They are large and look like a mixture of birds, snakes and predators. They often have scales, claws and wings that allow them to fly. Some breathe fire, some have multiple heads, and some can even talk. The Dragons.
The myths about dragons reach from Europe, over America and Asia, to Australia. Everywhere in the world, there are stories about the majestic and dangerous creatures.
In this article, we will delve into the world of dragons together and learn through various stories when and how they lived and when and how they became extinct.
Even if there are many stories about dragons in Germany, the most popular one is the story of Siegfried. The daughter of the well known king Gilbald from Worms got abducted by a bloodthirsty dragon. Four years later, Gilbald hosted a tournament for the best knights. The winner was the only one, strong enough to fight against the dragon. Siegfried, who is the son of an unknown king, dominated the tournament and defeated all his opponents. The hero’s journey started unintentionally during the hunt, as his hunting dog followed a ferry further and further into the forest. After a few days, Siegfried met a dwarf king who, after some threats, revealed that the princess was locked in the dragon stone and could only be freed by the key of the giant Wolfgrambaer. When Siegfried and the dwarf king found the giant, the king’s son asked the giant to release the princess. Since he did not do this, an exciting fight began, which Siegfried could decide for himself with the help of a cloak of invisibility of the dwarf king. With the keys, everyone then went to the cave in which the princess was held captive. According to the giant Wolfgrambaer, the dragon could be killed only with the specially forged sword, which was in the stone wall. However, before Siegfried could reach for the sword, the giant attacked him again, which ended in his death. Since Siegfried’s task was not only to save the princess but also to kill the dragon, he had to strengthen himself beforehand. Due to his journey, he had not eaten or drunk anything for days. Just as the dwarf king was serving a big meal, the mighty dragon flew in with nine of his children. The dwarves ran away in fear but Siegfried started a long fight. During a brief respite in a cave, made possible by the dwarf king’s cloak of invisibility, Siegfried discovered a treasure that he thought was either the dragon’s or the giant’s. Siegfried was able to defeat the dragon by first cutting off the tail with the special sword and then dividing the great dragon in two. He bathed in the blood of the dragon, which made him invulnerable but did not notice that there was a lime leaf on his shoulder. In another story, he dies because he was vulnerable at that point. After the battle with the dragon, the dwarf king hosted a feast. Siegfried and the princess rode back with the valuable treasure, which the hero did not know was the treasure of the dwarf king.
In most parts of the world, dragons are seen as evil creatures, like in the saga from Germany. However, in parts of Asia, it is different. China is very well known for it’s dragons. They have a snake body, feet, a head from a water buffalo with a mane and the scales of a carp. The dragon has the name Long and is one of the four mythical creatures in China. Unlike in Europe, dragons are not monsters, but much more godlike beings. In the Chinese mythology, there are two kinds of dragons. The water dragons and the fire dragons. Even if they look the same, their characters are opposite. The fire dragon fears the water and the water dragon stays away from the fire. There are fairy tails, in which a malicious fire dragon gets killed with water. However, good dragons, such as the dragon god of the eastern sea Ao Guang, are worshiped especially in the more remote areas to ask for rain.
In Australian mythology is not a dragon like we know existing. The creature, that comes closest to dragons is the rainbow snake. There are different rainbow snakes in the different Australian tribes. In some tribes, they are responsible for the selection of doctors, in others for the formation of the earth. If the snake dies, the world also ends. They got the name rainbow snake because they look like snakes and live in the water. They use rainbows to get from one river or lake to another one. The same creature also exists in parts of South America.
The African dragons also have the body of a snake and have either four legs and can fly, two legs and wings, or only two legs. In this case, they cannot fly. As an example, there are the partners Ayida (the snake of the sky) and Damballah (the serpent of the earth). They are god-like creatures that feed on elephants and are at peace with humans. Through a magic stone in their heads, the dragons have healing abilities. People give them gifts in return for healing the sick.
As you can see, the nature of dragons is different from continent to continent or even from tribe to tribe. However, it is unknown, if there were actually fire-breathing or rainbow-generating dragons. Personally, I don’t believe in it, even though I find it amazing that the whole world knows stories about dragons.
https://www.drachenwolke.com/rheinsagen/die-sage-vom-drachenfels/sage-vom-drachenfels/
https://artsphere.org/blog/dragons-of-the-world/ (ASI Admin, April 11, 2018)