Dragons are believed to have been real for centuries and are among the most popular and enduring of the world's mythical creatures.
Dragon tales can be found in many cultures, from the Americas to Europe and from India to China. They have a long and rich history in many forms and continue to populate our books, films and television shows as brave heroes fight to slay the beasts.
It's not clear when or where the stories of dragons first appeared, but the huge, flying serpents were described as early as the age of the ancient Greeks and Sumerians. In the ancient world, serpents were ready to crush with their coils and kill with their venomous breath, according to Scott G Bruce in his introduction to "The Penguin Book of Dragons". dragons were thought of as being like any other mythical animal, sometimes useful and protective, other times harmful and dangerous.
When Christianity spread across the world, dragons took on a sinister meaning and came to represent Satan. Most people who heard about dragons from the Bible were Christians, and they probably believed in the existence of dragons. Leviathan, the monster described in the Book of Job, chapter 41, sounds like a dragon.
There are rows of shields tightly sealed together, each close to the next, and no air can pass between them. They are joined quickly to one another and can't be parted. Its snorting causes flashes of light to come out of its eyes. sparks of fire shoot out from its mouth. The smoke comes from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames come from its mouth.
The top 10 beasts and dragons are how reality made myth.
The belief in dragons was based on hard evidence, which is what people thought long ago. For thousands of years, no one knew what to make of the giant bones that were unearthed around the globe, and dragons seemed a logical choice for people who had no knowledge of dinosaurs.
Dancers dressed as Chinese dragons are at a temple festival.
Different types of dragons.
People's ideas and descriptions of dragons vary greatly, and most people can easily picture a dragon. Some dragons have wings while others don't. Some dragons can speak and others can't. Some are only a few feet long. Smaug, the dragon in JRR Tolkein's "The Hobbit", can only be found in caves and mountains, while other dragons can only be found in palaces under the ocean.
The head of an elephant in India is one of the features that make dragons unique. Their body color may be green, red, and black.
In his book "Dragons: A Natural History", Zoologist Karl Shuker describes a wide variety of dragons, including giant snakes, hydras, gargoyles and dragon-gods. The features of a chameleon are adapted to the cultural and literary expectations of the era.
The public's imagination continues to be captured in fantasy books and films, with dragons appearing in everything from the kid-friendly 2010 film "How to Train Your Dragon" to the more adult-oriented "Game ofThrones" books and TV series. Black dragons, for example, are fond of eels, and are one of more than a dozen varieties of dragons described in the game Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.
Paolo Uccello paints a painting titled "Saint George and the Dragon".
The origin of dragons.
The ancient Greek word "draconta" means "to watch" and it is believed that the dragon protects treasure, such as mountains of gold coins or gems. This doesn't make sense because a powerful dragon doesn't need to pay for anything. It's probably more of a symbolic treasure, not for the dragon, but for the brave warriors who would destroy it.
One of the few monsters cast in mythology is the dragon. They don't just exist for their own sake, they are a foil for bold explorers. The main role of mythical beasts such as elves and fairies is not as a combatant, but as helpers.
The Christian church created legends of saints and dragons fighting. St. George the Dragon Slayer is said to have come upon a town that was threatened by a dragon. He protects himself with the sign of the cross and slays the beast. The citizens of the town were impressed by St. George's bravery and immediately converted to Christianity.
It was an important career opportunity for any ambitious saint, knight or hobbit, and according to legend it was also a way to raise armies. The use of dragon's teeth is a simple method of expanding the armed forces of any country. Cadmus, King of Thebes, was the first to practice it. Prepare a piece of ground for sowing. Draw all the dragon's teeth. Stand well away, cover lightly, and sow these in the furrows you have prepared. It's easy, right?
Veteran warriors dressed in bronze armor and armed with swords and shields emerge from the earth and stand in ranks according to the way in which the dragon's teeth were sown. If you plan to do this, be aware that the draconis dentata soldiers are a quarrelsome lot and will turn on each other without a ready enemy.
The fire-breathing element of dragons is thought to have come from depictions of the mouth of hell. The entrance to hell was often depicted as a monster's mouth, with the flames and smoke characteristic of Hades belching out. The association is logical if one believes in the existence of hell and the existence of dragons as satanic.
Komodo dragons have long tongues that help them smell and taste. Wolfgang Kaehler has an image credit.
Is dragons real?
Few people today believe in the existence of dragons in the same way they may believe in Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. The dragon is too big and fantastic to be taken seriously or literally. In the modern age of satellite imagery and smart phone photos and videos, it's impossible to see any giant, winged fire-breathers in the skies.
The Komodo dragons, a type of lizard which can be aggressive, deadly and reach 10 feet in length, were thought to have been confirmed a few centuries ago by sailors returning from Indonesia.
The Komodo dragon's mouth is not dirtier than that of a dragon, and that myth was dispelled by a team of researchers from the University of Queensland. The Komodo dragon was verified by Western scientists around 1910 after an investigation by Lieutenant Jacques Karel Henri van Steyn van Hensbroek and Pieter Ouwens, according to The Guardian.
Dragons have been around for a long time. dragons have continued to spark our imagination and show no sign of dying out, thanks to epic fantasy fiction by J.R.R. Tolkien and others.
There are additional resources.
A group of researchers discuss the fascinating detail of their mouths in an article about Komodo Dragons. The Catholic Encyclopedia has an entry about the story of St. George.
There is a bibliography.
Scott G Bruce is the author of The Penguin Book of Dragons.
The book of job can be found atbiblestudytools.com.
What Dragons Look Like Around The World is written by Joseph A Williams.
Carol Rose wrote "Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth".
9 Things You Didn't Know About St George, English Heritage is a website.
The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were was written by Michael Page and Robert Ingpen.
Here Be Dragons: The Million Year Journey of the Komodo Dragon is a book by the author.
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