Winged lion

Mythological creature

Winged lions from the emblem book, Atalanta Fugiens, by Michael Maier, first published in 1617

The winged lion is a mythological creature that resembles a lion with bird-like wings.

Mythical adaptations

The winged lion is found in various forms especially in ancient and medieval civilizations.

There were different mythological adaptions for the winged lion:

  • Lamassu or shedu in Mesopotamian mythology was depicted as a winged lion. It was often depicted with a bull's body instead of a lion's body.
  • The griffin in classical mythology was depicted as a lion-eagle creature. Griffin-like creatures were depicted in Egyptian and Persian mythology.
  • The first beast in the first vision of the biblical prophet Daniel resembled a winged lion.
  • The winged lion was the heraldic symbol of Mark the Evangelist.
  • The Goetic demon Vapula was depicted as a winged lion.

Emblems

Lion of St. Mark seen on the Venetian Coat of Arms

The emblems of the winged lions were featured in different countries:

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "70 years ago, when our command was established the Lion of St Mark was decided on as our symbol". Allied Joint Force Command Naples - JFCNP. Italy. Retrieved September 24, 2021 – via Facebook.

External links

Media related to Winged lions at Wikimedia Commons