The Gryphon
The gryphon is a mythic creature that appeared ages ago in the culture and mythology of eastern nations. It was a symbol of braveness and courage. The gryphon belongs to symbols as it is an incarnation of certain features. Those features are common features of heroes and warriors. The gryphon is a dual symbol as it contains in itself the symbols of earth and air. That creature combined in itself the images of lion (that is a symbol of earth and courage) and eagle (that is a symbol of air and speed).
Such combination provides the gryphon with authority over the earth and air. It means that there is nothing impossible for the gryphon and it is just as mighty in the sky as it is mighty on the earth. There are several ways of depicting the gryphon. Though, no matter on the way of its depicting and the image that represents the gryphon it is always a creature with typical features of lion and eagle. The lion and eagle were considered as the most strong and noble creatures of earth and sky appropriately.
The gryphon was a keeper of sacred treasures of ancient India just like the other mythic creatures. That is why the symbol of gryphon also is considered to be the symbol of endless life and eternal values of a nation. According to legends of ancient Greeks the gryphons were the creatures that lived at the end of the real world and guarded the gold that were considered as a symbol of eternal life. There are a lot of myth and legends that narrates about gryphons and their meaning in the ancient world.
The gryphon was a symbol of almighty creature and there was no another creature that would manage to fight against gryphon. According to vision of the world of ancient people the lion was a king of all animals that lived in the earth and the eagle was a king of all birds in the sky. Not hard to be that the creature that combines the features of those two kings is the most strong and invincible creature.
Fancy that the symbol of gryphon is a symbol typical for a number of nations and cultures that had never communicate each other. This fact makes some scientists believe that may the gryphon wasn't just a mythic creature. The gryphon has always considered as the product of imagination of ancient writers and painters but in that case it would be the image typical only for one or two cultures. So, if the gryphon is a symbol typical for number of cultures it may be possible that the creature wasn't only a product of imagination.
Except the positive meaning the gryphon provided with, there is also an extremely negative meaning of that creature. According to beliefs of some cultures gryphon is a terrible creature from the underground that will come to destroy everything in this world and to proclaim the appearance of its master. Those people believe that a beast will come to kill everything alive in the earth and to set his reign all over the earth and the gryphon will the messenger of that beast.