Dragons

Dragon is a legendary creature, 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, whereas Eastern ones typically do not.

Overview

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. 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.

Although dragons (or dragon-like creatures) occur commonly in legends around the world, different cultures have perceived them differently. Chinese dragons (Simplified Chinese: Ð'ÑŠ; Traditional Chinese: э?; Pinyin: lЁ®ng), 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 wisdomЎЄoften said to be wiser than humansЎЄand 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 and video games today, especially in role-playing games. 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 Christian 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 ForlЁ¬, is also depicted slaying a dragon.[2]

History

Some believe that the dragon may have had a real-life counterpart from which the legends around the world arose ЎЄ typically dinosaurs are mentioned as a possibility ЎЄ but there is no evidence to support this claim. Another less common claim is that they 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" ЎЄ a discovery in 300 BC in Wucheng, Sichuan, China, was labeled as such by Chang Qu.[1] It is unlikely, however, that these finds alone prompted the legends of flying monsters,[2] but may have served to reinforce them.[citation needed]

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 two living, winged dragons that had been caught and held in an iron cage. He described them as ferocious beasts that would wipe out all of humanity if released.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] Polo did not write his journals down ЎЄ 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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

Dragons in world mythology

The ancient Mesopotamian god Marduk and his dragon, from a Babylonian cylinder seal

Dragon carving on Hopperstad stave church, Norway