GRYPHUS, or rather Gryps, a Griffin. The Septuagint and the Author of the Vulgate make use of this word in two places; viz. Levit. xi. 13. and Deut. xiv. 12. thereby describing a sort of unclean creature which the Hebrews were forbid to eat. The Greek word Gryps signifies a bird with a hooked beak like an Eagle; and Gryphus is taken for a Griffin, which is a fabulous bird, with the body, as some say, of a Lion, the head and wings of an Eagle. But the Hebrew Peres signifies, as Levit. xi. 13. Peres. LXX.some will have it, an Hawk, a Faulcon, or a Kite, or rather a sort fort of Eagle. Bochart and Junius are of opinion, that it signifies the Eagle called Ossifraga, because after having eaten the flesh, it lets the bones fall upon a rock to break them, that so it may extract the marrow.
It is agreed, that the Griffin, such as the Poets describe it to us, and as we see it represented in many antique monuments, is a fabulous animal, consecrated to the Sun, to Jupiter, and the Goddess Nemesis. It was a four-footed beast, having the head and wings of an Eagle, and the body of a Lion, with very large claws. Some of these supposed claws are shewn, which were formerly made use of for vessels to drink out of. The Griffin is said to have so much strength, that it can carry away a man on horse-back, horse and all. It is said likewise, that Griffins have the guard of treasures, and of gold and silver mines, and that they hinder men from coming near them.
But this is all fabulous, as well as what the Persians say of their Simorg Anka, or wondrous Griffin; this is a very extraordinary bird, as well in respect to its size, as to its other qualities. It is so large, that it consumes for its subsistence all the fruits, and every thing that grows on several Mountains; moreover, it talks, is reasonable, and capable of Religion; in a word, it D’Herbelot Bibl. Orient. p. 1016, 1017.is a Fairy in the shape of a bird. Somebody asking it one day concerning its age, it replied, This world has been already seven times filled with creatures, and often intirely without any. The Age of Adam, wherein we now live, is to last seven thousand years, which make a great cycle of years; twelve of these cycles I have seen already, and how many more there may remain for me to see, I cannot tell. The bird Simorg, say the Persians, lives in the Mountains of Caf. The Rabbins, Authors of the Talmud, speak of a bird called Jukhneh, or Ben-Jukhneh, of an incredible size, concerning which they relate a thousand impertinences. They believe it is designed for the feast of the Elect at the end of the world.