World Mysteries: The Mysterious Powers of Dragons

World Mysteries: The Mysterious Powers of Dragons

Dragons are one of the only mythical animals to be known around the world, and have always played an important role in our myths and legends. Depending on the period of time and the tradition, dragons were considered to be either malevolent or beneficial. What follows is a short history of the extraordinary world of dragons.

The other two mythical creatures known the world over are the phoenix, and the unicorn. The dragon’s fame is due to the mysterious aura that surrounds this fabulous beast, which either terrifies people or brings them Luck, depending on the legend and the culture it comes from.


Occidental Dragons

Are they beneficial, or malevolent? That’s the main question people ask about the nature of dragons.

In western countries, dragons have had a bad reputation for centuries.

They appear in the legends and fabulous accounts of ancient Greece, where they were seen as a nemesis.

One mention of a dragon in ancient Greek literature can be found in a work entitled ‘The Garden of Hesperides,’ a sanctuary of immortality for the gods, who nourished themselves on golden apples growing from a fabulous life-giving tree. To prevent humans from discovering the tree of immortality, the gods placed a hundred-headed dragon – Ladon – at the garden gates. Hercules killed Ladon as one of his famous Twelve Labors, and discovered the tree of eternal life for himself.

Jason obtained the Golden Fleece after killing the dragon that was guarding it.

Dragons have been given many tasks, and sometimes combined with other animals to make them even more fierce.

The ancient Greek ‘chimera’ had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a reptile. It was killed by Bellerophon, riding the winged horse Pegasus.


Omnipresent in the Middle Ages

Dragons were commonly found in famous tales of the Middle Ages, like those depicting the Knights of the Round Table. Killing a dragon was the ultimate act of bravery a knight could perform to prove his nobility, courage, and strength of character.

Among the main dragon-slayers of the time were King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, as well as Tristan and Siegfried from Nordic mythology.

And, of course, there are the Saints, including Patrick, Michael, George and Mark, all of whom slew a dragon and converted the population to Christianity.

Like serpents, dragons were considered to be malevolent beings in western countries, endowed with flaming tongues that burnt anything in sight to cinders.

Christianity has often associated dragons with Satan, whom they faithfully serve. They are also mentioned in the description of the Apocalypse, at the end of the world.

In the text, Armageddon is heralded by the appearance of a red dragon with ten horns, and seven heads crowned with jewels. His task is to send the stars crashing down to Earth. This dragon and its legions, a symbol of Satan and his terrible hordes, will be destroyed in a final combat by Saint Michael and the Angels.


A Bad Reputation

It’s easy to understand why dragons became a symbol of malevolence and destruction in the west. For one thing, they were seen as totally mythological, with no connection to reality.

Dragons were not a representation or an exaggeration of some extinct animal, but a pure symbol of the dark forces of destruction.

They had no link, in occidental countries, to dinosaurs for example, about which nothing was known in the Middle Ages, since the fossils of these great extinct reptiles hadn’t been discovered yet.

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POsted by Cynthia