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 Chapter One Chapter One Chapter One –––– Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction .................................................................. 3

Interesting Facts ....................................................................... 3

Chapter Two Chapter Two Chapter Two Chapter Two –––– Locations Locations Locations Locations ..................................................................... 5

Country Information ....................................................................... 6

Griffins in Egypt............................................................................. 7

Griffins in India ............................................................................. 7

Griffins in Central Asia................................................................... 9

Griffins in Europe..........................................................................10

Chapter Three Chapter Three Chapter Three Chapter Three –––– Species Species Species Species .....................................................................11

Falcon-Griffin...............................................................................12

Garuda .........................................................................................13

Lion-Griffin ..................................................................................14

Hippogriff .....................................................................................15

Snake-Griffin ...............................................................................15

Sphinx .........................................................................................16

Chapter Four Chapter Four Chapter Four Chapter Four ---- Biology and Physiology Biology and Physiology Biology and Physiology Biology and Physiology ...............................................17

Griffin FeathersGriffin FeathersGriffin FeathersGriffin Feathers .................................................................................19

Griffin Skeleton ............................................................................20

Griffin Bones ................................................................................20

Griffin Lifecycle .............................................................................21

Griffin Nest..................................................................................22

GlossaryGlossaryGlossaryGlossary............................................................................................23

IndexIndexIndexIndex ................................................................................................24

BiblioBiblioBiblioBibliographygraphygraphygraphy ......................................................................................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

or Bird

Yes Human

Human Good India, Central

Asia, Japan,

Mongolia and

Thailand

Snake

Griffin

Snake Mostly Lion Eagle Good or

Evil

Anywhere in the

world

Lion

Griffin

Lion Yes Eagle Lion Good Egypt

Hippo-

griff

Eagle Yes Horse Eagle Good Anywhere in the

world

Falcon

Griffin

Falcon Rarely Lion Lion Good or

Evil

Egypt

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

AncientAncientAncientAncient - Of great age; very old.

B.CB.CB.CB.C - Years before Jesus Christ was born.

BuddhiBuddhiBuddhiBuddhismsmsmsm - A religion which follows the teachings of the Buddha.

Coat of armsCoat of armsCoat of armsCoat of arms - A design belonging to a particular person or group of people

and used by them in a wide variety of ways.

DivineDivineDivineDivine - Things that are nature of God or Heaven.

EmperorEmperorEmperorEmperor - A king.

GeneshaGeneshaGeneshaGenesha - The Hindu God that has an elephant head ond a human body.

HabitatHabitatHabitatHabitat - The natural environment of a creature.

HanumanHanumanHanumanHanuman - The Hindu God which is half human and half monkey.

HinduHinduHinduHindu - Ancient religion of India.

HoundsHoundsHoundsHounds - Guards which are animals commonly dogs.

PrePrePrePreyyyy – An animal hunted for food.

SerpentsSerpentsSerpentsSerpents – Another meaning for snakes.

SkeletonSkeletonSkeletonSkeleton - The bones of a creature put together as a whole.

TombTombTombTomb – Another meaning for grave.

TrespasserTrespasserTrespasserTrespasser - Someone who enters onto a land of another without permission.

Index

A Age of Griffins ...............................................................3 Ancient Cultures.............................................................3

B Beak 17 Biology ........................................................................ 17

C Central Asia ....................................................................9 Claws ........................................................................... 17 Colour .......................................................................... 18

E Ears 17 Egypt...............................................................................7

F Falcon-griffin .............................................................. 12

G 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

L Life cycle......................................................................21 Lion-Griffin..................................................................14

M Mongolia ........................................................... 9, 11, 13

N Native Land....................................................................3

P Physiology....................................................................17 Popular baby name ........................................................3

R Role 7 Role 3

S Size 18 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