In European mythology, a dragon is a serpent-like legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in the constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων, drákōn. The word for dragon in Germanic mythology and its descendants is worm (Old English: wyrm, Old High German: wurm, Old Norse: ormr), meaning snake or serpent. In Old English wyrm means "serpent", draca means "dragon". Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, a cave t ...

Including:

• European dragon - Dragons in modern times
• European dragon - Roman dragons
• European dragon - Dragons in Slavic mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in Germanic mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in Catalan mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in Italian mythology
• European dragon - Dragons in fantasy fiction

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The most famous dragons in Norse mythology and Germanic mythology, are: Níðhöggr who gnawed at the roots of Yggdrasil; Jörmungandr, also called Miðgarðsormr, a form of serpent so big that the earth-disc can be encircled by it; The dragon encountered by Beowulf; Fafnir, who was killed by Siegfried. Fafnir turned into a dragon because of his greed. Lindworms are monstrous serpents of G ...

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European dragon, European dragon - Dragons in modern times, European dragon - Roman dragons, European dragon - Dragons in Slavic mythology, European dragon - Dragons in Germanic mythology, European dragon - Dragons in Catalan mythology, European dragon - Dragons in Italian mythology, European dragon - Dragons in fantasy fiction

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The Chinese dragon (龍; pinyin: lóng; Cantonese: loong; Hokkien: leng; Japanese: ryū; Korean: yong; Vietnamese: long) is a mythical creature. Long a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art, it is the embodiment of the concept of yang and associated with the weather and water as the bringer of rain. The dragon is sometimes viewed in the West as a national emblem of China. However, this usage within both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan is extremely rare, both because the dragon ...

Including:

• Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor
• Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp
• Chinese dragon - Pig dragon
• Chinese dragon - Dragon toes
• Chinese dragon - Number nine
• Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac
• Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations
• Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor
• Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water
• Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types

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In Slavic mythology, European dragons have their peculiarities. A dragon is called zmey in Russian, zmiy in Old Church Slavonic, zmaj in several Southern Slavic languages. Most of these words are masculine forms of the Slavic word for "snake". In Romania, there is a similar figure, derived from the Slavic dragon and named zmeu. In Polish and Belarussian culture there is a unique word smok, which comes from the Indo-Iranian word for "swallow"[1]. Slavic dragon - East Slavic. In Ru ...

Including:

• Slavic dragon - East Slavic
• Slavic dragon - South Slavic
• Slavic dragon - West Slavic

Read more here: » Slavic dragon: Encyclopedia - Slavic dragon

In Russia and Ukraine, a particular dragon-like creature, Zmey Gorynych, has three heads, is green, walks on two back paws, has small front paws, and spits fire. According to one bylina, Zmey Gorynych was killed by Dobrynya Nikitich. Other Russian dragons (Zilant, Tugarin Zmeevich) have Turkic names, probably symbolizing the Mongols and other steppe peoples. Accordingly, St George (symbolizing Christianity) killing the Dragon (symbolizing Islam) is represented on the coat of arms of Moscow. Some prehistoric structures, notably the Serpent's Wall near Kiev, have been associate ...

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Slavic dragon, Slavic dragon - East Slavic, Slavic dragon - South Slavic, Slavic dragon - West Slavic

Read more here: » Slavic dragon: Encyclopedia II - Slavic dragon - East Slavic

Videos of the Varanus komodoensis at Disney's Animal Kingdom ...

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Komodo dragon, Komodo dragon - Media, Komodo dragon - References and links

Read more here: » Komodo dragon: Encyclopedia II - Komodo dragon - Media

There are three known stories detailing their encounters: Jörmungandr - Lifting the cat. In one, Thor encounters the serpent disguised as a colossal cat by the giant king Útgarða-Loki. As one of the tasks set by Útgarða-Loki, Thor must lift the cat, and though he is unable to lift such a monstrous creature as Jörmungandr, he manages to lift it far enough that it lets go of the ground with one of its four feet. He comes so close that when the deception is revealed by Útgarða-Loki it is still an impressive feat. This myth is only found in the Prose Edda. J� ...

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Jörmungandr, Jörmungandr - Overview, Jörmungandr - Stories, Jörmungandr - Lifting the cat, Jörmungandr - Thor's fishing trip, Jörmungandr - The final battle, Jörmungandr - Sources, Jörmungandr - Familiar forms

Read more here: » Jörmungandr: Encyclopedia II - Jörmungandr - Stories

Chinese dragon - Number nine. The number nine is considered lucky in China and Chinese dragons are frequently connected with it. For example, a Chinese dragon is normally described in terms of nine attributes and usually has 117 scales - 81 (9x9) male and 36 (9x4) female. It is also said that the Dragon has nine children, all mythical creatures. Sculptures of these creatures can often be found on ancient relics and buildings: The first son is called bixi (贔屭 pinyin: bi4xi4), looks like a g ...

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Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Origin, Chinese dragon - Legends associated with the Dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Forms of the dragon, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Cultural Significance, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Dragons in fiction

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Cultural Significance

In Russia and Ukraine, a particular dragon-like creature, Zmey Gorynych, has three heads, is green, walks on two back paws, has small front paws, and spits fire. According to one bylina, Zmey Gorynych was killed by Dobrynya Nikitich. Other Russian dragons (Tugarin Zmeevich) have Turkic names, probably symbolizing the Mongols and other steppe peoples. Accordingly, St George (symbolizing Christianity) killing the Dragon (symbolizing Islam) is represented on the coat of arms of Moscow. Some prehistoric structures, notably the Serpent's Wall near Kiev, have been associate ...

See also:

Slavic dragon, Slavic dragon - East Slavic, Slavic dragon - South Slavic, Slavic dragon - West Slavic

Read more here: » Slavic dragon: Encyclopedia II - Slavic dragon - East Slavic

Some scholars report that the Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) used a snake for his coat of arms. Every time he conquered another tribe, he incorporated his defeated enemy's emblem into his own. Huang Di was immortalized into a dragon that looks like his emblem. That explains why the Chinese dragon has a body of a snake; the scales and tail of a fish; the antlers of a deer; the face of a qilin (a deer-like mythical creature with fire all over its body); and two pairs of talons of eagles; and the eyes of a demon. They fly in the sky among the clouds ...

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Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor

A wyvern (or wivern) is a winged reptilian legendary creature often found in medieval heraldry where the usual blazon is statant (standing). The wyvern is similar to a European dragon, but it differs in that it has only two legs, cannot breathe fire, and has a barbed or snake-like tail. Occasionally, it is said to be smaller than a dragon or to be able to breathe fire. In heraldry, it represents pes ...

Including:

• Wyvern - Wyverns in Pop Culture

Read more here: » Wyvern: Encyclopedia - Wyvern

A dragon is a mythological creature, typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. Dragon - Overview. The various figures now called dragons most likely have no single origin, but spontaneously came to be in several different cultures around the world, based loosely on the appearance of a snake and possibly fossilized dinosaur and Tertiary mammal megafauna remains. Chinese dragons (among others) are generally seen as benevolent, whereas Euro ...

Including:

• Dragon - Overview
• Dragon - Dragons of myth and folkore
• Dragon - Notable Dragons in modern literature and culture

Read more here: » Dragon: Encyclopedia - Dragon

The major sources for myths about Jörmungandr are the Prose Edda, Húsdrápa, Hymiskviða and Völuspá. Less important sources include kennings in skaldic poetry. For example in Þórsdrápa, Faðir lögseims, "father of the sea-thread", is used as a kenning for Loki. There are also image stones from heathen times depicting the fishing encounter. ...

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Jörmungandr, Jörmungandr - Overview, Jörmungandr - Stories, Jörmungandr - Lifting the cat, Jörmungandr - Thor's fishing trip, Jörmungandr - The final battle, Jörmungandr - Sources, Jörmungandr - Familiar forms

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The griffin (also spelled gryphon, gryphen, griffon, griffen, or gryphin) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle with the addition of prominent ears, traditionally termed "ass's ears". The female has the wings of an eagle. The griffin is generally represented with four legs, wings and a beak, with eagle-like talons in place of a lion's forelegs and equine ears jutting from its skull. Some writers describe the tail as a serpent. See the entry European dragon for a 19th century painting of St George and the dragon, showing a dra ...

Including:

• Griffin - Nature of griffins
• Griffin - Heraldic griffins
• Griffin - The keythong
• Griffin - Griffins in Literature
• Griffin - Spelling variants

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Saint George (ca 275/280–April 23, 303) was a soldier of the Roman Empire and later Christian martyr. It is also said that he was the cousin of St. Philopateer Mercurius. Saint George - Traditional origin. The traditional account of his life is considered to have originated in the 4th century, although few hard facts are known. It is said that George was born in a fuller's shop in Epiphania, in Cilicia, to a Christian family during the late 3rd century [1]. His father was from Cappadocia and served as an ...

Including:

• Saint George - Traditional origin
• Saint George - Veneration as a martyr
• Saint George - The legend of George and the Dragon
• Saint George - Later depictions and occurrences
• Saint George - Colours

Read more here: » Saint George: Encyclopedia - Saint George

The dragon was a symbol for the emperor in many Chinese dynasties. The imperial throne was called the dragon throne. During the late Qing dynasty, the dragon was even adopted as the national flag. It was a capital offense for commoners to wear clothes with a dragon symbol. In some Chinese legends, an emperor might be born with a birthmark in the shape of a dragon. For example, one legend might tell the tale of a peasant born with a dragon birthmark who eventually overthrows the existing dynasty and founds a new one; another legend might tell of the prince in hiding fro ...

See also:

Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor

Chinese or Korean Imperial dragons have five toes on each foot; Indonesian dragons have four and Japanese dragons have three. To explain this phenomenon, Chinese legend states that although dragons originated in China, the further away from China a dragon went the fewer toes it had, and dragons only exist in China, Korea, Indonesia, and Japan because if they travelled further they would have no toes to continue. Japanese legend has an opposing story, namely that dragons originated in Japan, and the further they traveled the more toes they gr ...

See also:

Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Dragon toes

The number nine is considered lucky in China and Chinese dragons are frequently connected with it. For example, a Chinese dragon is normally described in terms of nine attributes and usually has 117 scales - 81 (9x9) male and 36 (9x4) female. It is also said that the Dragon has nine children, all mythical creatures. Sculptures of these creatures can often be found on ancient relics and buildings: The first son is called bixi (贔屭 pinyin: bi4xi4), looks like a giant land turtle, and can be seen sometimes in carved stone ...

See also:

Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Number nine

Chinese dragon - Pig dragon. It has been speculated that the pig dragon is the first representation of the Chinese dragon. For an example see [1]. The character for "dragon" in the earliest Chinese writing has a similar coiled form, as do later jade dragon amulets from the Shang period. Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types. Tianlong (天龍), The Celestial Dragon Shenlong (神龍), the Spiritual Dragon Fucanglong (伏藏龍), the Dragon of Hidden ...

See also:

Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Origin, Chinese dragon - Legends associated with the Dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Forms of the dragon, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Cultural Significance, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Dragons in fiction

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Forms of the dragon

Chinese dragons are strongly associated with water in popular belief. They are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas. They can show themselves as water spouts (tornado or twister over water). There are four major dragons, one representing each sea. For instance the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, Dragon King of the Western Sea, and so forth. Because of this association, they are seen as "in charge" of water-related weather phenomenon. In premodern times, many Chinese villages (especia ...

See also:

Chinese dragon, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Yellow Emperor, Chinese dragon - Legend of the Carp, Chinese dragon - Pig dragon, Chinese dragon - Dragon toes, Chinese dragon - Number nine, Chinese dragon - Chinese zodiac, Chinese dragon - Chinese constellations, Chinese dragon - Symbol of the emperor, Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water, Chinese dragon - Nine Classical types

Read more here: » Chinese dragon: Encyclopedia II - Chinese dragon - Dragons and Water