Terracotta plaque

Relief with a griffin and an Arimasp or a Hyperborean

In Greek mythology, griffins—hybrid beasts combining the features of a lion and an eagle—were fearsome creatures who guarded rich deposits of gold on the peaks of the Rhipaion mountains of Scythia in northeastern Europe. They fought constantly with the Arimasps, a tribe of mythical one-eyed men who dwelt at the foot of the mountains. In the unusual scene on this Roman terracotta plaque (08.258.31), however, the horned lion-griffin appears almost tame, playfully pawing the knee of a male figure while lapping up the liquid he pours into a bowl. The relief most likely depicts a Hyperborean priest attending to the griffin of Apollo; a monumental tripod of the god stands behind him. Hyperborea, literally "beyond the north wind," was a land of eternal spring to the north of the Rhipaion mountains that was ruled by priests of Apollo. The deity vacationed there during the winter months, by some accounts traveling to the mythical realm on a griffin.