The mythical creature from Persian lore with a lion’s body, a human face, and a scorpion’s tail is the manticore.
The manticore comes from ancient Persian mythology. Its name is commonly traced to an Old Persian expression meaning “man-eater,” matching legends that it devoured victims whole. Classical Greek writers transmitted descriptions of the creature westward, and the Roman author Pliny the Elder helped popularize its image in European natural-history writing.
Its appearance is distinctive but not perfectly uniform across sources. Some accounts give it a tail ending in a scorpion’s sting; others describe a tail covered in venomous spines that could be launched like arrows. Medieval and later artists sometimes altered its anatomy, which can make it resemble other composite beasts.
The manticore is often confused with the sphinx, but a sphinx generally has a human head and a lion’s body without the manticore’s dangerous tail. A griffin is part eagle and part lion, while the Greek chimera combines a lion, goat, and serpent.