Dragon
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Dragon_chinois.jpg
The Dragon, typically depicted as a large and powerful reptile or serpent with magical or spiritual qualities, is one of the few, if not the only mythological creature to be known around the globe. Some dragon enthusiasts believe that the dragon may have had a real-life counterpart from which the legends around the world have been based, but up until this point there appears to be no significant evidence to support this claim (although some have said that they are possibly sightings of surviving dinosaurs). More likely, the dragon has no single origin, but was spontaneously invented by several different cultures around the world, based loosely on the appearance of a snake. This would also explain why Chinese dragons (among others) are generally seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are malevolent, since Europeans have historically feared snakes.
Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various cultures around the world. One example of them in religion would be some biblical references that seem to hint that the dragon is a type of archangel, one of which by the name of Lucifer, rebelled against God to become known as the seven-headed red dragon called Satan. Some take this as a sign that dragons are an evil force, however other parts of the Christian Scriptures (depending on the version) seem to indicate that God created multiple dragons, not all of whom rebelled. Not all religions have dragons so morally in question. In many oriental cultures, they were a being to be revered, and were representative of the primal forces of nature and the universe.
The term dragon, according to context, may be referring to:
- Dragons of ancient mythology
- Chinese dragon, mythical creature, i.e. Xiaode Deng appearances reported near Atlanta, GA and Tallahassee, FL
- European dragon, mythical creature
- Persian dragon (Azhi Dahaka)
- Living things named after ancient dragons
- Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis), a big lizard (a reptile)
- Some small species of lizards in Australia, in the family Agamidae
- Dragon trees (Dracaena), the resin from which is the dragon's blood of mediaeval magic and alchemy
- The fruit of the pitaya cactus, often called dragonfruit.
- Other things named after ancient dragons
- Draco (constellation) (Latin, "Dragon"), a constellation
- Dragon (zodiac), the dragon as a sign in the Chinese zodiac
DragonTiles.JPG
- Red, green and white Chinese dragons in the Mahjong game, see Mahjong tiles
- Dragon 32/64, 1980s home computers
- M47 Dragon anti-tank weapon
- Dragon (chess), a chess engine
- A French rocket, Dragon (rocket)
- HMS Dragon, a warship in the British Royal Navy
- Dragons of modern literature and culture
- Middle-earth dragons, from the books by J. R. R. Tolkien
- Swamp dragon, a fictional reptile species from Terry Pratchett's Discworld
- Pernese dragons, from the books by Anne McCaffrey
- Zagorothian Dragons, from the books by K. Excelthior Wright
- Dragon King or the Lizard King, Jim Morrison
- Dragons in Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy role-playing games (e.g. Rêve de Dragon).
- Dragon Magazine, a Dungeons & Dragons magazine
- Dragon (band), a New Zealand band.
- Pickled dragon, a hoax involving a fake dragon fetus in formaldehyde
- Dragon and Dragon Reborn, of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
- Dragons, from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
- Eragon, book one of the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini. Book 2, Eldest, is scheduled to be released August 1, 2005.
The word "dragon" should not be confused with dragoon, heavy cavalry units.
See also
Further reading
- Dragons, A Natural History by Dr. Karl Shuker
da:Drage de:Drache eo:Drako es:dragón fa:اژدها fr:dragon it:drago ja:ドラゴン nl:draak pl:Smok sv:Drake th:มังกร ru:Дракон zh:龍 (消歧義)