Dragon
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For other uses, see Dragon (disambiguation).
The dragon (from Ancient Greek δράκων - drakōn, "a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon") is a mythical creature typically depicted as a gigantic and powerful serpent or other reptile with magical or spiritual qualities.
OverviewImage:MocheDragon.jpg
Dragon. Moche Culture 100 A.D. Larco Museum Lima, Peru
Symbolism
In medieval symbolism, dragons were often symbolic of sexual intercourse apostasy and treachery, but also of anger and envy, and eventually symbolized great calamity. However, in the east they have been revered as symbols of luck and rain. 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 and fortune.
Yet another symbolic view of dragons is the Ouroborus, or the dragon encircling and eating its own tail. When shaped like this the dragon becomes a symbol of eternity, natural cycles, and completion. Chinese zodiac
The years 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036, 2048, 2060 etc. (every 12 years — 8 AD) are considered the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac purports that people born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and trustworthy. They are the most eccentric of any in the eastern zodiac. They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but tend to be soft-hearted, which sometimes gives others an advantage over them. They are compatible with people whose zodiac sign is of the rat, snake, monkey, and rooster. In East AsiaDragons are commonly symbols of good luck or health in some parts of Asia, and are also sometimes worshipped. Asian dragons are considered as rulers of rain and water, and are usually depicted as the guardians of pearls. In China, as well as in Japan and Korea, the Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellation, representing spring, the element of Wood and the east. Chinese dragons are often shown with large pearls in their grasp, though some say that it is really the dragon's egg. The Chinese believed that the dragons lived underwater most of the time, and would sometimes offer rice as a gift to the dragons. Unlike the European mythology, most Chinese dragons were not pictured with wings, as it was believed they could fly using magic alone. The Chinese people believed the dragon was native to their land, with the dragons losing their toes with their rootedness as they moved farther away from China. By the time the dragons reached Japan, they were reduced to three digits on each foot. The Japanese, on the other hand, believed the dragon also came from their country, but thought the dragons gained claws as they explored farther away and grew braver. A Yellow dragon (Huang long) with five claws on each foot, on the other hand, represents the change of seasons, the element of Earth (the Chinese 'fifth element') and the center. Furthermore, it symbolizes imperial authority in China, and indirectly the Chinese people as well. Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" as a sign of ethnic identity. The dragon is also the symbol of royalty in Bhutan (whose sovereign is known as Druk Gyalpo, or Dragon King). 
In Vietnam, the dragon (Vietnamese: rồng) is the most important and sacred symbol. The dragon is strongly influenced by the Chinese dragon. According to the ancient creation myth of the Kinh people, all Vietnamese people are descended from dragons through Lạc Long Quân, who married Âu Cơ, a fairy. The eldest of their 100 sons founded the first dynasty of Hùng Vương Emperors. In the Philippines, the Bakonawa appears as a gigantic serpent that lives in the sea. Ancient natives believed that the Bakonawa caused the moon or the sun to disappear during an eclipse. The Nāga - a minor deity taking the form of a serpent - is common within both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Technically, the naga is not a dragon, though it is often taken as such (especially in east Asian forms of Buddhism); the term is ambiguous, and refers both to a tribe of people known as 'Nāgas', as well as to elephants and ordinary snakes. Within a mythological context, it refers to a deity assuming the form of a serpent with either one or many heads. Occasionally the Buddha is depicted as sitting upon the coils of a serpent, with a fan of several serpent heads extending over his body, or sitting on a lotus flower, which was also a reminder of the dragon. This is in reference to Mucalinda, a Nāga that protected Śākyamuni Buddha from the elements during the time of his enlightenment. Separated from the contextualising effect of the Buddha story, people may see only the head and thus infer that Mucalinda is a dragon, rather than a deity in serpentine form. Stairway railings on Christan temples will occasionally be worked to resemble the body of a Nāga with the head at the base of the railing. In Thailand, the head of Nāga, in a more impressionistic form, can be seen at the corners of temple roofs, with Nāga’s body forming the ornamentation on roofline eves up to the gables. In ChristianityImage:Popesylvesterdragon.jpg
Pope Sylvester I portrayed slaying a dragon and resurrecting its victims
The Latin word for a dragon, draco (genitive: draconis), actually means snake or serpent, emphasizing the European association of dragons with snakes, not lizards or dinosaurs as they are commonly associated with today. The Medieval Biblical interpretation of the Devil being associated with the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve, thus gave a snake-like dragon connotations of evil. Generally speaking, Biblical literature itself did not portray this association (save for the Book of Revelation, whose treatment of dragons is detailed below). The demonic opponents of God, Christ, or Believers have commonly been portrayed as reptilian or chimeric. In the Book of Job Chapters 40-41, there are references to a sea monster Leviathan, which has some dragon-like characteristics, as well as a giant lumbering vegetarian animal called Behemoth. 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, though not commonly held among biblical scholars). In most translations, the word "dragon" is used to describe the beast, since in the original Greek the word used is drakon (δράκων). Christian Creationists claim that dragons mentioned in the Bible[1] are dinosaurs (the term itself was not invented until 1841), which they say lived at the same time as humans. The description of the Behemoth is similar to either a Diplodocus or a Brachiosaurus. While the Leviathan is described as a large fire-breathing water animal, just as the small bombardier beetle has an explosion-producing mechanism, creationists speculate that the great sea-dragon may have had an explosion-producing mechanism to enable it to be a real fire breathing dragon.[2] 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,[3] on the coat of arms of Moscow, and in English and Catalan legend. Between 1346 and 1578, annual Catholic processions at Amsterdam regularly included a man on horseback representing Saint George and dragging behind him a carefully-prepared, large "slain dragon" - a tradition cut off with the advent of Calvinism in the Dutch capital. [4] In Italy, Saint Mercurialis, first bishop of the city of Forlì, is also depicted slaying a dragon.[5] Saint Julian of Le Mans, Saint Veran, Saint Bienheuré, Saint Crescentinus, and Saint Leonard of Noblac were also venerated as dragon-slayers. In Medieval and Renaissance artworks, Saint Matthew, Saint Martha, Saint Sylvester, Saint Margaret, Saint Columba, and Saint Philip the Apostle are all depicted as overcoming dragons.[6] In the Bible, Satan is referred to as a dragon Often statues of saints and other holy people are depicted with a dragon underneath their feet. However this practice is not rooted in holy texts, but rather in cultural tradition. Speculation on the origin of dragonsMost experts on mythology and folklore argue that legends of dragons are based upon ordinary snakes and similar creatures coupled with common psychological fears amongst disparate groups of humans. Dragons may be mental representations of natural human fears of snakes, wildcats, birds of prey, as well as teeth, claws, size, and even venom blending with fear of wildfire.[7] Others believe that the dragon may have had a real-life counterpart from which the various legends arose — typically dinosaurs or other archosaurs are mentioned as a possibility — but there is no physical evidence to support this claim, only alleged sightings collected by cryptozoologists. Loren Coleman argues that monitor lizards were the basis of some dragon tales and that the breath of the dragon is the fantastic imagery of the steam from the warm Montane Valley monitors emerging from a body of water into the cold air of some Asian locations. Dinosaur and mammalian fossils were occasionally mistaken as the bones of dragons and other mythological creatures — for example, a discovery in 300 BC in Wucheng, Sichuan, China, was labeled as such by Chang Qu.[8] However, it is unlikely these finds alone prompted the legends of such monsters, but they may have served to reinforce them.[citation needed] Dragons in world mythology
Notable dragonsIn myth
In literature and fictionThe Old English epic Beowulf ends with the hero battling a dragon. 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. Contrary to most old folklore and literature J. R. R. Tolkien's dragons are very intelligent and can cast spells over mortals.These books greatly show the mind of a Dragon as well as their capabilties. A common theme in modern western fantasy and science fiction literature concerning dragons is a partnership between humans and dragons, as featured in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series and in Christopher Paolini's Eragon and Eldest. In Naomi Novik's Temeraire (series), set in an alternate history, dragons are an important part of napoleonic era warfare. The titular character, Temeraire, is a Dragon. Dragons are common (especially as non-player characters) in fantasy role-playing games and in some computer fantasy role-playing games. The poem Puff the Magic Dragon was made into a song by Peter, Paul and Mary, and has since become a pop-culture mainstay. In 1977, Walt Disney Productions produced Pete's Dragon, featuring an animated dragon named Elliott as the title character. Bowser (Nintendo), Mario's usual nemesis in the Super Mario Series, is somewhat a cross between a turtle (Koopas, in the series), and a dragon, with spiked shell, fiery breath and claws. True to the European tradition, Bowser's schemes often involve kidnapping Princess Peach. Nintendo's Dragon them can also be seen in its Pokemon and Zelda series. In Jason Hightman's The Saint of Dragons and its sequel, Samurai, Dragons are an evil race dedicated to eliminating humans and conquering the world. Dragons are also featured in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. There are many different types of dragons in these fantasy novels, some of which have a more aggressive demeanor than others, but all of which can breath fire, fly, and pose a serious threat to even accomplished wizards. Hagrid attempts to raise Norbert, a Norwegian Ridgeback, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Harry must steal a magical egg from a Hungarian Horntail dragon as one of the Triwizard Tournament challenges in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A blind dragon guards the lower levels of Gringotts Bank in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before it is freed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. As emblems and mascotsImage:Wappen Munster.png
A flaming Dragon on the coat of arms of Münster, Lower Saxony
The Dragon is the mascot of Drexel University. Named "Mario the Magnificent," there are depictions of the Drexel Dragon across the Philadelphia campus, including a large statue, banners, and a physical mascot appearing at various Drexel events. The dragon is the emblem of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The city has a dragon bridge which is embellished with four dragon depictions. The city's basketball club is nicknamed the "Green Dragons". License plates on cars from the city also feature a dragon depiction. In Catholic mythology, dragon is the symbol of Saint Margaret the Virgin. According to her legend, she was sentenced to die by eaten by a dragon. Y Ddraig Goch (IPA: [ə ðraig gox]) (Welsh for the red dragon) appears on the national Flag of Wales (the flag itself is also called the "Draig Goch"), and is the most famous dragon in Britain. There are many legends about y Ddraig Goch. The Welsh football club Wrexham F.C. have two dragons holding a football on their emblem. The club's nickname is the Red Dragons, and their mascot is a dragon known as Wrex. The dragon is also in the emblem of FC Porto, a sports club from Portugal, which is nicknamed "Dragões" (Dragons). Their football stadium is also nicknamed "Estádio do Dragão" (Dragon Stadium) and has a large bronze Dragon logo at the entrance. The Chunichi Dragons are a Japanese pro-baseball team that play out of Nagoya, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The Arena Football League has the New York Dragons, whose mascot's name is Sparky. [1] The University of Alabama at Birmingham's athletic teams are known as the 'UAB Blazers', incorporating a green dragon logo. See also
Footnotes
References
Further reading
External links Look up dragon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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