Friday, October 29, 2010

Griffins


A Griffin, executed in stucco in the apodyterium (changing room) of the Forum Baths at Pompeii.

"This race [Arimaspi] is said to carry on a perpetual warfare with the Griffins, a kind of monster, with wings, as they are commonly represented, for the gold which they dig out of the mines, and which these wild beasts retain and keep watch over with a singular degree of cupidity, while the Arimaspi are equally desirous to get possession of it."

Pliny the Elder - Naturalis Historia (the Natural History) VIII.2
Translated by John Bostock, H.T. Riley

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