Dragon

For other uses, see Dragon (disambiguation).

Chinese dragon, colour engraving on wood, Chinese school, 19th Century

A dragon is typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. Mythological creatures possessing some or most of the characteristics typically associated with dragons are common throughout the world's cultures. Western representations typically have wings and are capable of breathing fire, whereas Eastern ones typically do not.

Overview

File:Zmey.jpg

Dobrynya Nikitich slaying Zmey Gorynych, by Ivan Bilibin.

The various figures now called dragons probably have no single origin, but were spontaneously envisioned in several different cultures around the world, based loosely on the appearance of a snake and possibly fossilized dinosaur and Tertiary mammal megafauna remains.

File:0574 ss dragon.jpg

Nazi propaganda poster of a dragon, symbolizing communism being crushed by the logo of the nazi S.S.

They are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing long, typically scaly, bodies; dragons are often (but not always) portrayed with wings and a fiery breath.

Although dragons (or dragon-like creatures) occur commonly in legends around the world, different cultures have perceived them differently. Chinese dragons (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng), and Eastern dragons generally, are usually seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent (there are of course exceptions to these rules). Malevolent dragons also occur in Persian mythology (see Azhi Dahaka) and other cultures.

Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many oriental cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature and the universe. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power. In some cultures, they are said to be capable of human speech.

Dragons are very popular characters in fantasy literature, role-playing games and video games today. The term dragoon, for infantry that move around by horse, yet still fight as foot soldiers, is derived from their early firearm, the "dragon", a wide-bore musket that spit flame when it fired, and was thus named for the mythical beast.

Symbolism

In medieval symbolism, dragons were often symbolic of apostasy and treachery, but also of anger and envy, and eventually symbolised great calamity. Several heads were symbolic of decadence and oppression, and also of heresy. They also served as symbols for independence, leadership and strength. Many dragons also represent wisdom; slaying a dragon not only gave access to its treasure hoard, but meant the hero had bested the most cunning of all creatures. In some cultures, especially Chinese, or around the Himalayas, dragons are considered to represent good luck.

Saint George versus the dragon, Gustave Moreau, c.1880. This small one has the look of a griffin or a wyvern.

In Christianity

The Latin word for a dragon, draco (genitive: draconis), actually means snake or serpent, emphasising the European association of dragons with snakes. The Biblical identification of the Devil and the serpent thus gave a snake-like dragon connotations of evil. The demonic opponents of God, Christ, or good Christians have commonly been portrayed as dragons.

In the Book of Job Chapter 41, the sea monster Leviathan, which has some dragon-like characteristics, is described as God talks about the "king of beasts" that lived upon the Earth at a former time.

In Revelation 12:3, an enormous red beast with seven heads is described, whose tail sweeps one third of the stars from heaven down to earth (held to be symbolic of the fall of the angels). In some translations, the word "dragon" is used to describe the beast.

In iconography, some Catholic saints are depicted in the act of killing a dragon. This is one of the common aspects of Saint George in Egyptian Coptic iconography [1], on the coat of arms of Moscow, and in English and Aragonese legend. In Italy, Saint Mercurialis, first bishop of the city of Forlì, is also depicted slaying a dragon.[2]

In East Asia

Dragons are commonly symbols of good luck/health in some parts of Asia. They are also sometimes worshipped and are considered as mythical rulers of weather and water. Dragon also symbolizes imperial authority in China.

History and origins of dragons

Some believe that the dragon may have had a real-life counterpart from which the legends around the world arose — typically dinosaurs are mentioned as a possibility — but there is no physical evidence to support this claim, only sightings collected by cryptozoologists. In a common variation of this hypothesis, giant lizards such as Megalania are substituted for the living dinosaurs. Another less common claim is that dragons are based upon some sort of flying machines possessed by some ancient, unknown culture. Both of these hypotheses are widely considered to be pseudoscience.

Somewhat more plausibly, dinosaur fossils were once thought of as "dragon bones" — a discovery in 300 BC in Wucheng, Sichuan, China, was labeled as such by Chang Qu. It is unlikely, however, that these finds alone prompted the legends of flying monsters, but may have served to reinforce them.

Herodotus, often called the "father of history", visited Judea c.450 BC and wrote that he heard of caged dragons in nearby Arabia, near Petra, Jordan. Curious, he travelled to the area and found many skeletal remains of serpents and mentioned reports of flying serpents flying from Arabia into Egypt but being fought of by Ibises "Histories". Histories (Greek). Retrieved 2006-06-14..

According to Marco Polo's journals, Polo was walking through Anatolia into Persia and came upon real live flying dragons that attacked his party caravan in the desert and he reported that they were very frightening beasts that almost killed him in an attack. Polo did not write his journals down — they were dictated to his cellmate in prison, and there is much dispute over whether this writer may have invented the dragon to embellish the tale. Polo was also the first western man to descibe Chinese "dragon bones" with early writing on them. These bones were presumably either fossils (as described by Chang Qu) or the bones of other animals.

It has also been suggested by proponents of catastrophism that comets or meteor showers gave rise to legends about fiery serpents in the sky.

Of greater possibility is that the dragon is a composite creature. Biologists, working with Macaque monkeys have found that these creatures possess the beginnings of a spoken language, in that they have certain calls that apply for specific things. Three very important calls, that apply to major potential predators of the Macaque monkey notify others of the presence of a leopard, a snake or an eagle. Not only did these predators inspire fear in the case of the monkey, they also inspired very different behaviours. One explanation as to why the archetype of the dragon seems to be widely present in many cultures, is that it seems to contain elements of all three predators. With legs, claws, the ability to creep and ambush their enemies and with a cat-like cunning, Dragons do in these respects reflect the Leopard. Equally, with their ability to fly, and their guarding of the Dragon’s nest, lair or rookery, usually in remote, rocky places, Dragons reflect the behaviour too of Eagles. Dragons’ treasures are usually of gold, silver and jewelry, but they guard their eggs and brood too. In these ways Dragons are eagle-like. But Dragons are most clearly serpentine. In fact our modern word “Dragon” comes from the Greek, through Latin, where Drako meant Snake.

In Greek mythology there are many snake or dragon legends, usually in which a serpent or dragon guards some treasure. A serpent dwelt, coiled up in the shield of Pallas Athene, guardian of Athens, and the first Pelasgian kings of Athens were half human, half snake. The dragon Ladon, guarded the Golden Apples of the Sun of the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, who held the sky upon his shoulders. Another Serpentine Dragon guarded the Golden Fleece of Aetes, king of Colchis, protecting it from theft by Jason and the Argonauts. Similarly Pythia and Python, a pair of serpents guarded the temple of Gaia, and the Oracular priestess by the same name, before the Delphic Oracle was seized by Apollo and the two serpents draped around his winged caduceus, the symbol of medicine, healing and of pharmacies to this day. Zeus, in becoming king of the Gods on Mount Olympus, first had to conquer the Titans and their last defense, the serpent Typhon. The Greek stories of Zeus and Typhon, and Hercules and Ladon seem derived from Canaanite myth where Baal overcame Lawtan, and Israelite Yahweh overcame Leviathan. These stories too go back still further in history 1,500 BCE, to the Hittite or Hurrian hero Kumarbi who had to overcome the dragon Ilyukanas of the Sea. In Babylonian myth Marduk, of the same period, conquers Tiamat, the “mother of all life” portrayed as a serpentine dragon of the sea. But Marduk was only the last of a line of dragon-slaying kings of the Gods. Earlier, before Babylon was more than a tiny village, Enlil, Lord Air, of the temple of E-kur (The House of the Mountain) of the ancient Sumerian city of Nippur, became king of the Gods by slaying Tiamat by shooting the arrows of his winds down her throat, cutting up her body and making from her ribs the vault of the heavens. The weeping eyes of this salt-water goddess became the source of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, two of the four springs of the Garden of Eden.

In Australian Aboriginal mythology, the Rainbow Serpent was a culture hero to the indigenous people in many parts of the country. Known by different names in different places, from the Waugal of the South Western Nyungar, to the Ganba of the North Central Deserts or the Wanambee of South Australia, the rainbow serpent, associated with the creation of waterholes and river courses, was to be feared and respected. Modern biologists have in fact shown that amongst the extinct giant Megafauna of Australia was a 45ft (15metre) python, Wonambi naracoortensis, which appears to have been a water-dwelling ambush predator, and may have been in part an explanation for these Australian stories.

Apart from the Australian Aboriginal tales, most dragons are associated with grain farming cultures and this fact offers another possible explanation for the existence of, and ambivalent relationships between humans and dragons. Grain farming was in pre-modern times a precarious occupation, for not only did one need to store sufficient grains to plant as seed next year, but also the harvest, which occurred in only one season, needed to be stored in such a fashion, as to give people access to sufficient carbohydrates to keep them alive for 12 months. This was overcome in traditional villages through a communal granary, but in the absence of cats, such grain storage was at risk of being attacked by rodents. A mouse or rat plague would have been the worst outcome for pre-modern people, and in the absence of cats, such infestations were deterred by putting a pair of snakes into the granary, with the Drako guarding the “golden horde” of the grain, the wealth of the whole community, from rodents and other pilferers. Early farming people, no less than earlier hunter-gatherers are dependent upon nature, the seasons and harvests for their livelihood. Serpents came to be seen as symbolic for this natural connection, powerful non-human beings, symbolic of the natural world as a whole, a world on which the whole human community depended.

From being a needed part of the community, guarding its treasured grain, with the coming of cats, humankind's ambivalent feelings towards serpents reasserted itself, and dragons were pushed away into our cultural imaginations, with St George rescuing the maiden from being sacrificed to the dragon.

Dragon Origin Occult

Dragon illustration seen as exoteric expression aetherial cause, elemental (earth, air, fire, water) phenomenon; the concept that spiritual entity may activate with material features of climate. Origins theory, Gr. Orphic has very ancient Typhoeus and much later contrast significantly with Typhon. Borne at civilization infernal tartarus, the always moving Typhoeus, feathered and taller than the tallest mountain from his shoulders 100 dragon heads and from his thighs innumerable vipers, is the unmastered element system in the first ages of the world.

Hecatoncheires - L. Centimanes (hundred handed) of Oceanus (only titan with gods') is noted, also cyclops, as companion to the phantom Hephaestus - L. Vulcan; elemental mastery indicated is why it is different than Typhoeus. Adding weight to this conclusion is Typhoeus end at Sicily Volcano Etna.

Hecatoncheires have three forms: Cottus (furious), Gyges (big limbed) and Briareus (vigorous). In meteorology these are wind-front deluge, tornadoes, and Briareus is flamable conditions. Occult concept that climate sometimes is at phantom companion with dragon (aetherial cause elemental) includes Arges (thunderbolt) point exhibit of cyclops (hurricane etc.).

Gr. Typhon "scourge of mankind" - Egypt Set is automaton mass for dragon directive. Bible eg. Pharaoh v. Moses. Conclusion on Typhon is civilization decay toward tartarus (thrall, slave, infernal define symbolism v. aetherial).

Characteristic dragon as seen in the History and Myth sections, has feature indices in Egyptian religion remaining consistant with what is said thus far occult origin and perspective to the popular image. Sebec is depicted as a man with crocodile head or as crocodile. It is recounted that a lock of gods' hair healed Geb (physical foundation of the world), later that lock was plunged into lake of At Nub for purification it became crocodile. Thousands of years before (2000 b.c. Abraham), a crocodile headed shapeshifter heals Geb.

Crocodile head typify dragon; more reliability activatable entity of climate at pyramid text: Sebec,son of Neith (delta queen god of Sais). Egypt Neith - Gr. Athena (goddess) at pinnacle civilization with co-operation of nature, as her inscription (Plutarch tells us) "I am all that has been, that is, and that will be. No mortal has yet been able to lift the veil which covers me." Later Buto, winged serpent, is red crown of north, delta Egypt. The legend is she helped Isis protect osirian Horus (hidden god) from Set - Typhon. Dragon serpent-tail has knot, indication about magic knot of Isis "tat".

At Ombos (Nile 500 miles south from Sais), Khons Hor (Khensu) with falcon and royal hair lock, is the third of the Sebec triad. Khons triad at Thebes (Nile 100 miles north of Ombos) with Amon and Mut...cont.

Dragons in world mythology

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  The ancient Mesopotamian god Marduk and his dragon, from a Babylonian cylinder seal
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  Dragon carving on Hopperstad stave church, Norway
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  Saint George slaying the dragon, as depicted by Paolo Uccello, c. 1470
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  The red dragon of Wales, Y Ddraig Goch, on the Flag of Wales

Asian dragons
Chinese dragon	lóng	Lóng have a long, scaled serpentine form combined with the attributes of other animals; most are wingless. They are rulers of the weather and water, and a symbol of power.
Japanese dragon	ryū	Similar to Chinese and Korean dragons, with three claws instead of four. They are benevolent (with exceptions) and may grant wishes; rare in Japanese mythology.
Korean dragon	yong	A sky dragon, essentially the same as the Chinese lóng. Like the lóng, yong and the other Korean dragons are associated with water and weather.
	yo	A hornless ocean dragon, sometimes equated with a sea serpent.
	kyo	A mountain dragon.
European dragons
Scandinavian & Germanic dragons	lindworm	A very large winged or wingless serpent with two or no legs, the lindworm is really closer to a wyvern. They were believed to eat cattle and symbolized pestilence. On the other hand, seeing one was considered good luck.
Slavic dragons	zmey, zmiy, or zmaj	Similar to the conventional European dragon, but multi-headed. They breathe fire and/or leave fiery wakes as they fly. In Slavic and related tradition, dragons symbolize evil. Specific dragons are often given Turkic names (see Zilant, below), symbolizing the long-standing conflict between the Slavs and Turks.
Romanian dragons	balaur	Balaur are very similar to the Slavic zmey: very large, with fins and multiple heads.
	zmeu	Derived from the Slavic dragon, zmeu are humanoid figures that can fly and breathe fire.
Tatar dragons	Zilant	Really closer to a wyvern, the Zilant is the symbol of Kazan. Stories differ on whether there were one or more zilants.
Chuvash dragons	Vere Celen	Chuvash dragons represent the pre-Islamic mythology of the same region.
Welsh dragon	Y Ddraig Goch	The red dragon is the traditional symbol of Wales and appears on the Welsh national flag.
American dragons
Meso-American dragon	Quetzalcoatl	Feathered serpent deity responsible for giving knowledge to mankind, and sometimes also a symbol of death and resurrection.
African dragons
African dragon	Amphisbaena	Possibly originating in northern Africa (and later moving to Greece), this was a two headed dragon (one at the front, and one on the end of its tail). The front head would hold the tail (or neck as the case may be) in its mouth, creating a circle that allowed it to roll.
Dragon-like creatures
Basilisk		A basilisk is hatched by a cockerel from a serpent's egg. It is a lizard-like or snake-like creature that can supposedly kill by its gaze, its voice, or by touching its victim. Like Medusa, a basilisk may be destroyed by seeing itself in a mirror.
Cockatrice		A cockatrice is a monster hatched from a chicken egg that is more bird-like than reptile-like.
Leviathan		In Hebrew mythology, a leviathan was a large sea creature with fierce teeth; in the Bible, the leviathan can breathe fire. Over time, the term came to mean any large sea monster; in modern Hebrew, "leviathan" simply means whale. A sea serpent is also closely related to the dragon, though it is more snakelike and lives in the water.
Wyvern		Much more similar to a dragon than the other creatures listed here, a wyvern is a winged serpent with either two or no legs.

Notable dragons

In myth

• Azhi Dahaka was a three-headed demon often characterized as dragon-like in Persian Zoroastrian mythology.
• Similarly, Ugaritic myth describes a seven-headed sea serpent named Lotan.
• The Hydra of Greek mythology is a water serpent with multiple heads. When one was chopped off, two would regrow in its place. This creature was vanquished by Heracles and his cousin.
• Smok Wawelski was a Polish dragon who was supposed to have terrorized the hills around Krakow in the Middle Ages.
• Y Ddraig Goch is now the symbol of Wales (see flag, above), originally appearing as the red dragon from the Mabinogion story Lludd and Llevelys.

In modern culture

Dragons remain fixtures in fantasy books, though portrayals of their nature differ. For example, Smaug, from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, who is a classic, European-type dragon; deeply magical, he hoards treasure and burns innocent towns. In Anne McCaffrey's Pern series, however, "dragons" (really genetically modified fire-lizards) feature prominently as workhorses, paired with so-called dragonriders to protect the planet from a deadly threat.

Likewise, dragons have been portrayed in several movies of the past few decades, and in many different forms. In Dragonslayer (1981), an intense, fairly realistic "sword and sorcerer"-type film set in medieval Britain, a dragon terrorizes a town's population. In contrast, Dragonheart (1996), though also given a medieval context, was a much lighter action/adventure movie that spoofed the "terrorizing dragon" stereotype, and depicts dragons as usually good beings, who in fact often save the lives of humans. Reign of Fire (2002), also dark and gritty, dealt with the consequences of dormant dragons reawakened in the modern world.

Dragons are common (especially as non-player characters) in Dungeons & Dragons and in some computer fantasy role-playing games, such as the MMORPG RuneScape, the Final Fantasy series, Breath of Fire series, Fire Emblem series, and is also a type in the Pokemon games.

On the lighter side, Puff the Magic Dragon was first a poem, later a song made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary, that has become a pop-culture mainstay. The poem tells of an ageless dragon who befriends a young boy, only to be abandoned as the boy grows up.

Dragons also appear in the magical world of Harry Potter. In the fourth book, "The Goblet of Fire", Harry and three other students battle four different breeds of dragons ranging from a Hungarian Horntail to Peruvian Vipertooth.

A popular dragon has appeared in the world of Homestar Runner, named Trogdor the Burninator. He was originally drawn by the cartoon character Strong Bad and can now be seen in a number of Homestar Runner cartoons, video games, T-shirts, and all other kinds of merchandise.

See also

• List of dragons
• Draconity
• An Instinct for Dragons
• Dragon Kung Fu

Further reading

• Dragons, A Natural History by Dr. Karl Shuker Simon & Schuster (1995) ISBN 0684814439
• The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson HarperCollins (1981) ISBN 0060110740
• Dragonology by Dr. Ernest Drake

References

• Harry Potter Lexicon for Dragons

External links

• The Babylonian Legends of the Creation and the Fight between Bel and the Dragon, as told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh, 1921
• The Dragon in China and Japan, by Dr. M. W. De Visser, 1913
• The Evolution of the Dragon, by G. Elliot Smith, 1919
• Basilisk (& cockatrice) legends discussed
• Dragons at Animal Planet