Dragon

The dragon (from Ancient Greek δράκων - drakōn, \"a serpent of huge size, a python, a dragon\") is a mythical creature typically depicted as a gigantic and powerful serpent or other reptile with magical or spiritual qualities. more...

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Overview

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

and God created the great sea-monsters.

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.

Like most mythological creatures, dragons are perceived in different ways by different cultures. Dragons are sometimes said to breathe and spit fire at temperatures over 9000°C 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 Asian versions of the dragon, sometimes called the Long (Chinese pinyin) 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. Chinese dragons (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng), and Eastern 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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org