Griffin: Did you mean...?

Dodona in Epirus, north-west Greece, lies in a valley on the eastern slopes of Mt. Tomaros and was famed throughout the ancient Greek world as the site of a great oracle of Zeus. The site was expanded in the Hellenistic period, and one of...

A painted travertine slab showing two griffins attacking a panther. Found in tomb 58 at the necropolis Andriuolo at Paestum, dated to 340 BCE. National Archaeological Museum of Paestum. Photo taken at the "Fantastic Creatures of Fear and...

With a lion's body and the wings and head of an eagle, the grffin encapsulates the majesty of both. At one time representing royalty, it gained the role of guardian. Griffins are used architecturally and can be found in domestic objects...

The gods of the Mesopotamian region were not uniform in name, power, provenance or status in the hierarchy. Mesopotamian culture varied from region to region and, because of this, Marduk should not be regarded as King of the Gods in the same...

The term mythology comes from the Greek words mythos (“story of the people”) and logos (“word”) and so is defined as the spoken (later written) story of a culture. Modern scholars have divided myths into different types which serve many different...

The Regolini-Galassi Tomb is located in the Etruscan town of Cerveteri (aka Cisra or Caere) near the western coast of central Italy, around 50 km north of Rome. Cerveteri flourished between the 7th and 4th century BCE and has hundreds of...

As the Roman Empire expanded further eastward, annexing territories that were once the domain of the Parthians, the legions of Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, and Arabia were called upon to safeguard these newly acquired territories. Mesopotamia...

This rhyton is one of the most famous pieces of silverware to survive the Persian Empire. The front is in the form of winged griffin wearing a necklace originally inlaid with a semi-precious stone. The top is decorated with palmettes and...

Relief on the southern wall of the east stairway of the Apadana in Persepolis depicting an Armenian tribute bearer carrying a metal vessel with Homa (griffin) handles. 5th century BCE.

Top row (L to R): Thera (c. 500 BCE) - Silver stater, two dolphins. Delos (6th century BCE) - Silver drachm, lyre. Siphnos (540-500 BCE) - Silver stater, eagle. (Alpha Bank Numismatics Museum, Kerkyra, Corfu) Bottom row (L to R...