The Ziz is a giant griffin

Griffin

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...

-like bird in Jewish mythology

Jewish mythology

Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...

, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan. It is considered a giant animal/monster corresponding to archetypal

Archetype

An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...

 creatures. Rabbis have said that the Ziz is comparable to the Persian Simurgh

Simurgh

Simurgh , also spelled simorgh, simurg, simoorg or simourv, also known as Angha , is the modern Persian name for a benevolent, mythical flying creature...

. Behemoth

Behemoth

Behemoth is a mythological beast mentioned in the Book of Job, 40:15-24. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful entity.-Plural as singular:...

, Leviathan

Leviathan

Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...

 and Ziz were traditionally a favorite decoration motif for rabbi

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

s living in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

According to Jewish tradition the meat of the Ziz will be served at the end banquet along with that of the Leviathan and the Behemoth.

Note that this mythological bird is in Midrash

Midrash

The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....

 rather than standard Jewish eschatology

Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...

.

There is also the cliff of Ziz, the pass by which the horde of Moabite

Moabite

Moabite may refer to:*a person from Moab, the former country of the Moabite people, currently located in the area of Jordan east of the Dead Sea*the Moabite language, an extinct Canaanite dialect once spoken in Moab...

s, Ammonite

Ammon

Ammon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...

s and Mehunim made their way up from the shores of the Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...

 to the wilderness of Judah near Tekoa. (2 Chronicles 20:16) only; comp. 2 Chr 20:20 It was the pass of Ain Jidy.

See also

• Bar Juchne
  Bar Juchne
  Bar Juchne or Bar-Yuchnei is a colossal legendary bird from Jewish mythology which was believed to have a wingspan large enough to block out the sun....
  
  
• Garuda
  Garuda
  The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
  
  
• Gryphon
  Gryphon
  -Businesses:* Gryphon Airlines, an American-owned airline based in Vienna, Virginia* Gryphon Audio Designs, a Danish maker of audio components* Golden Gryphon Press, an American independent publishing company...
  
  
• Roc (mythology)
• Simurgh
  Simurgh
  Simurgh , also spelled simorgh, simurg, simoorg or simourv, also known as Angha , is the modern Persian name for a benevolent, mythical flying creature...
  
  
• Zu (mythology)
  Zu (mythology)
  Zu, also known as Anzu and Imdugud, in Persian and Sumerian, is a lesser divinity of Akkadian mythology, and the son of the bird goddess Siris. He is also said to be conceived by the pure waters of the Apsu-gods and the wide Earth...