BC) and preserved by Herodotus and Aeschylus (mid 5th century BC), but the physical descriptions are not very explicit and from Herodotus to Aelian imply that griffins were creatures seen and known through artworks. Even though they are sharp-beaked, their being likened to "unbarking hounds of Zeus" has led to the speculation they were seen as wingless.

Pliny the Elder (1st century) was the first to state explicitly that griffins