• Home
  • About
  • Books
    • The Gryphon Chronicles
    • 50 States of Fear!
    • Audiobooks
  • Contact
  • Fan Art
  • Store
    • Store Home
    • Autographed Paperbacks
    • Autographed Hardcovers
    • Discounted Bulk Purchases
    • Return & Shipping Policies
E.G. Foley

blog

The Secret Life of Gryphons

1/11/2013

0 Comments

 
Recently, by special permission of Jake's Great Great Aunt Ramona, the Dowager Baroness Bradford, we (E & G) were granted access to the Enchanted Library at Beacon House, the headquarters for the Order of the Yew Tree, in the interests of continuing our research into all things magical for our books.

Well, in the course of our afternoon's study (and after a nice tea service provided by the housekeeper, Mrs. Appleton, who told us to mind the tiger and NOT bump into the harp - and I'm afraid G. screeched at the sight of an insect, at which, fearless E. nearly squashed our friend the Ink Bug to protect her) we came across a most fascinating tome, a very ancient Book of Beasts and Creatures. We will share much more about the entries in this volume as time goes on. But of course our main interest must be in Gryphons. So here is what we learned.

The Gryphon is 
proud and majestic beast with a noble bearing and a good dose of pure attitude. The head of the gryphon is the all seeing, ever vigilant, king of the skies--the eagle. The body is that of the king of the land, the all powerful lion. A serious combination of forces to be sure...
Picture
Ancient Griffin via Wikipedia Commons
The earliest depiction of the gryphon goes back over 5000 years to Ancient Greece and Persia. The fresco above was found in the excavation of the royal palace of King Minos of Knossos on the island of Crete - (you know, the Minotaur's legendary hangout).

Over the subsequent years the image of the gryphon has been found all over the world in many varying cultures with only slight changes to its forms. The dividing line between eagle and lion is sometimes moved. For example, sometimes the gryphon is shown with eagle's talons on its front feet, other times with front paws like the lion. It's iconic image is as strong today as ever.

PictureZoological Museum of Copenhagen. Photo credit Funkynusayri via Wikipedia Commons.
Gryphon feathers and claws throughout Medieval times were thought to have magical healing powers. One feather, it was believed, could heal the blind. We used this ancient belief for one of the story threads through THE LOST HEIR with the character of Fionnula, the ugly warty sea-hag. She used the feathers to make herself beautiful. She was, however, still evil and ugly on the inside. No magical feather could cure that! (Know anyone like that??)

PictureGold vein in Alaska. Ooooh! Ahhhh! Photo credit AlaskaMining via Wikipedia Commons.
Gryphons are said to be the guardians of secret treasures. They are believed to have an uncanny ability to find gold in the earth, like they did for Jake's ancestors. Once the vein has been located, they use their very powerful beaks to chip the precious metal right out of solid rock. Thus they have an endless supply of wealth and power to draw from.

Wealth and power are two corrupting and difficult forces to handle if one isn't careful. We will be exploring these themes all through the series. In Book 3 for example, Jake goes for a visit to his family's ancient gold mine. Jake's Gryphon, Red, knows he's going to have to keep a close eye on his young master, the former pickpocket, so that he won't succumb to the lure of all that gold he's inherited and become a greedy miser.

Now then, it's important to know that if you want to take a ride on a gryphon, you now can. It's an amusement ride at Bush Gardens in Williamsburg Virginia. They spell it griffon though. I think "G" would be screaming like the little girls sitting up front. That's provided I could even get her to go on the ride. (G: What, me? Can anyone say panic attack??)    
Have a great ride everyone! Until next time! 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    E.G. Foley Store

    Archives

    May 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    January 2016
    December 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    Categories

    All
    Book Talk
    Contests
    Creatures
    E.G. Foley
    Fun
    Gladwin
    Gryphon
    History
    Holiday
    Interesting
    Interviews
    Jake
    Life
    Middle Grade
    New Release
    News
    School
    Steampunk
    The Dark Portal
    Weird!

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Privacy Policy     Cookies Policy     ©​ E.G. Foley 2019
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • The Gryphon Chronicles
    • 50 States of Fear!
    • Audiobooks
  • Contact
  • Fan Art
  • Store
    • Store Home
    • Autographed Paperbacks
    • Autographed Hardcovers
    • Discounted Bulk Purchases
    • Return & Shipping Policies