The word gargoyle is derived from the French word gargouille meaning the throat, from the Latin root gar which refers to swallowing.  The origin of this root is obvious, since it is merely the imitation of a gurgling sound.

As with modern architecture, even ancient buildings required some orderly way of shedding accumulated water in a directed manner away from the side of the building.  At first, these water-spout devices, which appear in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman architecture, bore no resemblance to the mythical creatures with which we now associate the term.  In ancient Greece, temple roof water spouts were typically modeled as lion's heads, with the water spouting from their mouths.  In ancient Pompeii, gargoyles were commonly modeled after animals.

It was not until the medieval age that gargoyles took on the grotesque, frightening aspect they carry today, which features a combination of animal and bird features in a single creature.  Such mythical creatures are known as chimera (KiY-MEER-UH),  from a creature from Greek mythology.  The Greek story involves an animal that possessed the body parts from different species of animals.  Although the literature differs on the actual combination of animal features, it may have had a lion's head and forepaws, a goat's back legs (or an additional goat head) and a snake or dragon tail.  Most of the literature agrees that it spout fire from one or more heads, which, of course gives rise not only to the legendary gargoyle, but to the dragon legends as well. The Chimera was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, both terrifying monsters in their own right.

Parallels can clearly be seen between the creatures we currently call gargoyles and another popular chimera, the griffin (aka gryphon).  The griffin is essentially the backend of a lion combined with the front end of an eagle, and, as chimera go, is a rather attractive fellow.  So attractive, in fact, that the most famous wizard in current popular culture, Harry Potter, belongs to the Griffindor House at Hogswarts.  Griffindor is a contraction of griffin d'or, or Golden Griffin.

The griffin is found in architecture, sculpture and paintings of very ancient origin including ancient Egypt, Assyria and Persia.  It thus predates the gargoyle by thousands of years.

The development of gargoyle creatures as rooftop waterspouts gained favor in medieval France, where the frightening aspect of the creature was believed to ward off evil spirits.  This made the chimera gargoyle a perfect architectural additional to Cathedrals and even castles.  The famous French Notre Dame Cathedral has a rooftop area known as the Gallerie de Chimera where you will find--you guessed it--elaborately sculpted gargoyles glaring down at the city of Paris below.  The particular popularity of these creatures in France derives from a local legend in Rouen, where the Bishop was believed to have delivered the countryside from a terrifying creature called Gargouille.  The description of this creature most closely resulted in the French interpretation that is seen on many medieval and Gothic buildings today.

In more modern times, the gargoyle has assumed an altered appearance for film and television, often appearing as human in basic form, with clawed hands and feet and bat wings.  Whatever your favorite gargoyle form, you'll enjoy our host of stunning, frightening, and sometimes comical gargoyle and griffin creatures.

Gargoyle Statues


Gargoyle Candle Holders

Gargoyle Incense Burners

Gargoyle Boxes

Facts about Gargoyles and Griffins
Do you know the difference between a gargoyle and a griffin?  A griffin is a combination of an eagle and a lion.  It typically has a lion's body, with an eagle's wings and head.  Gargoyles typically appear to have bat wings with humanoid heads and clawed and feet.

Suggested Gargoyle and Griffin References
 

• Holy Terrors: Gargoyles on Medieval Buildings by Janetta Rebold Benton - Abbeyville Press, 1997
• High Gothic the Classic Cathedrals of Chartres, Reims and Amiens (Paperback)  by Hans Jantzen, James Palmes (Translator)
• Medieval Architecture (Oxford History of Art) by Nicola Coldstream
• Gargoyles: Spirits in Stones by Darlene Trew Crist, Robert Llewellyn (Photographer)
• Oxford's Gargoyles and Grotesques by John Blackwood, Charon press, 1986
• Windsor Castle's Gargoyles and Grotesques by Charon press, 1988
• Gargoyles, Chimeres and the Grotesque in French Gothic Sculpture by Lester Burbank Bridaham,  Da Capa Press (New York), 1969
• Grotesques and gargoyles: paganism in the medieval church by Ronald Sheridan and Anne Ross, David and Charles, 1975