The griffin of the Archaic Period in Greece is the result of the import of the pattern from the Middle East. If its popularity at that time was obvious, it drastically decreased at the end of the Greco-Persian wars. However, when it reappeared in full force during the fourth century BC, it was completely changed. Ancient sources reference a tale, a Scythian myth in which the griffins are in perpetual conflict with their neighbors, the Arimaspians, over the glittering gold that is plentiful where they roost. In the arts, the griffin was no longer represented as a bronze protome on cauldrons dedicated to various deities, but rather on terracotta vases. Apart from its morphology, the creatures associated with each support are widely different in style, and the motif is nigh unrecognizable. What might have occurred for the griffin motif to have changed so much ? The Hellenization of the pattern in the fifth century through art and writing is difficult to discern. As for the Roman texts, they are of dubious reliability due to interpretations that do not necessarily reflect the thought process of the originals artists. However the Hellenization of the plastic and litterary motif is easily perceived through the stylistic development of the plastic pattern and the presence of the griffin in a pseudo Greek Scythian Koine fabricated.