Gryphons

Gryphons are winged creatures that live in the north. They are attracted to gold, collecting it and taking it back to their nests, and they lay golden eggs.

Appearance
Gryphons have the body of a black panther, with the face and feet of a raven, beady red eyes, and a long, sharp beak. They also have a pair of large wings on their backs that allow them to fly. Their eggs appear to be solid gold.

Abilities

 * Gryphons can fly at high speeds.
 * Their beaks, claws, and talons are extremely sharp.
 * They have a sleek and stealthy design, so they are fast and sometimes hard to spot.

In-Series
Hazel sees a gryphon in a cage when the group is captured by the Amazons. A large group of gryphons attack the train Frank, Percy, and Hazel are traveling on. When Percy is carried away by one, Frank shoots it with an arrow, and Percy falls into the nest. Frank also uses his last charge of his spear to make Gray defend the people on the train. While in the nest, Percy holds them off by threatening to crush their eggs. They escape by hiding under a large Hyperborean giant who becomes annoyed by the gryphons and freezes them with his breath.

Trivia

 * Percy thought before seeing one that a gryphon looked like a lion with wings but said that what a gryphon looked more like a hyena.
 * Gryphons are present in many mythologies, from Egyptian times until modern day.
 * It has still continued to be a favored decorative theme in Archaic and Classical Greek art.