DRAGONS

The mythology of Dragons reaches far back in Man's memory. Dragons are well-represented in European, Japanses and Chinese culture. They also get numerous, if adverse, mentions in the Bible. 

In pre-Christian Europe, Dragons were generally regarded as beneficial "...eggs were found in the River Neckor (Germany) and...became trained Dragons that loyally protected property." Christianity brought an end to such thinking and possibly led to stories like that of St. George and the Dragon. 

Viking Long Ships bore Dragon carvings, their purpose being to impart Far-Sightedness, Cunning and Strength. In Eastern mythology, Dragons fared better. The first God-Emperors of Japan were supposed to have ridden Dragons. In Ancient China only the Emperor was allowed to use images of the five toed Dragon - so great was its power. 

Chinese Dragons were symbols of Good Fortune and Luck. They did not breath fire but, rather, a misty breath that brought life-giving rain. These dragons lived in the high clouds and were greatly revered. The Wyvern ( two wings and two legs ) is regarded as a symbol of Strength. The Ouborus, a Dragon-like creature that eats its own tail, represent Eternity. Dragons are regarded as Earth Elementals and are firmly linked with Protectiveness, Good Fortune, Power and Plenty. 

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The notion of a winged, fire-breathing serpent has haunted men's minds for centuries. A whole gallery of the world's heroes - Perseus, Marduk, Hercules, Siegfried, St George, Beowulf - have fought and killed it, but it refuses to die.

It lives on as a folk memory: a huge, scaly creature, reptilian, and usually winged in a leathery, bat-like way. It breathes fire, guards treasures, haunts pools/oceans, and its blood is more venomous than that of any other creature imaginable.

The most popular of all the dragons (and the most famous) is the Western Dragon. These are the dragons most known for guarding hoards of treasures <Picture: Western Dragon> in their lairs. Some common characteristics of these beasts include four legs, two wings, a long neck, scaly skin, and a long tail. Considered to be blood-thirsty, myth has it they prefer human female virgins. Will you be the next victim? A subset of the Western Dragon is the Drake. These dragons look the same as a western dragon except they lack wings, have two strong hind legs, and two very small (almost useless) front legs. On your journies, you may expect to encounter two types of Drakes -- Fire and Cold. FireDrakes are the ones who will fry you in an instant with their mighty breath of flame. ColdDrakes have a breath of severe coldness.

The Eastern Dragon is quite a different creature from its Western counterpart. The Eastern Dragon is an infinitely more beneficient beast, living in the rain cloud, the sea, rivers, lakes, pools, and springs. Dragon slaying, one of the <Picture: 4-toed Dragon> recurring motifs in Western Dragonlore, has no equivalent in the Far East, for in Chinese Philosophy the dragon acts as an essential link between earth and sky. Usually portrayed as good, kind, and extremely intelligent, Eastern Dragons have the most recorded history in the world. There are three types of Eastern Dragons - 3 toed which are Japanese, 4 toed which are Indonesian, and 5 toed which are Chinese.

Along with the big dragons, there were also little ones. These Faery Dragons are only a few feet long, and have butterfly-like wings. Very few stories and legends talk of a Faery Dragon. Perhaps they carried Fairies from one place to another? Perhaps they are confused with the huge Dragon Flies with a wing span of a few feet that used to roam the earth a few million years ago? We can only guess.

Wyrm/Worm is a dragon which has no legs or wings (that's one heck of a huge earthworm huh? ). Worms are especially historic in England. Perhaps you've heard of the Lambton Worm? This is about an Heir to Lambton Hall in England who caught the small worm, but thought it too ugly to eat, so he threw it in the local well. Over the years the worm grew to enormous proportions and left the well to harass the locals. When Lambton came back from a war to see the horror he had created, and was told by a witch he must slay the worm, but me must also kill the next creature he saw. The worm was slayed, but unfortunately, the next living creature he saw was his own father, of whom he could not kill. It was said that the Lambton family was cursed for the next nine generations, and doomed to die abroad, never at home.

Another famous type of Dragon is the Wyvern. These dragons have two wings, but only two hind legs. They sometimes have claws on their wings, acting like another pair of "hands". Their tails are considered to be razor sharp and having deadly poison. Anne McCaffrey has had several Wyverns alongside Western Dragons in her Chronicle of the Dragons of Pern series of books.

A famous dragon in Greek Mythology is the Hydra. These animals usually have multiple necks and heads attached to a body with four legs. Hercules, as the second of his twelve tasks, had to kill a mighty Hydra. Every time one head was slashed, two more would replace it. Eventually Hercules discovered that by burning the stump with a torch, another head could not grow. Also in Greek Mythology, Jason had to kill a Hydra to get the Golden Fleece.

Dragons which have wings, but no legs are referred to as being an Amphiptere. The most famous Amphiptere is Quetzalquotal, the winged, feathered serpent god from Mexican History. It is believed that the myth of Quetzalquotal started with a bird, the Quetzal. When it flies, this bird looks like a shimmering snake. Hence, it would be easy to confuse the two.

Dragon stories which still abound today are usually of Sea Serpents, or Dragons which live in water. Sea serpents have been in history since the day man invented the boats. These creatures were shown on maps early in European history, where unknown territory was marked "HERE BE DRAGONS". Some scientists believe that these sea serpents were actually seafaring dinosaurs which somehow survived. If it came out of the water near a boat, it could very much be thought of as a sea serpent. "Nessie" in Scotland and "Mokele-mbembe" of the Congo are two examples of famous serpents.

Dragons have been in mythology and legend for thousands of years. Almost every country in the world as some sort of dragon story. Where did they originate from? People imagining things while in a drunken stupor? Did people actually SEE dragons? Or by some strange chance, were there dinosaurs still roaming the earth only a few thousand years ago?

Maybe, but these are questions no one can answer today, or ever. With so many similar tales and pictures behind the legends, it's hard to imagine them not existing