Only a target light upon his arm
He careless bore, on which old Gryll was drawn,
Transformed into a hog.
Phin. Fletcher, The Purple Island, vii. (1633).
Gryphon, a fabulous monster, having the upper part like a vulture or eagle, and the lower part like a lion. Gryphons were the supposed guardians of goldmines, and were in perpetual strife with the Arimas´pians, a people of Scythia, who rifled the mines for the adornment of their hair.
As when a gryphon thro’ the wilderness,
With winged course, o’er hill or moory dale,
Pursues the Arimaspian, who, by stealth,
Had from his wakeful custody purloined
The guarded gold.