Hippogriff

The hippogriff (Italian: ippogrifo) or hippogryph is a legendary creature with the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse.

It was invented at the beginning of the 16th century by Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando Furioso. Within the poem, the hippogriff is a steed born of a mare and a griffin—something considered impossible. It is extremely fast and is presented as being able to fly around the world and to the Moon. Its original owner was the sorcerer Atlantes, a Saracen who lived in Mount Carena in Morocco and the knight errant (his adopted son) Ruggiero, who, from the creature's back, frees the beautiful Angelica. Astolfo also borrows the hippogriff from Bradamante to search for Roland's wits on the Moon.

The hippogriff became a subject of visual art in the 19th century, when it was often drawn by Gustave Doré.