Horus or Ra. The symbol is seen on images of Horus’ mother, Isis, and on other deities associated with her.

In the Egyptian language, the word for this symbol was “Wedjat”.^[9][10] It was the eye of one of the earliest of Egyptian deities, Wadjet, who later became associated with Bast, Mut, and Hathor as well. Wedjat was a solar deity and this symbol began as her eye, an all seeing eye. In early artwork, Hathor is also depicted with this eye.^[11] Funerary amulets were often made in the shape of the Eye of Horus. The Wedjat or Eye of Horus is “the central element” of seven “gold, faience, carnelian and lapis lazuli” bracelets found on the mummy of Shoshenq II.^[12] The Wedjat “was intended to protect the king [here] in the afterlife”^[12] and to ward off evil. Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern sailors would frequently paint the symbol on the bow of their vessel to ensure safe sea travel.^[13]

God of war and hunting

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Horus was also said to be a god of war and hunting. The Horus falcon is shown upon a standard on the predynastic Hunters Palette in the “lion hunt”.

Thus he became a symbol of majesty and power as well as the model of the pharaohs.^[14] The Pharaohs were said to be Horus in human form.

Furthermore Nemty, another war god, was later identified as Horus.^[15]

Conqueror of Set

Horus was told by his mother, Isis, to protect the people of Egypt from Set, the god of the desert, who had killed his father Osiris.^[16][17][18]

Horus had many battles with Set, not only to avenge his father, but to choose the rightful ruler of Egypt. In these battles, Horus came to be associated with Lower Egypt (where Horus was worshipped), and became its patron.

One scene stated how Horus was on the verge of killing Set; but his mother (and Set’s sister), Isis, stopped him. Isis injured Horus, but eventually healed him.^[19]

According to Papyrus Chester-Beatty I, Set is depicted as trying to prove his dominance by seducing Horus and then having intercourse with him. However, Horus places his hand between his thighs and catches Set’s semen, then subsequently throws it in the river, so that he may not be said to have been inseminated by Set. Horus then deliberately spreads his own semen on some lettuce, which was Set’s favorite food. After Set had eaten the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. The gods first listened to Set’s claim of dominance over Horus, and call his semen forth, but it answered from the river, invalidating his claim. Then, the gods listened to Horus’ claim of having dominated Set, and call his semen forth, and it answered from inside Set.^[20][21]

However, Set still refused to relent, and the other gods were getting tired from over eighty years of fighting and challenges. Horus and Set challenged each other to a boat race, where they each raced in a boat made of stone. Horus and Set agreed, and the race started. But Horus had an edge: his boat was made of wood painted to resemble stone, rather than true stone. Set’s boat, being made of heavy stone, sank, but Horus’s did not. Horus then won the race, and Set stepped down and officially gave Horus the throne of Egypt.^[19] But after the New Kingdom, Set still was considered Lord of the desert and its oases.^[22]

This myth, along with others, could be seen as an explanation of how the two kingdoms of Egypt (Upper and Lower) came to be united. Horus was seen as the God of Lower Egypt, and Set as the God of Upper Egypt. In this myth, the respective Upper and Lower deities have a fight, through which Horus is the victor. However, some of Horus (representing Lower Egypt) enters into Set (Upper Egypt) thus explaining why Lower Egypt is dominant over Upper Egypt. Set’s regions were then considered to be of the desert.

Heru-pa-khered (Horus the Younger)

Horus the Younger, Harpocrates to the Ptolemaic Greeks, is represented in the form of a youth wearing a lock of hair (a sign of youth) on the right of his head. In addition, he usually wears the united crowns of Egypt, the crown of upper Egypt and the crown of lower Egypt. He is a form of the rising sun, representing its earliest light.

Heru-ur (Horus the Elder)

Horus, (Louvre Museum), ‘Shen rings‘ in his grasp

In this form he represented the god of light and the husband of Hathor. He was one of the oldest gods of ancient Egypt. He became the patron of Nekhen (Heirakonpolis) and the first national god (God of the Kingdom). Later, he also became the patron of the pharaohs, and was called the son of truth.^[23] – signifying his role as an important upholder of Maat. He was seen as a great falcon with outstretched wings whose right eye was the sun and the left one was the moon. In this form, he was sometimes given the title Kemwer, meaning (the) great black (one).

The Greek form of Heru-ur (or Har wer) is Haroeris. Other variants include Hor Merti ‘Horus of the two eyes’ and Horkhenti Irti.^[24]

See also

• Egyptian pantheon
• Heru-ra-ha
• Jesus Christ in comparative mythology – contains a study of similarities between Horus and Jesus.
• Myth of Osiris and Isis

References

External links

• UCAR educational article about Horus

Assyrian demon Pazuzu, first millennium BC, Louvre Museum.

In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology, Pazuzu (sometimes Fazuzu or Pazuza) was the king of the demons of the wind, and son of the god Hanbi. He also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought.

Iconography

Pazuzu is often depicted as a combination of diverse animal and human parts. He has the body of a man, the head of a lion or dog, eagle-like taloned feet, two pairs of wings, a scorpion‘s tail, and a serpentine penis. He is often depicted with his right hand pointing upward, and left hand pointing down.

Mythology

Pazuzu is the demon of the southwest wind known for bringing famine during dry seasons, and locusts during rainy seasons. Pazuzu was said to be invoked in amulets which combat the powers of his wife,^[1] the malicious goddess Lamashtu, who was believed to cause harm to mother and child during childbirth. Although Pazuzu is, himself, an evil spirit, he drives away other evil spirits, therefore protecting humans against plagues and misfortunes.

Wilfred Lambert (1968) identified a fibula with a Pazuzu head at Megiddo ^[2] and also a Sumerian-Akkadian invocation.^[3]

In modern culture

In the 1971 novel The Exorcist and the movie based on the novel, Pazuzu is supposedly one of the evil spirits that possesses the young girl Regan MacNeil. He reappears in the 1977 sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic. In this movie, Pazuzu is both named as the demon antagonist of Regan MacNeil and the unwitting helper of Father Philip Lamont (played by Richard Burton), as he seeks to finally free Regan from his hold. In the end, Father Lamont finally defeats the demons.

Pazuzu appears on the album cover of the Gorillaz compilation album D-Sides and as a statue in front of the band’s former recording studio, as well as in the promo video for the band’s song Dare, the promo video for the song Rockit, and the unmade promo video for Rhinestone eyes.

In his author’s bio in the first issue of Warrior magazine in 1982, comic book author Alan Moore claims to be “possessed by the demon Pazuzu.”

Pazuzu is the demon that haunts Adèle Blanc-Sec in Tardi‘s graphic novel “The Demon of the Eiffel Tower” (“Le Démon de la tour Eiffel,” 1976). Pazuzu also appears in “Mummies on Parade” (“Momies en folie,” 1978).

In the TV series Futurama, Pazuzu is the name of Professor Farnsworth‘s gargoyle in the 2003 episode Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles.

References

External links

• Oriental Institute of Chicagofigure of Pazuzu

Griffin fresco in the “Throne Room”, Palace of Knossos, Crete, Bronze Age

Achaemenid griffin at Persepolis.

The Islamic Pisa Griffin, in the Pisa Cathedral Museum

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Greek: γρύφων, grýphōn, or γρύπων, grýpōn, early form γρύψ, grýps; Latin: gryphus) 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 was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of the creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.^[1] Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present day southeastern Kazakhstan.^[2] In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.^[3] Some have suggested that the word griffin is cognate with Cherub.^[4]

Form

While Griffins are most common in Ancient Greece, there is evidence of Griffins in Ancient Egyptian art as far back as 3,300 BC.^{[5] [6]} Most statues have bird-like talons, although in some older illustrations griffins have a lion’s forelimbs; they generally have a lion’s hindquarters. Its eagle’s head is conventionally given prominent ears; these are sometimes described as the lion’s ears, but are often elongated (more like a horse‘s), and are sometimes feathered. The earliest depiction of griffins are the 15th century BC frescoes in the Throne Room of the Bronze Age Palace of Knossos, as restored by Sir Arthur Evans. It continued being a favored decorative theme in Archaic and Classical Greek art. In Central Asia the griffin appears about a thousand years after Bronze Age Crete, in the 5th-4th centuries BC, probably originating from the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The Achaemenids considered the griffin “a protector from evil, witchcraft and secret slander”.^[7] The modern generalist calls it the lion-griffin, as for example, Robin Lane Fox, in Alexander the Great, 1973:31 and notes p. 506, who remarks a lion-griffin attacking a stag in a pebble mosaic Dartmouth College expedition at Pella, perhaps as an emblem of the kingdom of Macedon or a personal one of Alexander’s successor Antipater.

The Pisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture which has been in Pisa in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it is of Islamic origin. It is the largest bronze medieval Islamic sculpture known, at over three feet tall (42.5 inches, or 1.08 m.), and was probably created in the 11th century in Al-Andaluz (Islamic Spain).^[8] From about 1100 it was placed on a column on the roof of Pisa Cathedral until replaced by a replica in 1832; the original is now in the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum), Pisa.

Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings, or a wingless eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin; in 15th-century and later heraldry such a beast may be called an alce or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has forelegs like an eagle’s; the beast with forelimbs like a lion’s forelegs was distinguished by perhaps only one English herald of later heraldry as the opinicus.

Medieval lores

Statue of a griffin at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

Griffin rampant wearing the mural crown of Perugia

Griffins not only mated for life, but also, if either partner died, then the other would continue throughout the rest of its life alone, never to search for a new mate. The griffin was thus made an emblem of the Church’s views on remarriage. A Hippogriff is a legendary creature, supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a mare. Being a union of a terrestrial beast and an aerial bird, it was seen in Christendom to be a symbol of Jesus, who was both human and divine. As such it can be found sculpted on some churches.^[1]

According to Stephen Friar’s New Dictionary of Heraldry, a griffin’s claw was believed to have medicinal properties and one of its feathers could restore sight to the blind.^[1] Goblets fashioned from griffin claws (actually antelope horns) and griffin eggs (actually ostrich eggs) were highly prized in medieval European courts.^[9]

When it emerged as a major seafaring power in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, griffins commenced to be depicted as part of the Republic of Genoa‘s coat of arms, rearing at the sides of the shield bearing the Cross of St. George.

By the 12th century the appearance of the griffin was substantially fixed: “All its bodily members are like a lion’s, but its wings and mask are like an eagle’s.”^[10] It is not yet clear if its forelimbs are those of an eagle or of a lion. Although the description implies the latter, the accompanying illustration is ambiguous. It was left to the heralds to clarify that.

Heraldic significance

A heraldic griffin passant.

Heraldic guardian griffin at Kasteel de Haar, Netherlands

In heraldry, the griffin’s amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage and boldness, and it is always drawn to powerful fierce monsters. It is used to denote strength and military courage and leadership. Griffins are portrayed with rear body of a lion, an eagle’s head, with erect ears, and feathered breast, with forelegs of an eagle, including claws. The combination indicates a combination of intelligence and strength.^[11]

In British heraldry, a male griffin is shown without wings, its body covered in tufts of formidable spikes, with a short tusk emerging from the forehead, as for a unicorn.^[12] The female griffin with wings is more commonly used.

In architecture

In architectural decoration the griffin is usually represented as a four-footed beast with wings and the head of an eagle with horns, or with the head and beak of an eagle.^{[citation needed]}

The statues that mark the entrance to the City of London are sometimes mistaken for griffins, but are in fact (Tudor) dragons, the supporters of the city’s arms.^[13] They are most easily distinguished from griffins by their membranous, rather than feathered, wings.

In literature

For fictional characters named Griffin, see Griffin (surname)

Flavius Philostratus mentioned them in The Life of Apollonius of Tyana:

🙂
Griffins are used widely in Persian poetry; Rumi is one such poet who writes in reference to griffins.^[16]

In Dante Alighieri‘s Divine Comedy, Beatrice meets Dante in Earthly Paradise after his journey through Hell and Purgatory with Virgil have concluded. Beatrice takes off into the Heavens to begin Dante’s journey through paradise on a flying Griffin that moves as fast as lightning. Sir John Mandeville wrote about them in his 14th century book of travels:

Griffin misericord, Ripon Cathedral, alleged inspiration for The Gryphon in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

John Milton, in Paradise Lost II, refers to the legend of the griffin in describing Satan:

Modern uses

The red Griffin rampant was the coat of arms of the Pomeranian ducal House of Griffin and survives today as the armorial of West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland

Kashubian Griffin in Canada

A modernist, Egyptianized guardian griffin by Edmond Amateis (1936), Washington, D.C.

Flag of the Utti Jaeger Regiment of the Finnish Army

The griffin is the symbol of the Philadelphia Museum of Art; bronze castings of them perch on each corner of the museum‘s roof, protecting its collection.^[18][19] Similarly, prior to the mid-1990s a griffin formed part of the logo of Midland Bank (now HSBC).

The griffin is the logo of United Paper Mills, Vauxhall Motors, and of Scania and its former group partners SAAB-Aircraft and Saab Automobile. The latest fighter produced by the SAAB-Aircraft company bears the name of “Gripen” (Griffin), but as a result of public competition. General Atomics has used the term “Griffin Eye” for its intelligence surveillance platform based on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 35ER civilian aircraft ^[20]

School emblems and mascots

See: List of griffins as mascots and in heraldry

Three gryphons form the crest of Trinity College, Oxford (founded 1555), originating from the family crest of founder Sir Thomas Pope. The college’s debating society is known as The Gryphon, and the notes of its master emeritus show it to be one of the oldest debating institutions in the country, significantly older than the more famous Oxford Union Society.^[21]

In 1933, Canisius College in Buffalo, New York selected the griffin as the mascot for its athletic teams and newspaper, in part in reference to the Jesuit-educated La Salle’s ship which had sailed nearby 244 years earlier.

The official seal of Purdue University was adopted during the University’s centennial in 1969. The seal, approved by the Board of Trustees, was designed by Prof. Al Gowan, formerly at Purdue. It replaced an unofficial one that had been in use for 73 years.^[22]

The College of William and Mary in Virginia changed its mascot to the griffin in April 2010.^[23][24] The griffin was chosen because it is the combination of the British lion and the American eagle.

In professional sports

The Grand Rapids Griffins professional hockey team of the American Hockey League.

Amusement Parks

Busch Gardens Europe‘s highlight attraction is a dive coaster called “Griffon”, which opened in 2007.

In natural history

Some large species of Old World vultures are called griffins, including the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus). The scientific name for the Andean Condor is Vultur gryphus, Latin for “griffin-vulture”.

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

• Bisi, Anna Maria, Il grifone: Storia di un motivo iconografico nell’antico Oriente mediterraneo (Rome: Università) 1965.
• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.

External links

• The Gryphon Pages, a repository of griffin lore and information
• The Medieval Bestiary: Griffin