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{{trope}}
[[File:
▲[[File:bird_gryphon_types_by_ayem_7733.jpg|frame|[http://ayem.deviantart.com/art/Bird-Griffins-of-the-World-150168282 Fearsome, majestic], and... [[Record Needle Scratch|wait]], what's #5 called again?!]]
[[Our Monsters Are Different]], dealing with [[Mix-and-Match Critters|bird/mammal hybrids]].
While not as popular as [[Our Dragons Are Different|Dragons]] or [[Unicorn
The oldest gryphon myths come from the [[Egyptian Mythology]] and ancient Sumer. Later, they were picked up by [[Greek Mythology]], and afterward used in Heraldry. They became a symbol of Christianity thanks to being a mixture of two majestic creatures that Christians back then saw as the "kings" of animals. After that, they went into literature, but their popularity would be low until the 1990's.
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* The '''Opinicus''', a slight variation with has the front legs of a lion, rendering only the wings and head (and sometimes they even don't have the wings) as being bird like; don't expect ears to show up. It may or may not have a snake's tail.
* The '''Hippogriff''', which resembles a gryphon with the body and back limbs of a horse instead of a lion, was made newly popular by [[
The Marigryph or "Mergryph", a Heraldic creature that is essentially [[Exactly What It Says
May overlap with [[Giant Flyer]] should the gryphon have wings. The wingless opinicus never flies, being seemingly not as magical as [[Our Dragons Are Different|eastern dragons]]. In contrast to their formerly benign religious symbolism, an example being the Gryphon in Dante's [[Divine Comedy]], which represents the mingling of the human and divine natures in [[Jesus|Christ]], modern gryphons often appear as dark if not demonic, though [[Dark Is Not Evil|they might still be good]]; or [[Light Is Not Good|they may be light-themed but evil]]. They are sometimes used as [[Horse of a Different Color|flying steeds]]. If gryphons are used as part of the [[Furry Fandom]], one may then expect a [[Winged Humanoid]] to be present.
▲See also [[Call a Pegasus A Hippogriff]] and [[Hold Your Hippogriffs]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== [[Anime and Manga]] ==
* ''[[Digimon]]'' has Gryphomon, a truly awesome-looking Mega-level Phantom Beast Digimon who has sadly only made brief appearances thus far. He's the version that has a snake for its tail. However, it's the ''front end'' of the snake, meaning his tail should be just as capable of killing you (assuming it's poisonous) as his front end. There's also a hippogryph Digimon. [[All There in the Manual]] says he's Gryphomon's previous form, but {{spoiler|in the actual show, he was a disguise for a bad guy}}.
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* In the [[Harryhausen Movie]] ''[[The Golden Voyage of Sinbad]]'' a Opinicus fights a Centaur Cyclops. In the ensuing fight it becomes clear the Griffin, representing good is gaining the upper hand until Prince Koura slashes the Griffin's hind leg, weakening it and allowing the cyclopean centaur to throttle the griffin.
* Disney's ''[[Narnia]]'' movies features classical gryphons, [[Adaptation Expansion|which aren't present in the original books]].
* An early draft of the American ''[[Godzilla]]'' featured a rival monster called the Gryphon; however, [[Call a Pegasus
* A gryphon can be seen among the various mythical creatures (the others being a dragon and a unicorn) that were mocking the animals as they were boarding [[The Bible|Noah's Ark]] in [[Fantasia
* Like the book series, the compressed adaptation of [[The Spiderwick Chronicles]] included a griffin but only halfway through the movie, whose only purpose was to fly the heroes to the [[Land of Faerie|Secret Glade]].
== [[Literature]] ==
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* In ''[[The Spiderwick Chronicles]]'' there is a gryphon called Byron. In the original books his design is actually quite original, as while following the classical griffin design his beak has teeth/teeth-like serrations and his ears are actually similar to those of a lion. The movie had him as a typical griffin however.
* Keladry from the ''[[Tortall Universe]]'' raises a baby, classical-type griffin until his parents are found. Griffins there are magical and intelligent, if hard to communicate with.
** They're also [[Living Lie Detector
* In the [[Diana Wynne Jones]] novel ''[[The Dark Lord of Derkholm]]'' and its sequel, ''Year of the Griffon'', feature a mixed human and griffon family, the result of a wizard who created intelligent griffons by mixing lion, eagle, (and later, cat) germ plasm with his own and his wife's and raising the hybrid kids alongside his own.
* In the ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' series by [[Mercedes Lackey]], gryphons are highly intelligent beings who were some of the earliest magic users of the world. In-world, they're considered to be extreme
* Like all Speakers in ''[[The Dragon Wars Saga]]'', gryphons come in various types depending on affinity. Kimi has an ice affinity and is half arctic eagle, half snow leopard.
* The [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] short story "Darkness Box" features gryphons used as war animals, which are apparently immortal (or near to it) and which bond closely to their owners.
* In the ''[[
* The [[Alice in Wonderland]] gryffin also appears in the [[Thursday Next]] books.
* E.R. Eddison's fantasy novel ''Mistress of Mistresses,'' featured hippogriffs as part of an [[Impossible Task]]. (They also appear in ''[[The Worm Ouroboros]]''.) He illustrated the book himself, and gave them horse heads, raptor wings and front legs, and lion rear halves. Not quite your classical hippogriff!
* Edward Ormondroyd's ''David and the Phoenix'' features three different species, each with a [[Phantasy Spelling|slightly different spelling]]. The reader encounters the lazy, [[The Ditz|thick-headed]] '''gryffens''' and vicious, territorial '''gryffons'''; the amiable, red-feathered '''gryffins''' remain off-screen.
* Griffons are used as artificial soldiers by the [[Genius Loci|Gaian entity]] in [[Robert Reed]]'s short story, ''Aeon's Child''. The griffons have claws adapted to be compatible with high-powered laser rifles, and have beaks made of hyperfiber; a nearly indestructible compound. They are sentient ([[Hive Mind|sort of]])
== [[Live Action Television]] ==
* One episode of ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' has an opinicus, which acts pretty much as a one-time terror, eventually meeting its demise.
* In the miniseries ''[[Merlin (
* Goldar from ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' is something of an odd example, as his leonine features include a muzzle. This, along with his fur colour and the shape of his forward fangs have lead some to assume he's a gorilla or wolf-man, but he is in fact an anthropomorphic griffin. This is backed up by his ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger|Zyuranger]]'' self being named Grifforzer.
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
* The dinosaur [[wikipedia:Hagryphus|Hagryphus]]. The group that it belongs too, Oviraptorosauria, is in itself quite gryphon like, having bird of prey like beaks and powerful claws on both front and hind-limbs, and have long tails.▼
* There's a theory that the legend of griffons was based on a misinterpretation of protoceratops fossils. There's no real evidence either way for this theory, but it's something to think about.▼
** See below, though.▼
* The logo for Sprecher Brewery of Wisconsin is a fairly standard gryphon, but the [http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/images/soda/thumb/bottle_mug/rb_pint_n_mug_cold.jpg more cartoonish version] on their root beer has a huge beak and a vaguely monkey-like body.▼
== Other Mythology ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131128063349/http://humon.deviantart.com/#/d4u7nvx Europe really had very different gryphons].
* It has been suggested that the myths of the gryphons are connected to the sphinx and the mesopotanian shedu and lammassu (which also influenced the origins of [[Our Angels Are Different|cherubs]], other lion bodied creatures generally depicted with wings.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* While not actually a gryphon, the Winged Dragon of Ra from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' looks more like a griffin with teeth than a typical dragon. He's also [[Light Is Not Good|light themed]].
* The current [[The Emperor|Emperor]] of [[The Empire]] (well obviously) in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' can [[Authority Equals Asskicking|ride a gryphon into battle]]. (or a [[Cool Horse|regular horse]], or a [[Our Dragons Are Different|dragon]], depending on what you're willing to put together)
** Normal Empire and High Elf Lord-class Generals have the option to have their generals ride on Griffons. Bretonnians may ride Hippogriffs. Griffons in ''Warhammer'' are a bot more varied than the traditional depiction - they've been portrayed with markings like leaopards and tigers as well as lions.
** One [https://web.archive.org/web/20130922135734/http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer/THE-EMPIRE/THEODORE-BRUCKNER-AND-REAPER.html Imperial hero] rides to battle on a wingless breed, called a Demigryph.
* ''[[
** The plane of Innistrad has gryffs, which are like hippogriffs, but instead of a bird of prey, their head and wings are those of herons, and they appear slimmer and sleeker than most hippogriffs.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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** [[WoW]] hippogryphs are raven/stag hybrids, hence the antlers.
* [[Castlevania]] [[Symphony of the Night]] introduces these as a boss, before [[Boss Decay]] settles in... 50% into the game.
* A alternate branch class of the Wyvern Rider sub-group in the newest [[Fire Emblem]] game, [[Fire Emblem: Awakening|Awakening]] is the Gryphon Knight, a [[Jack of All Stats]] armed with an [[An Axe to Grind|Axe]].
* In the lore of ''[[Dragon Age]]'', the Grey Wardens of old rode on Griffins. [[Here There Were Dragons|They all eventually died out by the present though]].
* In the second ''[[God of War]]'', there's a sequence where you fight people riding griffins. This being ''[[God of War]]'', you hop on the griffin's back, cut off its wings, and let it plummet to its death while you hop back on Pegasus.
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** Also there are the dark griffin riders, who ride black griffins wearing bronze masks.
* In the first three ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'' games, the griffins stood on their hind legs, while in IV and V, they go on all fours.
* Griffons appear in ''[[Riviera:
* ''[[American McGee's Alice]]'' has the Gryphon, who is initially held captive by the Mad Hatter. Alice frees him, and he helps lead her force against the Red Queen's army. {{spoiler|He is killed in an aerial duel with the Jabberwock, and his corpse is pretty much one of the only things that Alice can take cover behind in the ensuing boss fight.}}
* The Angels from ''[[Darksiders]]'' ride angelic creatures called Ortho that look like armored white griffins.
* ''[[Master of Magic]]'' has Griffins as the high-tier <ref>it's provided by a Fantastic Stable, which does nothing else and requires 10 more buildings to unlock</ref> Nomad unit, which is mostly elite cavalry (First Strike ''and'' [[Armor Piercing]]) with flight, with high attack value and beefier than normal, but with only 2 figures, i.e. are more suited to either mopping up low-tier infantry or hitting other small tough units than taking on packs of nasty things with special attacks, and generally vulnerable to instant-kill effects.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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** Their resemblance to a certain type of candy is important early on. Stanley requests that the perfect warlord be summoned "who eats Marbits and Gwiffons for breakfast". Cue Parson, who literally eats Peeps and '''Mar'''shmallow '''Bits''' for breakfast.
** Also apparently actually quite fearsome, which is understandable when you realize that their entire front opens into [[Just Eat Him|a gigantic gummy maw]]. They eat horn, hooves, and marrow, and get soggy in the rain.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Rusty and Co
* ''[[Chasing the Sunset]]'' has gryphons. "Half lion, half eagle, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180220055233/http://fantasycomic.com/index.php?p=c104 full confusion]."
* In ''[[The Noob]]'' gryphons are [http://thenoobcomic.com/comic/121/ public transport].
== [[Web Original]] ==
* The Eyrie from [[Neopets]], originally a dragon like creature, became an opinicus sort of gryphon, albeit with ears.
** Add the rare Maraquan Paintbrush item, and you've got yourself a Marigryph.
* [http://www.elfwood.com/~aumala/Daggerbeak_Gryphon.2549485.html This gryphon]{{Dead link}} by Tiina Aumalla is pretty much a quadrupedal version of the oviraptorian dinosaurs mentioned above.
* [http://windsonde.deviantart.com/ Windsonde] is a community-based Role-Playing Game at [[Deviant ART]], and nearly all of the player characters are gryphons. The rules for character design are pretty strict... except for Tookie Island, where any bird/mammal combination goes. There, the gryphons [http://bgarts.deviantart.com/art/ROCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCO-180219275 are] ''[http://sparrowstampede.deviantart.com/art/Windsonde-Jiacomo-Ref-244688521 really]'' [http://razzlewolf.deviantart.com/art/Yappa-184748182 different].
* Behold, the magnificent [https://web.archive.org/web/20150921225529/http://babbletrish.deviantart.com/art/Donut-Steel-183711727 Sparklegriff]!
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150629123111/http://babbletrish.deviantart.com/art/Gryphons-152819171 So, about that "misinterpreted fossil" theory...]
* According to [[Deviant ART]] any bird/fuzzy mammal hybrid qualifies as a gryphon. Take a look at the [http://mcgibs.deviantart.com/art/Humming-Gryphon-63613452 tiny hummingbird-mouse], [http://zirofax.deviantart.com/art/Gryphon-2893002 secretary bird-maned wolf], [http://charreed.deviantart.com/art/Cockatiel-Gryphon-200358873 cockatiel-sugar glider], [http://alectorfencer.deviantart.com/art/Gryphon-Cassidix-40151694 hornbill-puma Cassidix], [http://katolin.deviantart.com/art/Bluejay-Gryphon-31576686 bluejay-squirrels], and [http://ahkahna.deviantart.com/art/Lappet-Faced-Hyena-Gryphon-115698993 vulture-hyena].
** You can also have your pet [http://bailiwick.deviantart.com/art/House-Gryphon-Wren-72967035 house griffin].
** [http://blood-phoenix.deviantart.com/art/Necrotic-Gryphon-113246742 Necrotic gryphons]
* [[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Hercules (
* According to Fu-Dog in ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]'', gryphons lay an egg only once every thousand years. Once the baby hatches, [[Bizarre Alien Biology|the mother actually SWALLOWS the baby, which lives in its digestive tract for a week or two before it's healthy enough for the mother to throw back up and live on its own]]. Of course, this all grosses out Jake.
* ''[[He
* Just what is Graer the [http://www.platypuscomix.net/kidswbyourself/wofq2.jpg gryphon] from ''[[World of Quest]]'' supposed to be anyway? Sure doesn't look gryphonesque.
** He kinda looks like Magilla Gorilla with Anime-wings.
** He's more or less a cartoony Opinicus. Has the beak, the wings, the tail, and the lion forelegs. His cartoony proportions just make it a bit less obvious.
* At the end of ''[[
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** A later episode included Gustave LeGrande. He is [[French Cuisine Is Haughty|french cook]] and comes off initially [[French Jerk|as a jerk]], but his attitude is simply a result of competitiveness and was no more a jerk than his competitors were. Strangely, he has a mustache on his beak.
* The Daughter from ''[[Star Wars:
* In keeping with the plethora of [[Mix-and-Match Critters]] in the ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' universe, one episode briefly featured a griffin (with what appears to be a [[Stealth Pun|griffon vulture's]] forequarters) that was used as one of the trained animals in a travelling circus.
* An episode of [[Garfield and Friends]] had Orson and his friends [[Separate Scene Storytelling]] themselves in their own version of Camelot called "Hamelot" where they must bypass a hungry talk show host griffin who was obviously a spoof on [[Merv Griffin]].
* A few episodes of ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]: [[The Animated Series]]'' involved griffins. One episode had Aladdin and his friends try to return an egg stolen by Abis Mal to a rampaging mother griffin, another had the group encounter one of a bunch of mechanical monsters piloted by a grumpy insect, among them a mechanical griffin, while another had a clumsy thief transform himself into a griffin from the Stone of Transformation given to him by Mozenrath. This was an appalling move on his part since the claw of a griffin was needed to transform Jasmin's father back to normal after magic powder turned him into a golden statue. Although this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that the transformed griffin had [[Frickin' Laser Beams]].
▲== [[Real Life]] ==
▲* The dinosaur [[wikipedia:Hagryphus|Hagryphus]]. The group that it belongs too, Oviraptorosauria, is in itself quite gryphon like, having bird of prey like beaks and powerful claws on both front and hind-limbs, and have long tails.
▲* There's a theory that the legend of griffons was based on a misinterpretation of protoceratops fossils. There's no real evidence either way for this theory, but it's something to think about.
▲** See below, though.
▲* The logo for Sprecher Brewery of Wisconsin is a fairly standard gryphon, but the [https://web.archive.org/web/20131222001730/http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/images/soda/thumb/bottle_mug/rb_pint_n_mug_cold.jpg more cartoonish version] on their root beer has a huge beak and a vaguely monkey-like body.
* The Venetian heraldric symbol, the lion of St. Mark is a winged lion. Rather odd that a naval power would want a land predator or an aerial one rather then a nautical predator in some ways.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]
[[Category:Mythical Motifs]]
[[Category:
|