Dragon Hall

Anydragon · Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject: Dragon (Wikipedia)

Dragon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The dragon is a mythical creature of which some interpretation or depiction appears in almost every culture worldwide. The physical description and supposed abilities of the creature vary immensely according to the different cultures in which it appears. However, the unifying feature of almost all interpretations is it being a serpentine or otherwise reptilian monster (or at least possessing a serpentine/reptilian part or trait), and often possessing magical or spiritual qualities.

The two most familiar interpretations of dragons are either European dragons, derived from various European folk traditions, or unrelated Oriental dragons, derived from the Chinese dragon (lóng). The word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drakōn), "a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon" and that from the verb δέρκομαι (derkomai) "to see clearly"[1].

Overview

Like most mythological creatures, dragons are perceived in different ways by different cultures. Dragons are sometimes said to breathe and spit fire or poison. They are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing typically feathered or scaly bodies. They are sometimes portrayed as having large yellow or red eyes, a feature that is the origin for the word for dragon in many cultures. They are sometimes portrayed with a row of dorsal spines, keeled scales, or leathery bat-like wings. Winged dragons are usually portrayed only in European dragons while Oriental versions of the dragon resemble large snakes. Dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature. Modern depictions of dragons tend to be larger than their original representations, which were often smaller than humans.

Although dragons occur in many legends around the world, different cultures have varying stories about monsters that have been grouped together under the dragon label.

Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many East Asian cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion and the universe. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. In some cultures, they are also said to be capable of human speech.

The term dragoon, for infantry that move around by horse yet still fight as foot soldiers, is derived from their early firearm, the "dragon", a wide-bore musket that spat flame when it fired, and was thus named for the mythical creature.

Jewish

In Jewish religious texts, the first mention of a dragon-like creature is in the Biblical works of Job (26:13), and Isaiah (27:1) where it is called Nachash Bare'ach, or a "Pole Serpent".[2] This is identified in the Midrash Rabba to Genesis 1:21 as Leviathan from the word Taninim

and God created the great sea-monsters.[3]

In Jewish astronomy this is also identified with the North Pole, the star Thuban which, around 4,500 years ago, was the star in the Draco constellation's "tail".[2] However this can also have been either the celestial pole or the ecliptic pole. The ancient observers noted that Draco was at the top of the celestial pole, giving the appearance that stars were "hanging" from it, and in Hebrew it is referred to as Teli, from talah (תלה) - to hang.[4] Hebrew writers from Arabic-speaking locations identified the Teli as Al Jaz'har, which is a Persian word for a "knot" or a "node" because of the intersection of the inclination of the orbit of a planet from the elliptic that forms two such nodes. In modern astronomy these are called the ascending node and the descending node, but in the medieval astronomy they were referred to as "dragon's head" and "dragon's tail".[5]

Greek

In Ancient Greece the first mention of a dragon is derived from the Iliad where Agamemnon is described as having a blue dragon motif on his sword belt and a three-headed dragon emblem on his breast plate. [6]

Christian

In the biblical book the Revelation of John, Satan is portrayed as a dragon that can emit a flood of water from its mouth.Revelation 12:16. Dragons are also commonly a part of the legends of several early Christian Saints, most famously Saint George.

Chinese

Chinese dragons (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng), and Oriental dragons generally, are usually seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent though there are exceptions (one exception being Y Ddraig Goch, The Red Dragon of Wales). Malevolent dragons also occur in the mythology of Persia (see Azhi Dahaka) and Russia, among other places.

Dragons are particularly popular in China and the 5-clawed dragon was a symbol of the Chinese emperors, with the phoenix or fenghuang the symbol of the Chinese empress. Dragon costumes manipulated by several people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.

Persian

Aži Dahāka is the source of the modern Persian word azhdahā or ezhdehā اژدها (Middle Persian azdahāg) meaning "dragon", often used of a dragon depicted upon a banner of war.

Modern Literature

There are numerous examples of dragons in modern literature, especially the fantasy genre.

In the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, the major antagonist is a dragon named Smaug. Smaug hordes a great treasure but is ultimately defeated by a band of dwarves, the "men of the lake" and a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.

Dragons play an important role in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. In the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid, the Hogwarts grounds-keeper, owns a baby dragon of a species called "Norwegian Ridgeback". In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire one of the three events the contestants for the tri-wizard tournament involves successfully taking a Golden egg from a Dragon, in Harry's case "a Hungarian Horntail". In the final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry has to overcome a blind dragon guarding the treasure in the vaults of the wizarding bank, Gringots.

Dragonriders of Pern is an extensive fantasy/science fiction series of novels and short stories primarily written by Anne McCaffrey. Since 2004, McCaffrey's son Todd McCaffrey has also published Pern novels, both in collaboration with Anne and on his own. The Pernese use intelligent firebreathing dragons who have a telepathic bond with their riders, formed by mental impressions the dragons receive at the time they hatch from their eggs.

The concept of a dragon bonding at birth with its rider was explored more recently in the 2003 fantasy novel and subsequent motion picture, Eragon, which features a teen-aged boy by that name and a young dragon named Saphira. Eragon becomes a Dragon Rider, a magical dragon riding hero, who helps to overthrow an evil and despotic king.

Speculation on the origin of dragons

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 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 for 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]

References

1. ^ Drakon, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus
2. ^ a b p.233, Kaplan
3. ^ p.51,Freedman
4. ^ p.1670, Jastrow ref to Genesis 38:14, Y.Sot.I 16d (bot.)
5. ^ p.235, Kaplan
6. ^ p.79, Drury, Nevill, The Dictionary of the Esoteric [1]
7. ^ Jones, David E. [2002-06-21]. An Instinct for Dragons (in English). Routledge. ISBN 0415937299.
8. ^ Great Moments in Science - Dinosaurs And Cave People

Sources

* Rosanna M. Giammanco Frongia; Giorgi, Rosa; Giammanco Frongia, Rosanna M.; Zuffi, Stefano (2005). Angels and demons in art. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum. ISBN 0892368306.
* Littleton, C. Scott. Mythology: The Illustrated Anthology of World Myth and Storytelling. Thunder Bay Press (CA). ISBN 1571458271.
* Drury, Nevill, The Dictionary of the Esoteric, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 2003 ISBN 8120819896
* Freedman, Rabbi Dr. H. (translation), Simon M., editor, Midrash Rabbah: Genesis, Volume one, The Soncino Press, London, 1983

Further reading

* Knight, Peter. "Sacred Dorset - On the Path of the Dragon", 1998.
* Shuker, Karl (1995). Dragons: a natural history. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684814439.
* Manning-Sanders, Ruth (1977). A Book of Dragons. London: Methuen. ISBN 0416581102.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon

Anydragon · Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject: Dragons in world mythology

Zmey Gorynych, the dragon of the Slavic mythology. Its name is translated as "Snake son-of-mountain", it has three heads, wings, and it spits fire (20th century painting).

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:42 am Post subject:

The ancient Mesopotamian god Marduk and his dragon, from a Babylonian cylinder seal

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:44 am Post subject:

Saint George slaying the dragon, as depicted by Paolo Uccello, c. 1470

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:45 am Post subject:

The Ljubljana dragon, the protector dragon of Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:46 am Post subject:

An illustration of a dragon on an early French armorial shield

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:47 am Post subject:

Dragon at the Hopperstad stave church near Vikøyri in Vik municipality, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway.

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:10 am Post subject:

Close-up section of an unpainted, carved head of a Viking ship, in the Oslo Viking museum, showing dragon with dog nostrils, canine teeth, rounded ears, and circular blank eyes (unpainted)

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:12 am Post subject:

A dragon on the flag of China's Qing Dynasty

Anydragon · Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:21 am Post subject: Asian Dragons

Indonesian dragon
Naga or Nogo

Naga is a mythical animal from Indonesian mythology, and the myth encompasses almost all of the islands of Indonesia, especially those who were influenced heavily by Hindu culture (including Malaya. in fact, the word 'Naga' is a common noun for dragon in Malay). Like its Indian counterpart, it is considered as divine in nature, benevolent, and often associated with sacred mountains, forests, or certain parts of the sea.

Khmer Dragon
Neak

The Khmer dragon, or Neak is derived from the Indian Naga. Like its Indian counterpart, the Neak is often depicted with cobra like characteristics such as a hood. The number of heads can be as high as nine, the higher the number signifies rank. Odd headed dragons are symbolic of male energy while even headed dragons symbolize female energy. Traditionally, a Neak is distinguished from the often serpentine Makar and Tao, the former possessing crocodilian traits and the latter possessing feline traits. A dragon princess is the heroine of the creation myth of Cambodia.

Chinese dragon
Lóng (or Loong. "Lung" being an inaccurate, but commonly used, romanization.)

The Chinese dragon, is a mythical Chinese creature that also appears in other East Asian cultures, and is also sometimes called the Oriental (or Eastern) dragon. Depicted as a long, snake-like creature with four claws, it has long been a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art.

Japanese dragon
Ryū

Similar to Chinese dragons, with three claws instead of four. They are benevolent (with exceptions), associated with water, and may grant wishes.