The Greek Sphinx, borrowed from the Egyptian, is generally represented in a seated attitude, and invested with wings. It had a different meaning, that of Malignity and Mystery. Probably in allusion to the tradition of the Theban sphinx that menaced the town, until her destruction was accomplished by Œdipus, who solved the riddle that had resulted fatally for his predecessors.
Assyrian Winged Monsters
The Assyrian combination of Winged Lion or Bull with human head, is symbolic of association of strength with courage and intelligence, the wings suggesting mobility or ever-present.
The Gryffon, a Greek creation, was composed of a lion body, with eagle head and wings, typifying not only swiftness, strength and courage, but alertness or watchfulness. It was employed on the Acroteria of the pediments; alertness being indicated by the forward position of the ears.
The Chimeræ as an emblem of terror and devastation, is in the form of a lion body, the tail being a serpent, the lion mouth belching forth flames. From the centre of the back protrudes a goat’s head.
The whole is presumed to embody the idea of a volcanic mountain, the head being the crater, the goat representing the mountain slopes, and the snake tail the morass at the foot.
The Dragon, compounded of a lizard head and body, bat wings and serpent tail, is a product of mediæval times, probably suggested by the mythological Gryffon. Sometimes the dragon is invested with the legs of a lion, and to testify to its potency for evil, flames are depicted issuing from the mouth.
Pegasus
Pegasus, the winged horse on which Bellerophon rode against the Chimeræ, also used by Perseus in the rescue of Andromeda, is typical of poetic inspiration. Another form of horse is Hippocampus, associated with the chariot of Poseidon or Neptune, in which the fore-legs develop into fins and the hinder part into a fish-tail in harmony with its element.