# Anyone know any books/stories with a griffin in it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565 "2002-04-08T22:03:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/1 "2002-04-08T22:03:03Z")
The mythological creature. Head, wings and tallons of an eagle, rear of a lion. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/2 "2002-04-08T22:15:52Z")
[Here](http://gryphonguild.org/gryphbooklist.html) you go! ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/3 "2002-04-08T22:17:00Z")
Many of the Dungeons and Dragons novels include griffins (they’re pretty standard fantasy monster fare). I have one recollection of griffins being summoned as transport for the adventuring party in Tracy Hickman’s / Margaret Weis’ famous Dragonlance _Chronicles_ trilogy. I could be mixing this up with another one of those novels, however. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Maximino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@Mighty\_Maximino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Maximino)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/4 "2002-04-08T22:19:30Z")
Neil Gaiman’s _Sandman_ series has a castle guarded by a griffin, a winged horse, and a wyvern. I’d recommend the ninth and tenth trade paperbacks if you’re just interested in griffins. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/5 "2002-04-08T22:21:37Z")
Thanks guys! ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/6 "2002-04-08T22:22:43Z")
Oh, I forgot the ‘stories’ part of the question. Check out these links on Griffins (or Gryphons) in Greek mythology and art: [Bullfinch’s Mythology](http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/bull16.html) [Mythography](http://www.loggia.com/myth/griffin.html) And, since I found such an excellent link while Googling, here’s a [link](http://www.enteract.com/~tirya/literature.html) that provides an extensive list of griffins in literature. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/7 "2002-04-08T22:27:19Z")
try “A Griffin in the Garden” [http://hallkidspoetry.com/fairy\_tales\_folk\_tales\_myths/732.shtml](http://hallkidspoetry.com/fairy_tales_folk_tales_myths/732.shtml) or about 50 books on this list [http://www.enteract.com/~tirya/literature.html](http://www.enteract.com/~tirya/literature.html) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/8 "2002-04-08T22:34:06Z")
\ The Spanish word for faucet or water tap is “grifo” (griffin) because the first ones were in the form of a griffin. It sounds so weird in English though: The kitchen griffin is dripping… better call the vet… errr, the plumber. \ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Griffin)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/9 "2002-04-08T22:44:32Z")
lol sailer! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/10 "2002-04-09T00:08:40Z")
General Questions is for questions with factual answers. Cafe Society is for discussions about literature and such-like. I’ll move this to Cafe Society for you. **DrMatrix** - General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![king\_of\_spain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7cd45c/32.png) [@king\_of\_spain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/king_of_spain)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/11 "2002-04-09T00:49:07Z")
Mercedes Lackey has a trilogy of books titled, in order, _The Black Gryphon_, _The White Gryphon_, and _The Silver Gryphon_. The first is pretty good, the second slightly less good, and the third sucks on toast. ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/12 "2002-04-09T01:23:43Z")
Roger Zelazny’s **Unicorn Variations** has a cute short story with a griffen ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/13 "2002-04-09T01:41:42Z")
_The Sword in the Stone_ has a griffin episode. Unfortunately, Sir Kay slays the thing in mid-attack. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/14 "2002-04-09T02:33:29Z")
There’s an episode of Family Guy where Peter (Griffin) is in a restaurant or something, trying to come up with a fake name, so he names off things he sees around him: “Pea… eater… griffin.” ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/15 "2002-04-09T04:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DMC \* > \*\*[Here](http://gryphonguild.org/gryphbooklist.html) you go! \*\* The list linked here includes one of my favorite books of all time, “Orlando Furioso” by Lodovico Ariosto. Check that one out. Truly a great read! ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/16 "2002-04-09T07:24:18Z")
[Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland](http://www.cs.indiana.edu/metastuff/wonder/wonderdir.html). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/17 "2002-04-09T12:09:43Z")
T.H. White’s **The Book of Beasts** is a translation (with commentary) of a medieval bestiary. Well worth reading, for lots of reasons. The Dover edition has a griffin on the cover. It’s a period illustration (it’s inside the book, too), and illustrates the section on griffins. I highly recommend Adrienne Mayor’s **The First Fossil Hunters** , which has a chapter on griffins, and a probable explanation of their genesis and development. and **Dijon Warlock** beat me to Alice in Wonderland. Read the Martin Gardner-annotated edition, if you can. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/18 "2002-04-09T12:10:52Z")
I’m pretty sure there’s one in Clifford Simak’s inferior fantasy The Fellowship of the Talisman. At least I remember one being on the cover :D. That’s frankly about all I remember about it, other than it bit. Hard. I’m fond of Simak and his “pastoral” style of science-fiction, but I recall thinking this attempt was pretty crappy. So it might not be worth your time 🙂 . - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/19 "2002-04-09T12:12:55Z")
The _Harry Potter_ books have _hippogriffs_ (half-horse/half-eagle) in them. They’re close cousins of griffins. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-know-any-books-stories-with-a-griffin-in-it/102565/20 "2002-04-09T12:47:20Z")
> [@](#): > > The Harry Potter books have hippogriffs (half-horse/half-eagle) in them. They’re close cousins of griffins. “The _hippogriff_ is a beast that is half horse and half griffin. The griffin, in turn, was half eagle and half lion. The hippogriff was therefore one-quarter eagle, which is $2.50. The study of biology is full of surprises.” – Ambrose Bierce **The Devil’s Dictionary** (In case you don’t know, the _Eagle_ was a gold U.S. coin that disappeared around 100 years ago. It was worth $10, and had an eagle on one side.)