Abstract
The Achaemenid Empire is known for its greatness, fierce campaigns and the story of its destruction brought by Alexander the Great. Nevertheless, the Achaemenid Empire left marvellous pieces of art, both monumental and small-scale one.
The iconography of various artefacts includes wide range of motives: floral ornaments, animal friezes, processions of soldiers and tribute bearers and last but not least mythological creatures. Many representations of supernatural beings in animal form are called griffin or lion-griffin.
However, this term has a specific definition. According to Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologicae Classicae the "griffin" is a winged beast with head of a bird and body of a lion.
In the following article, I point at some misinterpretations of individual motives depicted on various artefacts. The supernatural beasts appear in forms composed of parts of real animals, typically lions, birds of prey, ibexes, goats etc.
Not all of them can be named as "griffin". Motives of supernatural beings could have astronomical significance as they can represent constellations of spring and summer sky.
They can also have the apotropaic meaning, as the griffins are mentioned by the classical authors as guardians of treasures in far eastern corners of the world. Question of their exact meaning for the Achaemenid people is still mostly unresolved.
Even though the combat scene between this kind of a beast and a king is widely understood as a representation of the stability of the state, protection which king provided and his legitimacy to rule over the whole Empire.