Gryphons are commonly seen as simply an eagle stuck onto a lion's
body by most. However, they are much more, and have meaning far
beyond most similar mythological creatures. The Sphinx represents
riddles and mystery, the Manticore is savagery, and the chimera is
simply that which is monstrous. But the Gryphon is more than this.
To Medeival philosophers, the gryphon combined the heavenly
attributes of the eagle, and the regal attributes of the lion. It
was a symbol of the sun, and was exceptionally majestic. When raised
from a chick, it was incredibly loyal, and brave, and would defend
a fallen master to its own death, even if its master was already
dead.
In fantasy, they have rarely been portrayed as less than noble,
and where they are such, they are little more than beasts. In the best
Gryphon fantasy, the books by Mercades Lackey, the gryphons are
fully sentient, and some are even mages. They have the same complex
motivations as man, rather than being the two-dimensional creatures
most fantasy, sentient, non-humanoid races are.
To me, gryphons are a form of spirit guide. When I find my honor
failing, or my courage deserting me, I simply picture the image of
a gryphon, remember what its attributes were, and buck up.
