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The average mythological gryphon had the head, wings and front talons of an eagle, and the body of a lion. Its back was covered with feathers. Very occasionally, a gryphon would have the tail of a serpent. Gryphons were huge - big enough to block out the sun. The original gryphons lived in the mountains, and made nests of gold, called Eyries (Aeries). The Arimaspi, the one-eyed tribe of Scythia, often attempted to steal the gryphon's gold, so the gryphons had to be very vigilant. In some myths, the gryphons laid an egg of agate in these nests. In others, the gryphons placed agate in their nests for its medicinal value. Some say that the gryphons also guarded jasper and emeralds, as well as gold. They preyed on dead men, and devoured horses. In Greece, the gryphon was sacred to Apollo as solar, Athene as wisdom, and Nemesis as retribution. These themes are also shown in other cultures. In hieroglyphics the gryphon represents heat and summer. In Assyria the gryphon, along with the dragon, was a symbol of wisdom. In Roman art, a gryphon is often depicted pulling the chariot of Nemesis. The Arabian bird, the Angka, is sometimes represented as a gryphon. It is said that the Angka in gryphon form was created by God to destroy all wild beasts in Palestine. The gryphon commonly appears in heraldry, where it represents strength and vigilance. It is the emblem of the hero. This was partially due to the gryphons duel nature. As Sir Thomas Browne said '[The Griffin is] an Emblem of valour and magnanimity, as being compounded of the Eagle and the Lion, the noblest Animals in their kinds...' This duality was why the gryphon was used to represent the dual nature of Christ, who is both human and divine. In English heraldry, male gryphons were sometimes depicted without wings; they had spikes were the wings would usually be. There are many ways to spell gryphon, of which the most accepted are gryphon, griffin , griffon and griffeth.
In modern times, lupogryph is a common name for a gryphon with canine parts instead of feline parts. In old mythology, local names were used, rather than lupogryph. The Persian bird Simurgh was depicted as half-bird, half-dog, particularly in the early accounts. Simurgh represented the union between the earth and the sky. It roosted in the tree of life (Gaokerena), and lived in the land of the sacred Haoma plant, whose seeds could cure all evil. Simurgh suckled it's young, due to being part mammal. It had an enmity towards snakes. In one account of the Simurgh, it was said to live for 1700 years, before plunging itself into flames, as the phoenix does. In later Persian lore, the Simurgh was a symbol of divinity. This bird also appears in Russian and Caucosian lore. Simurgh is also known as Semuru, Senmurv, Samurv, Semmurv, and Sinmru.
Hippogriffins have the wings, head, plumage, and front talons of a gryphon, and the lower part of a horse. The hippogriffin first appeared in Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso', as the uncontrollable stead of the wizard Atlantis. The idea of the hippogriffin came from Virgil's metaphor 'Iungeant iam grypes equis' ('to cross gryphons with horses'), meaning to attempt the impossible. Ariosto's hippogriffin was a symbol of love. The hippogriffin appears mostly in medieval legends and heraldry. Hippogriffins are also known as hippogriffs (hippogryphs), or hippogripps.
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