Griffinology

‘The King of the Sky and the King of the

Earth’

By Manveer Chauhan
British School of Washington
Feb 2010

I would like to thank Mr. Horton for the opportunity to

write this book. Thank you to my family for their support.
Visit the blog at
http://griffinology-themythicalgriffin.blogspot.com/
Chapter One – Introduction .................................................................. 3
Interesting Facts ....................................................................... 3
Chapter Two – Locations ..................................................................... 5
Country Information ....................................................................... 6
Griffins in Egypt............................................................................. 7
Griffins in India ............................................................................. 7
Griffins in Central Asia................................................................... 9
Griffins in Europe..........................................................................10
Chapter Three – Species .....................................................................11
Falcon-Griffin...............................................................................12
Garuda .........................................................................................13
Lion-Griffin ..................................................................................14
Hippogriff .....................................................................................15
Snake-Griffin ...............................................................................15
Sphinx .........................................................................................16
Chapter Four - Biology and Physiology ...............................................17
Griffin Feathers .................................................................................19
Griffin Skeleton ............................................................................20
Griffin Bones ................................................................................20
Griffin Lifecycle .............................................................................21
Griffin Nest..................................................................................22
Glossary............................................................................................23
Glossary
Index ................................................................................................24
Bibliography
Bibliography ......................................................................................25
 Chapter One – Introduction
The griffin is a creature which in most species has the head and wings of an
eagle, the body of a lion and sometimes has a snake for its tail, although
hippogriffs are different, instead of a lion body it has a horse body and a horse
tail.

It is well known for its powers which are speed, strength, sight of an eagle
and courage of a lion. The Griffin symbolizes protection against evil, luck,
wisdom, intelligence, courage and bravery. Griffins are said to be the king of
the sky as well as the king of the Earth. They can be good or evil.

Griffin’s main role is to guard treasure or places in different countries for

different reasons for example in India and Greece griffins protected gold from
one eyed humans called the ‘Arimaspians’ who were constantly trying to steal
their gold. In Egypt they protected temples and tombs. Griffins have been
witnessed to be taking gold from the mountains and using it to make their
nests.

Griffins are ancient. It appears in many ancient cultures such as Egypt,

India, Rome, Greek mythology and even in religions such as Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Christianity. The Griffin first appears in the ancient Hindu
text called Mahabharata and in Egypt around 3000 B.C.. Griffins are to be
native to India. In Greek Mythology they are called Hounds of Zeus, the
Greek God of Thunder.

Interesting Facts
An ancient emperor of Western Asia believed that both the griffin and the
dragon were symbols of wisdom.
There are 24 main ways Griffin has been spelt through history: Gryffen,
girphinne, greffon, grefyne, grephoun, griffen, gryphon, griffion, griffon,
griffoun(e), griffown, griffun, griffyn, grifon, grifyn, griphin, griphon,
gryffin, gryffon, gryfon, gryfoun(e),gryphen, gryphin, and gryphon.
Griffin is 224th most popular baby name between 2000-2008
The Griffin species called the Hippogriff appears in Harry Potter and the
prisoner of Azkaban. The Griffin also appears in Alice in Wonderland.
 Chapter Two – Locations
Griffins are known in various places like India, Central Asia, Europe and
Egypt and are known for different reasons.
Different species of griffins are also in different parts of the world.
Country Information
 Griffins in Egypt
Grffins appear as the Sphinx and the Falcon-Griffin in Egypt. The role of
the Sphinx is to guard the temples and the royal tombs of Egypt. The
following is a picture of the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt.

Griffins in India
In India the Griffins is called the Garuda. The Garuda has a body of a man,
a head of an eagle or human with a beak, and he has red wings. He has a
wing span of many miles, and when his wings flap he can blow houses down
and make the sound of thunder. He can fly faster than the wind. Garuda is
the king of the birds. Garuda hates evil so much he flies around the universe
and eats evil.
Garuda appears in Hindu Mythology as one of the three main animal gods as
well as Hanuman (Monkey God) and Genesha (Elephant God). The Hindu
god Vishnu used to ride on Garuda’s back.
The Garuda is the enemy of dragons and serpents
 Griffins in Central Asia
In Central Asia, the Griffin is still like a Garuda. They appear in Tibet,
Japan, Thailand, Mongolia and Indonesia. In Tibet the Garuda is called
Cha Khyung the worldly protector. It is one of the four animals that appear
in their prayer flag. It protects from bad spirits that can cause all kinds of
harm such as disease.

In Japan the Garuda is called Karura. They are called divine beings that
play music, dance and fly through the air, and they often appear in Buddhist
temples and paintings.

The Garuda is the national symbol of Thailand and Indonesia. Indonesia’s

national airline is also called Garuda. In Mongolia the Garuda is the
national symbol of the capital’s city.
 Griffins in Europe
Griffins are often put on coat of arms in many European countries.
Here are some of them:
 Chapter Three – Species
Griffins are found in different countries and are known for different reasons;
some griffins are evil while some are good and heroic.
The table below of the different species shows differences and similarities, as
well as locations.

Species Head Wings Body Rear Symbol Location

Griffin Eagle Mostly Lion Eagle Good Anywhere in the
world
Garuda Human Yes Human Human Good India, Central
or Bird Asia, Japan,
Mongolia and
Thailand
Snake Snake Mostly Lion Eagle Good or Anywhere in the
Griffin Evil world
Lion Lion Yes Eagle Lion Good Egypt
Griffin
Hippo- Eagle Yes Horse Eagle Good Anywhere in the
griff world
Falcon Falcon Rarely Lion Lion Good or Egypt
Griffin Evil
Sphinx Head Rarely Lion Lion Good Egypt, India,
Greece
 Falcon-Griffin
A falcon-griffin is a griffin which has a falcon head with a lion body covered in
feathers with lion legs; most Egyptian griffins do not have wings. It is found
in Egypt. Griffins in Egypt are evil because they kill people for two main
reasons, to eat them or for no particular reason. It has the power of strength.
 Garuda
Garuda is a creature which has a golden body of a strong man, he has red
wings and a white face with an eagle beak also sometimes has a crown on his
head. He is found in India, Central Asia, Japan, Mongolia and Thailand.
In Japan he is called Karura. In Mongolia Garuda is called Khangarid.
He has the powers of strength; flight has the ability to make himself so big
that he can block the sun and its light. He symbolizes strength, wisdom and
cleverness.
 Lion-Griffin
The lion-griffin is a type of griffin which has a head and the rear legs of a lion
instead of an eagle head and rear legs. It is commonly found in Egypt. It is
symbolizes wisdom and strength. It has the powers of fire, lightning, lasers
and also the other powers of other common griffins. The lion-griffin is said to
guard tombs of Egyptian kings from trespassers.
 Hippogriff
The hippogriff is a type of griffin in which has a body, hind legs and a tail of a
horse and a head and hind legs of an eagle. It is found in almost the whole
world but is most commonly found in Greece. In Greece it is called gryphos.
It symbolizes speed and wisdom. It has the powers of speed, sight of an eagle
and perfect hearing. It is found on many European Coat of Arms.

Snake-Griffin
The snake-griffin is a type of griffin which has a snake head instead of an
eagle or a lion head; it has two eagle rear legs and has lion hind legs. It lives
anywhere in the world, it is really rare to find it so rare that if you look
around the world all your life it is unlikely to be found. It symbolizes bravery
and knowledge. A snake-griffins main habitat is in a volcano or in dark
places. It has powers of fire and lava and is able to see anything anywhere. If
disturbed it will breath fire on you or squeeze you to death and that would be
 the end of your life if you don’t be careful.

Sphinx
The Sphinx is like a Falcon-Griffin, except it has a head of a pharaoh.
Sphinx; however appear as large statues which are said to guard temples and
royal tombs in Egypt. The largest and most well known Sphinx is the Great
Sphinx of Giza.
 Chapter Four - Biology and
Physiology
Here is a diagram of the different parts that a Griffin has:

A griffin’s beak is suitable for hunting fish, fighting and also good for
pecking at gold and pecking at the preys head.
It has ears which enables it to hear things moving far away, the ears can be in
different poses according to its moods.
The wings are big and strong for flying long distances and are good for
carrying heavy prey.
The griffin’s claws are very special because they change colour in presence of
poison therefore people usually put them in their glasses.
The tail of a griffin plays a very important role, it keeps the griffin balanced,
you can also see if the griffin is good or evil, if it has a dragon, serpent or
snake tail you will know that it is evil.
The hind pads leave tracks for hunters, it useful for climbing mountains and
are also useful for running long distances if they’re wings are tired out.
The teeth of a griffin are useful for shaping their gold nests, tearing people
and prey apart when guarding treasure, hunting or eating their prey.
The size of a griffin is 8 times the size of a lion, and is 2 feet higher than a
shire horse (the biggest breed of all horses in the world).
The colour of most griffins is tan brown and can be lots of other colours like
green, blue or any other unusual colours.
The sound of a griffin makes is an eagle sound; its language is the eagle
language. This is because it has an eagle head.
Griffin Feathers
 Griffin Skeleton

Griffin Bones
This is what Griffin bones feel like.
 Griffin Lifecycle
The life cycle of a Grffin is 1000 years. It takes 2 years for a Griffin to
hatch. The size of a griffin egg is surprisingly big; it is 2 times bigger as an
ostrich egg. It takes 100 years for a Griffin to become a teenager. For the
next 200 years the Griffin becomes an adult and has a family of its own. The
last 300 to 600 years the Griffin becomes older and later becomes
grandparents. Griffins die in fire, and the fire phoenix is born in fire therefore
the fire phoenix is the natural enemy of the griffin. Once one griffins partner
has died the other partner will carry on without another partner for the rest of
its life.
 Griffin Nest
This is what a Griffin’s nest feels like:
 Glossary
Ancient - Of great age; very old.
B.C - Years before Jesus Christ was born.
Buddhism
Buddhism - A religion which follows the teachings of the Buddha.
Coat of arms - A design belonging to a particular person or group of people
and used by them in a wide variety of ways.
Divine - Things that are nature of God or Heaven.
Emperor - A king.
Genesha - The Hindu God that has an elephant head ond a human body.
Habitat - The natural environment of a creature.
Hanuman - The Hindu God which is half human and half monkey.
Hindu - Ancient religion of India.
Hounds - Guards which are animals commonly dogs.
Prey
Prey – An animal hunted for food.
Serpents – Another meaning for snakes.
Skeleton - The bones of a creature put together as a whole.
Tomb – Another meaning for grave.
Trespasser - Someone who enters onto a land of another without permission.
Index

A L
Age of Griffins ...............................................................3 Life cycle......................................................................21
Ancient Cultures.............................................................3 Lion-Griffin..................................................................14

B M
Beak 17 Mongolia ........................................................... 9, 11, 13
Biology ........................................................................ 17
N
C
Native Land....................................................................3
Central Asia ....................................................................9
Claws ........................................................................... 17
Colour .......................................................................... 18
P
Physiology....................................................................17
E Popular baby name ........................................................3

Ears 17
Egypt...............................................................................7
R
Role 7
F Role 3

Falcon-griffin .............................................................. 12
G Size 18
Garuda.......................................................................... 13
Great Sphinx of Giza .................................................. 16
Greek Mythology ...........................................................3
Griffin Locations............................................................6
H
Hind pads..................................................................... 18
Hippogriffs .....................................................................3
I
India 7
Indonesia.........................................................................9
J
Japan ...............................................................................9
S
Snake-Griffin ...............................................................15
Sound............................................................................18
Species..........................................................................11
Symbols ..........................................................................3
T
Table of the different species ......................................11
Tail 18
Teeth .............................................................................18
Thailand..........................................................................9
Tibet 9
W
Wings............................................................................17
Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauxhall_Motors
http://monsters.monstrous.com/griffins.htm
http://thanasis.com/griffin.htm
http://www.crystalinks.com/griffins.html
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1932-greek-mythology-griffin
http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Griffin
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Griffin (London Coat of
Arms)
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/karura.shtml
 About the Author

My name is Manveer Singh Chauhan. I am nine years old and I live in

Washington DC. I love reading about mythical creatures. This is my first
book, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I certainly enjoyed writing it!

Thank You,

Manveer