In which mythologies or religions does the Lion with wings occur?

Question

I'm curious about the Lion with wings figure.Where does it come from?What's its origin?

Answer 1

its catholic i believe its called the wing lion it represents saint mark ST. MARK was converted to the Faith by the Prince of the Apostles, whom he afterwards accompanied to Rome, acting there as his secretary or interpreter. When St. Peter was writing his first epistle to the churches of Asia, he affectionately joins with his own salutation that of his faithful companion, whom he calls "my son Mark." The Roman people entreated St. Mark to put in writing for them the substanee of St. Peter's frequent discourses on Our Lord's life. This the Evangelist did under the eye and with the express sanction Of the apostle, and every page of his brief but graphic gospel so bore the impress of St. Peter's character, that the Fathers used to name it "Peter's Gospel." St. Mark was now sent to Egypt to found the Church of Alexandria. Here his disciples be came the wonder of the world for their piety and asceticism, so that St. Jerome speaks of St. Mark as the father of the anchorites, who at a later time thronged the Egyptian deserts. Here, too, he set up the first Christian school, the fruitful mother of many illustrious doctors and bishops. After governing his see for many years, St. Mark was one day seized by the heathen, dragged by ropes over stones, and thrown into prison. On the morrow the torture was repeated, and having been consoled by a vision of angels and the voice of Jesus, St. Mark went to his reward.

It is to St. Mark that we owe the many slight touches which often give such vivid coloring to the Gospel scenes, and help us to picture to ourselves the very gestures and looks of our blessed Lord. It is he alone who notes that in the temptation Jesus was "with the beasts;" that tie slept in the boat "on a pillow;" that He "embraced" the little. children. He alone preserves for us the commanding words "Peace, be still " by which the storm was quelled; or even the very sounds of His voice, the "Ephpheta" and "Talitha cumi," by which the dumb were made to speak and the dead to rise. So, too, the "looking round about with anger," and the "sighing deeply," long treasured in the memory of the penitent apostle, who was himself converted by his Saviour's look, are here recorded by his faithful interpreter.

Answer 2

There are many referances to winged lions. There are biblical referances, Phonician and Iraqui. There may even been referances in Hindi cultures as well. It makes one wonder that all the cultures can have this in common.

St. Mark is Venice's patron saint, and the apostle's traditional symbol--a winged lion--is the logo of the Venetian Republic. The winged lion can be seen all over Venice.


In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, [and] told the sum of the matters.

Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Daniel 7:4 The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

The Gate of Xerxes at Perespolis had the Winged Lion placed at the corner of one entrance. When you stood in front of the gate you saw a lion with four legs and when you were inside the gate you saw a lion with four legs.

Iraqi archaeologists discovered the remains of an Assyrian temple and sculptures dating back to the 9th century BC, with two giant winged lions, frescoes and reliefs.

Answer 3

Babylon/Persia or Modern Day Iraq. The Winged Lions are not a myth they hold a very real place in history. Saddam Husein tried to reconstruct the city to it's former glory, including the hanging gardens and was interrupted by The Gulf War and then Desert Storm. Replicas of the monumental Winged Lions can be seen at the Oriental Museum at the University of Chicago.

The winged Lions are mentioned as part of end times prophecy or the end of the Church age in Daniel 7:4 and Revelation 9:8 of the Bible.

Answer 4

Ancient Middle-Eastern mythologies are where this first began. They're (supposedly) the oldest civilizations of the West, so this is where the symbolism starts. Later Mediterranean cultures inherited what began there, and it was then later spread to the rest of Europe.

It was a common motif that popped up all over there. The Hebrew biblical Cherubim is one example of the continuation of this theme. (Incidentally, the Christians imported some of this ancient symbolism seen in their Lion, Ox, Man, Eagle imagery for the four gospels and evangelists.)

I have some more book references, but I'd have to try and find them. Also, check out the term "Lammasu."

Answer 5

Sphinx -- n.

1. An enigmatic monster (Greek Mythology) having a lion's body, wings, and the head and bust of a woman.

2. A figure in Egyptian mythology having the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram, or hawk.

Answer 6

The Griffin is a legendary creature with the head, beak and wings of an eagle, the body of a lion and occasionally the tail of a serpent or scorpion. Its origin lies somewhere in the Middle East where it is found in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians and Persians. In Greek mythology, they took gold from the stream Arimaspias and, neighbors of the Hyperboreans, they belonged to Zeus. The later Romans used them for decoration and even in Christian times the Griffin motif often appears. Griffins were frequently used as gargoyles on medieval churches and buildings.

In more recent times, the Griffin only appears in literature and heraldry.


The lion represented Babylon. The single pair of eagle's wings represented rapid conquest, something that Babylon did do. But, it did not conquer as much territory as the Medes and Persians or Alexander the Great. And it did not conquer as rapidly as Alexander the Great. The wings could also represent Babylon soaring above the other nations around it.



About 20 years before Daniel arrived in Babylon in what is now Iraq, the city of Babylon was originally part of the Assyrian empire, but it eventually rebelled against Assyria and engulfed it. Babylon simply took over Assyria and there was only one kingdom that remained afterwards which never split into smaller parts. Consequently, it is shown with one head and no horns, indicating it remained as one kingdom until its end.



The lion could not represent Assyria, which no longer existed. The vision concerned kingdoms beginning at the time of Daniel, not before, so Assyria could not be represented by any of these beasts.



Why a lion to Represent Babylon?



Why is a winged lion used to represent Babylon? In the rules of interpretation for Daniel and Revelation, there is a rule called the Characteristics Principle. This rule indicates that things other than the mere presence of body, heads, and horns (which are used primarily used to indicate the passage of time and are therefore Primary Characteristics), indicate behaviors of the kingdoms, how they would act, or how they would do certain things. Wings, species of animal, presence of ribs in the mouth, colors, verbal description of the appearance of an animal, and all other such similar things that do not indicate the passage of time itself, are to be used to learn to understand the behaviors of the kingdoms, how they would act, or how they would do certain things.



So, back to the question at hand: why is a winged lion used to represent Babylon? Possible answers are that a lion is dangerous and kills and devours those it pursues. It is a predator, so the species of lion for Babylon is fitting because it did go out and conquer others around it as a predator would do.



A lion's method of attack are that it stalks it's prey, uses its claws to grasp and control the prey, and finally suffocates it's prey by crushing the windpipe of the prey by biting into the exposed throat so that it cannot get any air. Sometimes a lion will instead bite the back of the neck, breaking the neck of the prey. In either case, after killing the prey, the lion will then usually tear the prey to shreds and devour it. What is also interesting is that it is the female lions that normally do the hunting. The males get their share as members of the pride of lions. It is unknown whether the lion Daniel saw was male or female as no gender was indicated. However, most of the lions found on the walls of Babylon as relief on the walls were males, so it logically is assumed that Daniel was probable shown a male lion.



The Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, certainly could be said to be lion like. He followed a scorched earth policy of warfare (he destroyed everything, including crops), and certainly won very decisive victories. He normally left no doubt who the victor was when he finished with a battle. When he attacked the Philistines, he reduced their cities to rubble, and went for their seaport, Ashkelon. This certainly would have been their economic lifeblood (could one say it was their economic "air supply" perhaps?), so that is a case of him going for the "economic windpipe". Following a scorched earth policy of battle would also have destroyed the economic and physical support of the enemies of Babylon, so this too would have constituted him "going for the throat".



Because of it's great size and strength, the lion is called the king of beasts. Nebuchadnezzar was generally unstoppable by anyone in that region, so he certainly had the size and strength, comparable to a lion.



The winged lion was certainly a fitting symbol of the kingdom of Babylon. If the four wings on the leopard represented very rapid conquest, then it stands to reason that two wings also represent rapid conquest, though fewer wings would suggest that the conquest would not be as fast as the leopard (Greece). Babylon did conquer a large territory quite rapidly as the wings suggest. Winged lion images have been found on the walls around the palace in the city of Nineveh, which was the capital of the Assyrian kingdom that Babylon was originally part of and eventually rebelled against and took over. At least a few such lions have also been found on walls in Babylon, though most found there have no wings.

Answer 7

The idea of a creture with a lion's body and wings, can be found in almost all cutures throughout history. It's kind of a universal symbol, and can be traced as far back as Babalonian times.

Some names are Griffin (Gryphon), Sphinx, Chimera, Dragon (some have the bodies of lions and wings). Do get a specific history of each, look them up individually, Yahoo doesn't allow enough space for my to post them all *lol*

Here's a good website for you:
http://home.worldonline.nl/~rlion/lkgode.htm

Answer 8

The gryphon is the symbol I believe you are talking about. It is originally a Greek symbol. It really had no religious affiliations that I am aware of, but it has been passed down through many cultures and mythologies. I am aware of them being brought into the German and Irish mythological cultures, as well as many others.

Answer 9

In the book of Revelations in the Bible, Paul sees a vision of four winged creatures surrounding God's throne--they each had four faces, one having the appearance of a man, one a lion, one an eagle, and an ox.

Answer 10

The origin is Egyptian, Egypt. It represents the teacher of skilled trades. Back then, a Mason, builder of the Pyramids, Tombs, and all the other wonders of the ancient world.

Myth says, they are the ones from Atlantis. The only ones who knew the ancient secrets.

Answer 11

The Winged Lion is the symbol of Venezia and is said to symbolize revival or resurrection.

http://www.garasunosato.net/english/enjoy/amenity/lion.html

Sphinx – Face of a woman, body of a lion, and wings of a bird

http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Sphinx.html

Love & Blessings
Milly