The Image of Griffin on Byzantine Seals (On the Example of the State Hermitage Museum Collection)

Abstract

In the tenth-century Byzantine sigillography, along with the classical iconographic repertoire (images of the Mother of God, saints, and cross potent), there appeared images of birds, real animals and monsters, and even portraits of the owners of seals. An important place among them belongs to the seals showing griffin, an imaginary monster combining the features of an eagle and a lion. Its images on seals comprise three variants: 1) single image of a griffin, 2) griffin trampling an animal, 3) paired griffins in the flight scene of Alexander the Great. Among the lead seals in the State Hermitage Museum collection, the first variant is represented by the seals of Theophylaktos Argyros, anthypatos patrikios; Stephen, protospatharios, episkeptites and the anagrapheus of the imperial domains protected by God; Constantine, imperial spatharokandidatos and kommerkiarios of Thessalonike; Theophylaktos, patrikios, imperial protospatharios, ἐπὶ τοῦ Χρυσοτρικλίνου and chartoularios of the dromos; Demetrios, imperial spatharokandidatos and ἐπὶ τῆς μεγάλης ἑταιρείας; George; and Theophilus (?). The second variant occurs on the seals of Leo, imperial protospatharios, ἐπὶ τῆς μεγάλης ἑταιρείας, and Staurakios, imperial protospatharios, ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκειακῶν and ἐπὶ τῶν βαρβάρων. The third variant shows a unique seal from the State Hermitage Museum featuring an image of SS. Constantine and Helena on the obverse. Taking the seals from other collections along with the sigillographic monuments from the State Hermitage Museum into account, the author of this paper has run to the conclusion that the appearance of the image of a griffin in the tenth century coincided with the Macedonian Renaissance and was connected mainly with the revival of interest in the antique past. It was the time when this image retained only its apotropaic and decorative function. It was placed on the seals of secular officials, civilian and the military persons.