|
Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places |
Hippogriff
| Description | A
winged horse with the head and claws of an eagle. (The head, wings and
front legs of a griffin, and the back legs of a horse.)
|
| Features | An elusive
creature that can fly long distances at high altitudes. From the Riphaean
mountains.
|
| Also called | Simoorgh
or Simurgh or Senmurv - the Persian version, sometimes
featured as a cross between a dog or lion and a huge bird.
|
| Described By: |
Epic poems of Saadi and Ferdusi. Milton- "So saying he caught him up, and without wing Of hippogrif, bore through the air sublime Over the wilderness and o'er the plain." ( Paradise Regained) Thomas Bulfinch- "Like a griffin, he had the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered with feathers, the rest of his body being that of a horse. This strange animal is called a Hippogriff." (Legends of Charlemagne)
|
| Meaning | Griffins
and horses were supposed to be mortal enemies. The Hippogriff
symbolizes an impossible thing. There is an old expression
"Jungentur jam grypes equis" which means "To
cross griffons with horses", indicating an impossible scenario.
|
