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Dragons have been apart of human culture for thousands of years In things like legends, books, video games, stories passed down for generations, and even in new movies. In myths and legends, dragons are often fire-breathing, reptile like creatures with huge wings, large claws, a scaly skin, and a long tail. They are usually portrayed as frightening and destructive monsters who kill people and make chaos and battle against Gods or heroes to be slain in a symbolic battle of good vs evil.
But a few cultures, mainly those of China and Japan, view dragons in a positive light and use them as symbols of good fortune and power. The English word ‘dragon’ emerged in the 13th century and comes from the Latin word draconem, meaning huge serpent. The Greek word drakon also means serpent or giant seafish. Because dragons have no proof of existence, it is believed that the idea of dragons came from ancient discoveries of dinosaur fossils and an evolutionary fear of snakes and other dangerous reptiles among different cultures globally.
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Being either benevolent or malevolent means that Dragons can symbolize many different things like luck, power and strength, and greed. Different cultures view dragons with different outlooks and have different stories to tell about them.
Many archeologist believe that the discovery of dinosaur bones by ancient people is what led them to come up with dragons. David Jones infers that the collective human consciousness invented dragons over centuries because of our fear of certain things. The Qijianglong was a dinosaur that was forty-nine feet long.
The Qijianglong was discovered in China as far back as fourth century B.C.. This may have contributed to the fact that the belief of dragons in China had spread around the world so rapidly. Whales washing up on shore could have also inspired other cultures to start believing in the water dragons or other serpents in the water. In the book of Job the Leviathan is described as a dragon in fantastic detail, 'Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. (Job 41:19-21) this is an important quote because it depicts how people viewed dragons in that culture and time period(Sullivan).
The Chinese idolized and worshipped dragons. Chinese dragons symbolize power, excellence, valliancy, and boldness. China's four great rivers are named after dragons; The Heilongjiang, Huanghe, Changjiang, and the Zhujiang. The dragons are worshipped like gods and there are temples built in the dragons honor. The Chinese dragons are closely related to the emperor. The first emperor was said to be the son of the dragon and had a dragon tail and influence over everyone. The emperor’s palace is also called the dragon palace. China had nine types of dragons with special meanings; there was the Tianlong which is the celestial dragon; the Shenlong, the spiritual dragon; the Fucanglong, the dragon of hidden treasures; the Dilong, the underground dragon; the dragon king, and the list goes on and on. Dragons still play a big role in China. You can not walk down the street or go to any festival without seeing one drawn on a wall or in some sort of influence in day to day life(“Chinese Dragons-Mythology and Folklore”).
In Europe dragons were viewed very differently. Dragons were seen as evil and wicked and always had to be terrifying. There are countless stories where a hero shows up to slay the terrible wicked dragon, plaging the countryside or other monsters. For example, the epic Beowulf is the hero in Beowulf; the monsters are Grendel and Grendel's Mother, and the dragon. Beowulf also has hidden meanings. Other stories did not like the changing from paganism to christianity. Normally, European stories had dragons with four legs and wings, and spit fiery breath; but that was not the case when it came to the Basilisk. The Basilisk was a long snake like dragon with no legs or wings and spit poison instead of fire. It strangled people with its tail. The Basilisk and other dragons were said to live in caves or murky swamps, and always near animals. In the Christian faith Saint George slayed dragons. Dragons often represented paganism or sin, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:2) The bible mentions dragons multiple times, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast.” ( Revelation 13:4). Dragons played a major part in all things wicked and treacherous in Europe. Some propaganda during war time had the germans represented as dragons(“European Dragons”).
In Norway, the dragons had a lot more influence and meaning than what the dragons meant in Europe. The dragons brought the end times, which is what they called Ragnarok. Ragnarok was the end time, also known as the last great battle when the world gets destroyed and the new world begins. The two dragons associated with this event in norse mythology are Nidhogg and Jormungand. Nidhogg lives under the world tree Yggdrasil and Jormungandr lives in the ocean. Yggdrasil connects the nine realms of norse mythology. Nidhogg eats the souls of the dead in Niflheim, the realm of the dead. When Ragnarok begins, Nidhogg is supposed to burst up from under Yggdrasil, with an army of the dead, on his back and wings. They go to Asgard to fight until the end of times. Nidhogg is the only dragon said to survive Ragnarok and terrorize the new world. Jormungand is the son of Loki, blood brother to Thor, and is tied to Ragnarok. Odin cast Jormungand out into the ocean when he was born, because Odin was obsessed with prophecies. It was said that Jormungand would start Ragnarok when he released his tail from his mouth. Jormungand grew so large, that he could circle all of Midgard with his whole body, and stick his tail in his mouth. The Aesir Gods hated Jormungand, but the people of Midgard loved him. During Ragnarok, Jormungand fights Thor, his mortal enemy. There will not be a winner, they will both die in battle. The last dragon is Fafnir. He was a dwarf who became a dragon. Fafnir has nothing to do with Ragnarok. Fafnir's father was a dwarven king. Fafnir guarded his treasure. He was very greedy and wanted all the treasure for himself. So he killed his father, and took all of the treasure. He turned into a dragon to protect his wealth from anyone who dared to take it from him(Mastgrave).
In the Americas their description of dragons was very different from anyone else's. They were described as a bird like creature. In Mesoamerica, the image of a feathered serpent takes the form of a popular wisdom god, in many cultures; the most notable being Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan. Feathered serpents also make their appearance in the American Southwest, in the form of Kolowisi for the Zuni and Avanyu for the Tewa, both mostly water spirits. The Piasa dragon was described to have an almost human face, with horns, and a beard. It also had a very scaly body. The Piasa dragon was reported in 1675 to have killed seven members of a expedition team from England. The dragon was legendary among the Illini indians, that were in the area. In the story, of the Nanabozho, there is a water dragon who takes his cousin hostage. Nanabozho has to swim to the bottom of the lake where the dragon lives to get his cousin back. He got his cousin, so the dragon got very angry, and caused a great flood. The Quetzalcoatl was a dragon that could shapeshift into a man and was a cultural hero of Mexico. He taught them how to farm and also taught the people how to read and write. He ruled the winds , water, and rain, in his dragon form. In the end, he was driven away by war. Many think he went to the planet Venus(Dragons:Myths from the Americas”).
In the end, different cultures look at dragons in different ways. This is because of geographical location, religion, and heritage . The Europeans and the Norwegians did not like them. Because often, Christian legends generally made a parallel between the dragon's image and that of a satanic snake, with elements of Greek, and other mythologies. In the legend of the St. George, the patron saint of England saved the daughter of a king from a horrible dragon. This symbolized the triumph of the church over the devil, and all things bad. The dragon played a similar symbolic role in Christian art, representing sin overcome by saints and martyrs. In Europe, dragons represented paganism, and the end of times. This is similar to that of the Norse mythology, which depicted dragons as the ending and beginning of their world. The Americans looked at them as spiritual beings, and used them to explain certain events that had happened. In contrast, the Chinese and Japanese hold the dragon in high regard. In their mythology and tradition, dragons symbolize power, happiness, money, and fertility. They are believed to bring good fortune and wealth. Statues and carvings of dragons are common, and garments are often decorated with the dragon image. Dragons have played a role in every culture at some point in time, and will continue until the end of time.
Mythology of Ancient Dragons. (2021, Aug 05). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/mythology-of-ancient-dragons-essay
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