What are Dragons?
Most people think of dragons as nothing more than a fierce some mythical beast that flies around burning villages and eating cows and virgins. Other people might think of them in terms of Dungeons and Dragons, while yet a minority of people think of dragons in the middle-ages sense and might even know the story of St. George. In this article we will discuss the “dragon basics” and the different types of dragons in literature, gaming, history and the movies.
Dragon’s are known as killers and hoarders of gold in Europe’s dark ages. They killed, pillaged and ate pretty much whatever they wanted until some brave knight would show up to kill them, rescue the village or damsel and gain the dragon’s gold. A dragon in European myth is very rarely a good sight.
Eastern dragons are considered sacred and revered in Asian culture. Often they will take on human form and appear to heroes to help them learn wisdom or to provide assistance on a quest. Dragons in these stories and myths often take great interest in the affairs of man beyond killing sheep and burning villages to the ground.
The story of St. George, the patron Saint of England dates back to the Roman occupation of the UK. George, as the story is told, was a Roman cavalryman who converted to Christianity. To prove that Christians were not passive sheep, George did what sheep all over Europe dreamed of doing: he killed a dragon. Many copycat dragon killers soon followed and this, according to myth, is why there are no more dragons. It’s really too bad George didn’t set out to kill horseflies as well.
Dragons the world over vary in size, shape and color. Asian dragons are depicted as large serpents that might or might not have wings. European dragons are shown as large reptiles that began wingless, but through time and retelling of tales, grew some. Indian dragons rarely figure into other cultures. The head of the Indian dragon does appear, to some, to resemble a St. Bernard.
Dragons in modern popular culture have seen a re-emergence in the last few years and have transformed greatly. The J.R.R Tolkien’s book The Hobbit he describes a flying European dragon with the Asian characteristics of speech and intelligence. This dragon, named Smaug, was also a fire breather and gold hoarding, killing machine. Of course he had to go and was killed.
The popular game Dungeons and Dragons revolutionized the way western culture thinks of dragons. The concept of “good” dragons was introduced into the culture to help balance out the power of the “evil” dragons. Most dragons possess speech and a high level of intelligence as well as magical abilities not always ascribed to the original dragons of western lore.
The mystical power of the dragon most likely lies in the longevity of the myth. For centuries man has fought with and against these creatures in stories and mythology in hopes of accomplishing some great task. Even though technology has moved beyond the mythos dragons represent, on some level man needs beasts such as these to slay and conquer.
Zeeman Haus enjoys writing articles online on a variety of subjects. You can check out his latest website on Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures which provides deals Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures & Accessories.
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