or Gryphon (griffus, griffin), in the natural history of the ancients, the name of an imaginary bird of prey, of the eagle species, represented with four legs, wings, and a beak; the upper part resembling an eagle, and the lower a lion. This animal, which was supposed to watch over gold mines and hidden treasures, was consecrated to the sun; and the ancient painters represented the chariot of the sun as drawn by griffins. According to Spanheim, those of Jupiter and Nemesis were similarly provided. The griffin of Scripture is that species of the eagle called in Latin ossifraga, or osprey. The griffin is frequently seen on ancient medals, and is still borne in escutcheons. Guillim blazons it rampant, alleging that any very fierce animal may be so blazoned as well as the lion; but Sylvester, Morgan, and others use the term segreant instead of rampant. The griffin was also an architectural ornament among the Greeks, and was copied from them, with other architectural embellishments, by the Romans.