In some parts of the world, these mythical creatures are monsters. In others, they are more good-natured creatures.
People have been telling stories about dragons for thousands of years. Depending on the region of the world, the dragon may be a god or a monster, bringing water or fire, bringing good luck or death. These scaly mythical creatures figure in the legends of countless societies, from the peaceful pool-dwelling dragons of the East to the fiery, venomous demons of the West.
As anthropologist David E. Jones suggested in his 2000 book The Dragon Instinct, stories about dragons may be related to people's fear of snakes and other dangerous animals. Anatomically unfamiliar and sometimes venomous snakes are one of the most common phobias.
The human fear of them was laid down by
evolution, as evidenced by primates' natural aversion to snakes. Jones argued that the idea of a dragon "
was shaped by the nature of our own forebears' encounters with the creatures that hunted them over millions of years." In the centuries since, tales of mythical monsters have spawned religious concepts, cult literature, and entertainment franchises.
But while the otherworldly dragons, lizards, and giant snakes scattered throughout cultural history share the common features of scales, fangs, and tails, their abilities, as well as their reputations, vary. Here are some of the most common
in the world of dragon myths.
China
The dragon claws have sunk 4,000 years deep into Chinese culture. In
Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism, these fanged serpents are not fire-breathing, but rather guardians of water, bringing rain and exhaling clouds from their nostrils.
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Dragons are believed to dwell at the bottom of bodies of water and lakes, and in ancient China they symbolized greatness and power. As one scholar wrote in the 11th century, "no animal is as wise as the dragon". During China's Han Dynasty, emperors adopted the image of the dragon, using the symbol to lend power to the monarchy.
To this day, the dragon remains an important symbol of Chinese culture. A substance known as dragon bone (derived from the fossilized remains of prehistoric creatures) is still an ingredient in traditional medicine. Each year, Chinese New Year parades are decorated with colorful dragon puppets held in the air by puppeteers.
Japan
In the east, in Japan, mythical snake-like monsters do not enjoy the same reputation as in China. The most famous Japanese monster is probably Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed serpent. According to Shinto mythology, this creature resembled a giant hybrid of snake and dragon, representing pain, sorrow, and destruction. Orochi traveled across Japan, threatening its inhabitants and feeding on humans, particularly virgin girls. Like most famous dragons, he had to be slain.
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Legend has it that Orochi staged his final reign of terror in the Izumo district, where he demanded one girl for each of his eight mouths. Orochi's behavior drew scorn even from the Shinto trickster god Susanoo, who devised a plan of revenge.
The god lured Orochi to a place where the serpent thought eight young virgins were waiting for him - a veritable feast. Instead, he found eight jugs of sake arranged by Susanoo. Orochi drank all the jugs to the bottom and became very intoxicated. While the serpent was vulnerable, the trickster god cut off its heads.
India
One of the most feared antagonists of Hinduism is Vritra, the leader of the Dasas, demonic beings with innumerable eyes and heads. Often depicted as a three-headed dragon, Vritra was an anti-god who prevented and destroyed life in various ways.
Like its Chinese counterparts, this dragon was a guardian of water, but took this task more literally. Vritra would not give rain, causing drought and death. He also stole and ate cows, sacred animals that symbolize divine goodness in Hinduism. And sometimes Vritra hid the sun.
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According to the Rig Veda, an Indian text written over 3,000 years ago, the Hindu deity Indra, king of the gods, defeated the man-hating efforts of Vritra once and for all. To end droughts caused by a snake-like demon-dragon, Indra fought and killed Vritra, freeing rain, giving sunlight and establishing a new order.
Middle East
The ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia, a region that stretches across present-day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, believed that the world began with the slaying of a dragon. In one Mesopotamian creation myth, the god Marduk fought the goddess Tiamat, the mother of the gods and embodiment of the sea, sometimes depicted as a snake or dragon.
Marduk drove an arrow into Tiamat's heart and then split her body in two, creating heaven from one part and earth from the other. In the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, a five-headed draconic deity bears the name of the goddess.
In the slightly newer legends of Persia, the region now known as Iran, dragons are presented in a more familiar form: as earthly monsters slayed by humans, often to save helpless girls. Such stories have established a heroic reputation for some Persian men.
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In the Shahnameh, or Book of Kings, an epic history of the ancient rulers of Iran, Bahram Gur, king of the ancient Sassanid dynasty, dealt with dragon-like monsters known as azi. In another story, the hero Phraetaon killed an azi named Dahaka while rescuing two shepherd's daughters who had been kidnapped by the beast. In another, a prince named Esfandiar defeated a fire-breathing coiled dragon in one of the seven trials he had to pass to free his captive sisters.
Mediterranean
Dragons and vicious serpents are a recurring theme in the classic literature of ancient Greece and Rome. The most famous monster of this genre is the hydra defeated by Hercules from Greek myths and Disney works.
Heracles, the illegitimate son of
Zeus, killed his wife and children while under the influence of a curse imposed by his jealous stepmother, Hera. As punishment, he was ordered to complete 12 tasks, the second of which was to kill the hydra, a nine-headed snake-like monster that lived in the swamps of Lerna.
Accompanied by his nephew Iolaus, Heracles lured the monster out of the water by firing fiery arrows at it. During the ensuing melee, the hydra wrapped its tail around Heracles' leg. The hero tried to dodge the monster's venom-filled fangs by striking its head with his club.
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Every time Heracles destroyed one head, two more grew in its place, leading the demigod and his nephew to devise an alternative strategy. When Heracles cut off the hydra's heads, Iolaus cauterized the stumps with a burning torch to prevent new heads from growing, allowing them to defeat the monster.
Roman historian
Pliny the Elder wrote extensively about dragons as well, once reporting that this beast could strangle
an elephant with its tail. While this description is reminiscent of the abilities of the terrestrial python, not even this powerful, crushing snake could accomplish such a feat. Pliny was no authority on animal life: he also described the traits and habits of
the unicorn.
Western Europe
The dragons that fill modern Western literature have little in common with their ancient Chinese counterparts. Chinese dragons are respectable, majestic, and life-bringing, while European dragons are pure evil and unpleasantness. They are vicious, greedy, fiery, and sometimes even symbolize Satan.
The archetypal European dragon hails from the north. It is a Germanic creature that flaps its leathery wings, has a fearsome, lizard-like face and tail, and breathes fire to get its way. These dragons love treasure, and when they find it, they guard it at the cost of their lives.
Perhaps the oldest and most influential dragon in Western literature appears in the Old English epic poem Beowulf. According to one translation, this horde-guarding monster "flies by night, surrounded by fire." After a man stole its treasure, the enraged dragon began wreaking havoc in the village.
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The eponymous hero of the epic poem, then an aging warrior, entered the fray. He and his comrade managed to pierce the soft belly of the monster with their blades, but not before it bit Beowulf in the neck, inflicting a fatal wound. "He realized at once that the poison in the dragon's breast was filled with deadly evil," the translation reads.
The dragon depicted in "Beowulf" has served as inspiration for many modern Western epics. Readers of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit will recognize similar traits in the chatty dragon Smaug. In J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series of books, witches and wizards were tasked with stealing the treasure they were guarding from monsters. And fans of George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" book series may recognize the same anatomical features in Daenerys Targaryen's "children."
As all these stories show, the almost universal, ancient human interest in the fangs and scales of dragons has still not waned.