Griffon

General Information

The griffon is a mythical creature found in different cultures around the world. Its appearance is a hybrid between a lion and an eagle. The head and wings resemble an eagle and are paired with the body and paws of a lion. The griffon is the size of a full-grown lion [1].

Greek mythology

In Greek mythology the griffon is the bringer of swift retribution and justice, and it is also a symbol of guardianship. A statue of the griffon is even placed in front of the palace of Minos to serve as a protector. In Egyptian and Iranian art, from around 3000 before Christ, they were pictured as watchful, loyal, strong and swift creatures [1].

Roman Empire

During the time of the Roman Empire griffons were seen as the god Apollo’s pets that pulled the sun wagon across the sky ([3] p.122). They were said to protect good people and punish the proud ([3] p. 121). They were also known to pile and guard gold that was found in the earth ([3] p.123) which they used to build their nests ([3] p.124).

Medieval times

In medieval times griffons were sometimes seen as wild and in some texts even aggressive but the overall picture didn’t change much. The religious beliefs even added the job of protecting the tree of life from evil and guarding the souls of the deceased on their way to the next world ([3] p.130).

Christian belief

In the beginning, Christianity used the griffon as a representation of Satan. Later on this changed into Jesus Christ. The dual nature of Jesus Christ was said to be represented by the dual nature of the griffons. The parts of the eagle stood for the divine, heavenly part and the lion for the earth bound part [2].

But of course not everybody believed in the existence of those mythical creatures. Historians claim that nobody has ever given an eyewitness description a griffon. The only information we have about them comes from historical texts ([3] p. 151). As a result, over the centuries the once proud griffons were reduced to mere big birds ([3] p.152).

Connection to the short story Mr. Jones

On page 594 of the story, Jane sees, “[...] the griffoned portals being padlocked [...]” [4]. If we consider the different roles griffons had throughout history it leaves more than one hypothesis. As they were said to punish evil and guard things, it could be possible that they were placed in front of Bells to keep the ghost of Mr. Jones at bay so he would not leave the estate. Another hypothesis would be that they were placed there to guide the deceased to the next world. But as Mr. Jones is still holding on to Bells and his role there, the griffons have been staying there, waiting for the day he is ready to leave. The last theory would be that they were placed there as guardians to defend Bells from evil coming from the outside.

[1] “Griffin, Griffon, Gryphon in Mythology”, Mythical Realm.

http://mythicalrealm.com/mythical-creatures/griffin-griffon-gryphon-in-mythology/ (05.05.2019)

[2] “The History behind the Gryphon”, Angelfire.

http://www.angelfire.com/sd/shedevil/gryphonhistory.html (05.05.2019)

[3] John Cherry (1997): Fabeltiere: Von Drachen, Einhörnern und anderen mythischen Wesen. Reclam Verlag, Stuttgart.

[4] Lewis, Richard Warrington Baldwin (1968): The Collected Short Stories of Edith Wharton – Volume 2. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.