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In European mythology, a
dragon is a serpent-like legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in the constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek drakones. The Dragon is sometimes known
by the Nordic word, ormr (Old English wyrm means serpent — draca means dragon). Though a winged creature,
the dragon is generally to be found in its chthonic lair, a cave that identifies it as an
ancient creature of earth, like the mythic serpent, that was a source of knowledge
even in Eden.
Dragons in modern times
The dragon of the modern period is typically depicted as a huge, scaly, horned, dinosaur-like creature, with leathery wings
and the ability to breathe fire. Iconically it has at last combined the Chinese dragon with the western one. It typically protects a cavern filled with gold and treasure and is usually associated with a great hero, who attempts to slay it. Many modern stories represent
dragons as being extremely intelligent creatures who
can talk, some with the ability to use magic. Dragon's
blood often has magical properties: it enabled Siegfried to
understand the language of the Forest Bird, and "dragon's
blood" originally from the resin of the tree Dracaena (Dragon trees) on the Canary
Islands and Socotra, is still a scarlet resin used in quality varnishes. Often
dragons are extremely ancient. Some are helpful and wise, whom heroes can consult for advice, while others are greedy and guard a
huge hoard of treasure.
(Until we get a more detailed discussion, please see http://www.draconian.com/whatis/whatis.htm .)
Greek dragons
For the Greeks of the Classical times, dragons were terrifying serpentlike earth-born remnants of an earlier age, dark
creatures that had to be heroically eliminated. Dragons were guardians of underground sources of power, and often guarded the
more literal sources, springs, where the watery underworld burst to the surface. The water-dragon most widely depicted was
literally called the "Hydra." The serpentlike dragon guardian of the spring or cleft,
where healing and oracular properties must not be approached without caution, was a protector of the original inhabitants of
Greece (Pelasgians) and their prehistoric lore. Always, in the literary myths
that have survived, the hero from the new Olympian age is seen to destroy the dragon, never to consult it; the dragon has been
reinterpreted as having terrified and threatened the local populace (as the sea-dragon in the myth of Perseus and Andromeda). At Delphi the ancient oracle came from the Goddess's serpentlike dragon deep in the cleft, the Python and his seeress; but Apollo "saved" the inhabitants of
Delphi from its "ravages"— then assumed the oracular powers for himself. Maintaining its ancient role, a dragon guarded the
Golden Fleece in the ancient story of Jason that we know from the late
Alexandrian epic Argonautica.
Dragons were often classed among the noisome brood of Typhon and Echidna
Roman dragons
Western dragons have descended from Roman dragons. Roman dragons evolved from serpentine Greek ones, combined with the dragons
of Persia, in the mix that characterized the hybrid Greek/Eastern Hellenistic
culture. From Babylon, the "Dragon of Marduk" in molded glazed terracotta bricks that was part of the 6th century Gate of Ishtar
has come to rest at the Detroit Institute of Arts . The later Babylonian dragon
worshiped by the court of Cyrus the Persian, in the narrative in Bel and the Dragon probably dates to the late 2nd century BCE. John's Book of Revelation— Greek literature, not Roman—
describes Satan as "a great dragon, flaming red, with seven heads and ten horns." Much of John's literary inspiration is late
Hebrew (compare Bel and the Dragon) and Greek, but
John's dragon, like his satan, are both more likely to have come originally through Persia. Perhaps our distinctions between
dragons of western origin and Chinese dragons (q.v.) are
arbitrary. A later Roman dragon was certainly of Iranian origin: in the Roman Empire, where each military cohort had a particular
identifying signum, (military standard), after the Parthian War of Trajan in the east, the cohorts returned with the draco that they
borrowed from their Parthian enemies: a large dragon fixed to the end of a lance,
with large gaping jaws of silver and with the rest of the body formed of colored silk. With the jaws facing into the wind, the
silken body inflated and rippled. This signum is described in Vegetius Epitoma Rei Militaris, 379 CE (book ii, ch XIII.
'De centuriis atque vexillis peditum'):
- Primum signum totius legionis est aquila, quam aquilifer portat. Dracones etiam per singulas cohortes a draconariis
feruntur ad proelium
and in Ammianus Marcellinus, xvi. 10, 7 (Harry Thurston
Peck, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1898: 'Signum').
It is hard to resist giving this Romanized Parthian dragon a distant Chinese origin.
Dragons in Slavic mythology
Dragons of Slavic mythology hold mixed temperaments towards humans. For example, dragons
in Bulgarian mythology are either male or
female, each gender having a different view of mankind. The female dragon and male
dragon, often seen as brother and sister, represent different forces of agriculture. The female dragon represents harsh weather and is the destroyer of crops, the hater of mankind,
and is locked in a never ending battle with her brother. The male dragon protects the humans' crops from destruction and is
generally loving to humanity. Fire and water play
major roles in Bulgarian dragon lore; the female has water characteristics, whilst the male is usually a fiery creature. In
Bulgarian legend, dragons are three headed, winged beings with snake's bodies.
In Russian, Belarussian, and Ukrainian lore, dragons are generally evil, four-legged beasts with few if any redeeming
qualities. They are intelligent, but not very highly so; they often place tribute on villages or small towns, demanding maidens for food, or gold. Their number of heads ranges
from one to seven or sometimes even more, with three- and seven-headed dragons being most common. The heads also regrow if cut
off, unless the neck is "treated" with fire. Dragon blood is so poisonous that Earth itself will refuse to absorb it.
Dragons in Celtic mythology
The story of Merlin and the dragons
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Dragons in Germanic and Norse mythology
The most famous dragons in Norse mythology and Germanic mythology, are Jormungand, a form of cobra so big that the
earth-disc can be encircled by it; the dragon encountered by Beowulf; and Fafnir, who was killed by Siegfried. Fafnir turned
into a dragon because of his greed. Many European stories of dragons have them guarding a treasure hoard. Both Fafnir's and
Beowulf's dragons guarded earthen mounds full of ancient treasure. The treasure was cursed and brought ill to those who later
possessed it.
Dragons in the emblem books popular from late medieval times through the 17th century often represent the dragon as an emblem
of greed. (some quotes are needed) The prevalence of dragons in European heraldry demonstrates that there is more to the dragon than greed.
Though the Latin is draco, draconis, it has been supposed by some scholars, including John Tanke of the University of Michigan, that the word dragon comes
from the Old Norse draugr,
which literally means a spirit who guards the burial mound of a king (compare Tolkien's 'barrow-wights'). How this image of a
vengeful guardian spirit is related to a fire-breathing serpent is unclear. Many others assume the word dragon comes
from the ancient Greek word derekesthai, meaning 'sharp eyed',
referring to the dragon's legendarily keen eyesight. In any case, the image of a dragon as a serpent-like creature was already
standard at least by the 8th century when Beowulf was written down.
Although today we associate dragons almost universally with fire, in medieval legend the creatures were often associated with
water, guarding springs or living near or under water.
Other European legends about dragons include "Saint George
and the Dragon", in which a brave knight defeats a dragon holding a princess captive. This legend may be a Christianized version of the myth of Perseus, or of the mounted Phrygian god Sabazios
vanquishing the chthonic serpent, but its origins are obscure. Saint George
is the Patron Saint of England.
Meanwhile, across the border, a red dragon is represented on the Welsh
flag. Due to this clash of symbolism, there are very few George and the Dragon pubs in Wales.
The tale of George and the Dragon has been modified for modern works, with Saint George portrayed as 'an effette [sic] wally
who faints at the sight of the dragon' in a play [1] and a poem by U. A. Fanthorpe based on Paolo Uccello's painting, which hangs in the British National Gallery. In the poem, Saint George is a thug,
the Maiden considers the relative sexual merits of the dragon and saint, and the Dragon is the only sane character. Certainly,
Uccello's fifteenth-century painting, in which the Maiden has the dragon on a leash, is itself not the most conventional
representation of the story.
It is possible that the dragon legends of northwestern Europe are at least partly inspired by earlier stories from the
Roman Empire, or from the Sarmatians and related cultures north of the Black Sea. There
has also been speculation that dragon mythology might have originated from stories of large land lizards which inhabited Eurasia, or the sight of giant fossil bones
eroding from the earth may have inspired dragon myths (compare Griffin).
Dragons in Catalan mythology
Dragons are well-known in Catalan myths and
legends, in no small part because St. George (Cat. "Sant Jordi") is the patron saint of Catalonia. Like most dragons, the Catalan dragon (Cat. "drac") is basically an enormous serpent
with two legs - or, rarely, four - and sometimes a pair of wings. As in many other parts of the world, the dragon's face may
resemble that of some other animal, such as a lion or bull.
As is common elsewhere, Catalan dragons are fire-breathers, and the dragon-fire is all-consuming. Catalan dragons are also
capable of emitting a fetid odor, which can rot away anything it touches.
The Catalans also distinguish a víbria or female dragon, basically a dragon with two prominent female breasts and
with two claws and an eagle's beak.
Dragons in fantasy fiction
Fantasy fiction authors whose works have featured dragons as major
plot elements include:
See also
External links
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