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maverick-werewolf · 1 day

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Folklore Fact - Gryphons/Griffins

Gryphons, griffins, griffons, however you prefer to spell it (I personally use gryphon) - let's talk their folklore and mythology!

(Attic pottery depicting a satyr and a griffin and an Arimaspus from around 375-350 BC, Eretria.)

You probably already know the common popular culture concept of a gryphon: a big, vicious beast that attacks people and probably eats them and/or carries people away to its nest to feed them to its babies. Not much about it has changed in legend, though in a lot of popular culture today, it has seemed to lose its divinity. Gryphons - griffins, whatever you prefer - have quite the robust history, like so many creatures of myth and folklore. Unlike some, however, they have changed very little over time.

Note that this article a general overview of concepts, not a detailed history.

Let's start with etymology, because I just love that stuff. The word "griffin" comes from the Greek word "gryps," which referred to a dragon or griffin and literally meant "curved [or] hook-nosed." Late Latin spelled it "gryphus," a misspelling of grypus, a Latinized version of the Greek (source: https://www.etymonline.com/, one of my favorite websites).

Griffins are said to have the head and wings of an eagle and body of a lion. They may or may not also have pointed ears, depending on the depiction (they more often did, overall, though the griffin of Crete is a notable exception). They were said to guard the gold in the mountains of the north, specifically the mountains of Scythia. The one-eyed Arimaspian people rode on horseback and attempted to steal the griffins' gold, causing griffins to nurture a deep hatred of and hostility toward horses.

A Scythian pectoral, thought to have been made in Greece, depicting - among other things - griffins slaughtering horses. Griffins really, really hate horses.

The famous griffin in the palace of Knossos at Crete, from the Bronze Age (restored).

Griffins appear in truly ancient civilizations, not only Greece but also ancient Egypt and civilizations to the east, including ancient Sumeria. Griffins were later said to also dwell in India and guard gold in that region, and they continued to appear in art throughout ancient Persia, Rome, Byzantium, and into the Middle Ages throughout other regions such as France; they were depicted in ancient Greece with relative frequency and occasionally of considerable importance.

Griffins appeared in many ancient Greek writings, including Aristeas in the 7th century BC. Herodotus and Aeschylus preserved and continued these writings in the 5th century BC, including lines such as,

"But in the north of Europe there is by far the most gold. In this matter again I cannot say with assurance how the gold is produced, but it is said that one-eyed men called Arimaspoi (Arimaspians) steal it from Grypes (Griffins). The most outlying lands, though, as they enclose and wholly surround all the rest of the world, are likely to have those things which we think the finest and the rarest." Herodotus, Histories 3. 116. 1 (trans. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.), source: https://www.theoi.com/Thaumasios/Grypes.html (a wonderful site)

Physical descriptions of the griffin were not commonplace until some later works, and even then, their appearance wasn't always agreed upon. Even the notion of griffins having wings was sometimes disputed. Some scholars even got pretty wild, claiming griffons had no wings at all but instead skin-flaps that they used to glide. They apparently hated awesome things, so it turns out there were always boring people who thought they knew everything, wanted to explain everything "logically," and generally assume they were the smartest ever while also ruining mystique. They would make great scientists today.

Griffins were, however, often said to be holy in nature. They were referred to as the "unbarking hounds of Zeus" by Aeschylus, who warned others never to approach them. Gryphons were also considered sacred to several gods, including prominently Apollo, who was said to depart Delphi each winter, flying on a griffon (griffin, gryphon, etc, I keep swapping this around, I know; my brain spells it differently because I've read way too many sources), and he also is occasionally depicted as hitching griffins to his chariot in addition to riding one. This was particularly prominent in the cults of Hyperborean Apollo, one of the many endless and fascinating cults of ancient Greece.

Medieval bestiary depiction of a griffin slaughtering a horse.

Even by the Middle Ages, gryphons still hated and slaughtered horses and guarded gold, elements that certainly persisted throughout their legends. They also killed men and carried them away to their nests, similar to the manner in which Aeschylus warned people to stay away from gryphons even back when. We can obviously assume griffons were never cuddly, so that isn't much of a change.

Griffins also did not entirely lose their divine relations even into the Middle Ages. Christianity often used positive portrayals of griffins to represent and uphold certain positive tenets of Christian faith; likewise, they became important symbols of medieval heraldry, used to represent a Christian symbol of divine power, as well as general courage, strength, and leadership, especially in a military sense. The depiction of the griffin as a powerful and majestic creature - killing horses and men or not - throughout its history is no doubt because they are a combination of two beasts often considered noble symbols of bravery, power, and divinity: the lion and the eagle, kings of land animals and birds, respectively.

That's a general overview! As you can see, griffins aren't always so bad, at least not compared to some of the other creatures out there from folklore and myth.

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#folklore #mythology #gryphon #griffin #fantasy creature #gryphons #griffins #griffon #folklore fact #folklore thursday #greek myth #myth #persian myth #medival #medieval folklore #history

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chappellrroan · 2 months

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#i literally had no other reason to make this gif other than the fact that she looks devastingly gorgeous here #idk if one gif is even worth tagging everyone so😭#anyways my fav (folklore) taylor in her full glory<3 #taylor swift #the eras tour #sydney n4 #tswiftgif #tswiftedit #tswiftdaily #tswift #eras tour

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amandaherzman · 25 days

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fairy ring fungi 💖🌟

This is the herbologist reward for April! If you'd like these postcards as well as three pages worth of fairy ring fungi folklore and facts, consider joining my patreon for this month - a handful of slots are free!

#fungi #mycology #mushroom #mushroom art #fairy ring #folklore #botanical art #seriously i got sooo nerdy #i wrote 1100 words on fairy rings and their folklore and sciency facts #ahhhh i love being a nerd

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valdevia · 5 months

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Happy Krampusnacht! Don't go to the forest alone tonight.

#Fun fact! I made this edit in one layer!#Also PSA: I have some limited christmas merch! Check my previous post for details 👀#krampus #folklore #photoshop

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a-scary-lack-of-common-sense · 13 days

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When AI is so prevalent everywhere nowadays that even Death starts to invest in cheap grim reaper robots /j (that keep eventually gaining sentience and becoming spiteful and lost spirits but shhhh, that's too much lore)

Inspired by the Korean folk lore of Death: 저승사자- a psychopomp deity who's job is not to judge or kill, but to simply guide newly deceased souls to the afterlife. They are traditionally depicted wearing a black (한복) hanbok with a black (갓) gat.

#Here's your daily cultural fun fact ig!#let's combine otherworldy deities with mahcanical body horror eyyyyy #my art #artists on tumblr #death #grim reaper #death design #character design #저승사자 #korean folklore #korean culture #tw body horror #tw staring #tw scopophobia #tw blood

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edwards-exploit · 13 days

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I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

#live from tidmouth #creative on the mainline #ttte #thomas and friends #thomas & friends #thomas the tank engine #tamtr #thomas and the magic railroad #ttte lady #lady the golden engine #cp huntington locomotive #fun fact. the little engine that could's design was inspired by cp huntington #So! CP Huntington Lady! I thought that considering that she's from the States #an American basis would suit Lady a little bit more...#Is this the American version of the folkloric figure #or the real Lady?#up to you but i think i like this design too much to NOT draw it again

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midnightsslut · 13 days

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listening to hoax rn and what struck me about the chorus is that she is implying that this faithless love is the ‘reason’ she needs in order to stay on the cliffside instead of driving off (a parallel to this is me trying imo), yet the song makes it clear that this same thing has ‘frozen her ground,’ turned her into ash, killed the hero in the movie. in taylor’s own words, the song is about three different situations, and perhaps the only thing they have in common is that they all involve people she loved and let into her life (‘you knew the password so I let you in the door’) who ended up betraying her in a way that felt comparable to the greatest pain of her life. the difference is that the other two muses (a business situation and a ‘relationship that was like family’) are now out of her life, but she clings to this love as the one thing that keeps her going even if she has to resign herself to eternal sadness (‘don’t want no other shade of blue but you / no other sadness in the world would do’ —> ‘gray skies, every day, for months, would you still stay?). idk hoax is a lot of a lot.

#this killed her and it also brought her back to life #how do you let go of that #think I was scared to fully dive into this song bc it confused me for the longest time #and considering the fact that the relationship was ongoing at the time it just felt like a lot #but yeah #hoax #folklore #this is me trying #ttpd

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skara-da · 3 months

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Here is the truth! Kabru, being trained from a young age in swordmanship by a navigated warrior, knows that fencing is useless against monsters. Laios and the gang seldom used weapons to defeat their preys.

Think about it: swords have been the first weapon not born as a tool or a hunting implement, with the specific purpose of killing other human beings. There is a well tought out rationale behind the shape and form of a sword and they informed how weapon systems developed in time and space to take advantage of it, and vice versa. The all metal, tang thru the handle contruction of a conventional sword gives a tactile response everytime any part of the blade touches anything, a level of resolution not needed if you are up against a beast, but fundamental against a fellow smart human being armed with a weapon you need to track. That feeling of the iron is useless if you can't bind, and you are not binding horns nor fangs let me tell you.

Kui-sensei is so real for aknowledging this fact that is driving me crazy for years. Swords are a shit choice against beasts and monsters and I kind of despise fantasy tropes for spreading the idea.

#kabru dungeon meshi #kabru #swords #fencing #this rant is offered to you by a two hours long tie guan yin tea session #and years of thinking about swords #yet the genre tropes are ther because swords were so rare that the common man didn't know what they really were for #so myths and legends for centuries have painted them as a godly weapon only fit for noble heroes and kings #the folklore wins over facts

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maria-ruta · 10 months

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Death for Koshey

#artists on tumblr #folklore #Koshey #Koshey the immortal #not for long though #my art #im sick of the fact that some of my friends weren't able to outlive him #i hate it #this was drawn on power of hate and greif

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lovelycureaestetic · 2 months

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The Crow and The Robin

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming."

“I’m man’s inedible

Permanent bird.

I dine in his garden,

My spoon is his spade.”

I find extremely interesting the association of Sebastian with crows/ravens and Ciel with robins, amongst the various meanings and interpretations we have of course death for crows and fire for robins. But what really captivates me is how both birds have a myth regarding how each got to be the colour they are today.

Ravens, once white, were scorched by Apollo, while Robins got their signature red chest by removing one thorn from Jesus's crown and stabbing themselves.

Divine Punishment and Self Inflicted Wounds.

Truly interesting...

#i just love these lil things #i don't even care if I'm reaching and Yana didn't actually mean anything by this #i mean i doubt she hadn't done some research but still #also fun fact but Robins too are tied with death #it is said in some folklore that if you hear a robin tapping on your window that is a sign of death #and what does ciel do? he kills people for the Queen #it is also said that destroying a robin's neat will bring harm to your hands or a fire to your house and listen what did Ciel?#made Sebastian set shit on fire exactly #sebaciel #kuroshitsuji

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maverick-werewolf · 11 months

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Vampire Fact #12 - How to Identify a Vampire

I’m back with another vampire fact! In fact, all folklore facts are now back, so expect to see more of these!

The winner of the last vampire fact’s Patreon poll was “how to identify a vampire” (that was a hot minute ago because I had to take a break from these), very much like my previous werewolf fact on how to identify a werewolf.

I won’t be covering pop culture vampires in detail/providing a list of how to identify vampires in pop culture. I’m not so deeply versed in vampire pop culture as I am werewolf pop culture; I only study vampire folklore, not their modern media, unlike with werewolves. I familiar with some of it, for sure, but I’d never pretend to be any kind of expert on broader vampire pop culture.

Please note the following is not to be considered a 100% complete list, as there are many, many vampire legends out there! This is just several of the more “popular” methods of identification and perhaps some of the better-known.

Some Folklore Vampire Identifiers

Pale - There are some stories in which vampires actually are pale in folklore, and in which being particularly pale might be a sign of vampirism.

Reddish or purplish skin - Conversely, vampires can also be identified - especially in Eastern European regions - by having “reddish” or “purplish” skin and perhaps even a swollen appearance. All of this comes from drinking too much blood. It’s basically the opposite of being pale: they look flushed and reddened instead of pallid. This one was not uncommon.

Red eyes - This didn’t always mean red eyes as in red irises, like in a lot of popular culture. Often, it could also mean similarly to the flushed appearance: it meant bloodshot eyes, eyes full of blood. But some might also be interpreted as having red irises, and let’s face it, red irises are very cool.

Unnaturally beautiful - This one isn’t uncommon in legends, either: unnatural beauty. Vampires in many stories seduced their victims, and it wasn’t too unusual for things to get steamy, either. Again with the conversely, though...

Unnaturally hideous - Vampires can also be unnaturally hideous. We’re talking like really nasty, because they’re monsters - often these are the monster vampires, demons, not vampires that were ever actually human. However, sometimes signs of being a vampire could also be just human traits that are considered hideous, such as having a caul, being exceptionally hairy (judgmental much?), etc.

Only comes out at night - This is an obvious one in both popular culture and folklore. Often in folklore, however, vampires also only came out at night because it was the only time they actually left their graves. Vampires didn’t come out only at night because they were burned by the sun in folklore (they actually weren’t!), but because they were nocturnal.

Signs of undeath in coffin - Often, vampires were identified via actually unearthing the coffin and taking a look at the corpse. There were many signs that might show a corpse was actually leaving the grave as a vampire, such as growth of the hair or fingernails, the eyes being open or partially open, blood around the mouth, reddened eyes, or a swollen reddish or purplish appearance, as if the corpse is engorged with blood.

Well, there’s a few, at least! There are so many vampire legends I won’t cover “all” of them until, you know, I write the Vampire Facts book someday (maybe? Werewolf Facts the book is definitely on the way, though). At any rate, be sure to tell all your friends how to find vampires today by reblogging this post!

Oh, and no, fangs are not included in folklore.

Also, if you are curious about vampire weaknesses, be sure to check out my post on that, too, as well as the vampire masterlist (linked at the bottom of this post)!

Until next time!

( If you like my blog, be sure to follow me here and elsewhere for more folklore and fiction, including books, especially on werewolves! And please consider donating and/or supporting me on Patreon - not only will you help me keep this blog running, but patrons get cool stuff and rewards in return! You’ll find lots more cool stuff over on my personal website.

maverickwerewolf.com — Patreon — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter — Vampire Fact Masterlist )

#vampire #vampires #vampirism #vampire friday #vampire fact #vampire facts #folklore #folklore fact #folklore facts #mythology #monsters #monster lore #folklore thursday #folklorethursday #undead #legends

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angelgigisworld · 4 months

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thepenultimateword · 2 years

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Short Prompt #57

The vampire shrunk back against the frozen hearth, their dying attempt at a fire trickling smoke against their ankles before another chill chimney draft snuffed it out completely. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone lived here. I was just…just…”

What? Fleeing? Hiding from the angry mob combing the woods for them? There was no good way to explain this to the person in front of them without being suspicious. And what would being thrown out get them? They weren’t sure they they could avoid the hunters any longer.

The cabin’s owner only continued to stare. They were mostly shadowed, but their stance wasn’t particularly afraid. More…watchful. Like a cat observing it’s prey before it decided whether to pounce. That made no sense though. The vampire was the one here with supernatural abilities and a thirst for blood.

“There’s a warmer room upstairs if you want it. Though I’ve never known a vampire to shrink from the cold.”

The vampire jolted. “How did you—“

“There’s an entire mob tramping through my gardens.”

Their voice resonated like ice water in the vampire’s already dead chest cavity, tone chillingly even and whetted to a fine point.

“Right…”

“Besides, you vampires have such a sweet smell, like rotting roses. I knew you before I even walked through the door.”

That…wasn’t…normal…

Their neck prickled with some sort of instinctual warning, but even if they saw a way out, they couldn’t just leave.

“Probably best if you don’t step outside anytime soon,” the stranger said as if reading their mind. “They’ve doused half the forest in rice. A waste if you ask me, but not the worst way to win a battle without confrontation. They may regret it when deep winter sets in though.”

The vampire swallowed. They imagined being caught in that endless, hopeless loop of counting, gathering rice for hours and hours until the sun crept up and turned them to ash.

They shuddered.

“So why the mass hunt?” The stranger said when they didn’t respond. “I haven’t seen a group like this in at least a century. What makes you so special?”

Wasn’t that obvious?

“I-I’m a monster.”

The stranger’s eyes flashed yellowish in the dark, a smirk creeping into their voice as they stalked in closer. “Honey, you’ve never met a real monster.”

Part Two

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jakeperalta · 1 month

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I love the swiftie new album ritual of being disappointed she's making a pop album instead of a rock album despite the fact she is a pop artist who has never given any indication of wanting to make rock music

#i can love it because i am seemingly the one taylor fan on this earth who is in fact not interested in a rock album from her #i already got my dream genre from her with the folk influence on folklore/evermore so now i'm just vibing #but it's so funny to me how the exact same reaction happened with midnights where everyone was like 'a pop album?? 🤨😒'#as though pop isn't clearly her default genre since like red #talking #taylor swift

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autumiaxx · 1 month

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Cold was the steel of my axe to grind

For the boys that broke my heart

Now I send their babies presents

#brocedes #the fact that Lewis gives nicos daughters Christmas presents still haunts me #taylor swift wrote half her discography on them #she told me so #they devastate me so much #I think about them every second and just feel pain #they owe me so much therapy #invisible string is so brocedes coded #folklore is so brocedes coded #everything is so brocedes coded #lewis hamilton #nico rosberg

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atalanteart · 8 months

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So I've seen people in the fandom do it for their country, I loved so much the idea I did the same (i'm very influencable).

(Based on the lore/maps of the webcomic "Stand Still Stay Silent")

Even if I did know it could not fit the canon, I tried my best to do the more accurate (non-canon) lore for french territory.

I will maybe do a part 2 but not now, I will talk more about the infected and the Basques language.

The Tarasques are the french equivalent of the Trolls, I didn't have the energy to add other pages of information. (one day maybe)

I also wanted to mention the Dahu in the type of infected beast. (Yes there are Dahus, and that's is the best thing to know about infected beast, THERE ARE DAHUS INFECTED BEAST PEOPLE.)

______________________________________________________________

(Also can't spell in english so that's not very well written lol)

(Please note I'm just doing this for fun and it's a very rough/sketchy idea and I didn't take time to well adapt everything or even have a stylise coherence)

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