Also called Egyptian griffin, Sefer, Seref.
Their story
Egyptians imagined the deserts beyond the Nile valley as home to fabulous creatures as well as real ones. Among them was a winged griffin with the head of a falcon, which appears in Middle Kingdom hunting scenes in the tombs of Beni Hasan alongside gazelles and hares. Griffins also appear on earlier carved objects and in later art, sometimes as a form of a fierce god. The creature expressed the dangerous, swift power of the desert.
Best times to give to them
- dusk
What they like being given
- water
- incense
How to honour them
- Treat it as a symbol of the wild and the untamed rather than a figure of worship.
How they can help you
- connecting with wild places
- imagination
- courage
Symbols
- winged creature with a falcon head and a feline or antelope body
The names akhekh, sefer and seref are used by modern writers for somewhat different creatures, and the evidence is sparse.
Sources
- Middle Kingdom tomb paintings at Beni Hasan
- Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
More Egyptian beings
- Imhotep Djoser's architect, later worshipped as a god
- Amenhotep son of Hapu The wise official who became a healer saint
- The Ba The part of the self that moves freely
- The Ka The life force that receives offerings
- Ib, Ren and Sheut The heart, the name and the shadow
- The Set Animal The mysterious beast of Set
- The Apis Bull The sacred bull of Memphis
- The Mnevis Bull The sacred bull of Heliopolis