The Griffin, the Phoenix, and Hadrian

When Hadrian came to power in 117 C.E., under hotly disputed circumstances, he needed to affirm his legitimacy with every means of communication available. Two mythical beasts that feature prominently in the visual arts of his Principate are the phoenix and griffin, both of which had associations with the sun, and in the case of the phoenix, with a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The griffin had entered Greek art at least by the 7th century B.C.E., and had long since acquired a variety of meanings, including affirmation of righteous authority. The phoenix was a relatively new addition to Greco-Roman imagery, but the lore of its unique life cycle had been well documented in Greek and Roman literature. This paper explores the meanings of these beasts in coinage and sculpture of the years, and their connections with the imagery in other Hadrianic monuments.