According to the traditional Chinese calendar, 2024 is the year of the dragon, which is one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. While very prominent in Chinese tradition, dragons appear in many different forms in several cultures across the world. From the serpentine creatures of East Asia to the fire-breathing flying reptiles of medieval Europe, this is a journey around the world and across history to see how dragons have been depicted in different cultures.
Why dragons are so omnipresent among widely different cultures is still a matter of debate, and various hypotheses have been suggested. According to some scholars, these creatures originate from a primordial fear of snakes, as the earliest depictions of dragons often describe them as serpentine beasts. Also, the discovery of bones of dinosaurs and other large prehistoric animals might have inspired people in ancient times to create stories about these mythological beasts. This might be the case especially in China, where these fossils, often called “dragon bones”, are common, and have been used in traditional medicine. The image of a dragon might have also been inspired by exaggerations of existing animals such as snakes, crocodiles, and other large reptiles.
Dragons in East and South Asia
The dragon, or lóng, is one of the most important figures in Chinese tradition and mythology, often associated with the Emperor of China. Dragons have appeared in Chinese culture for thousands of years, with the earliest depictions dating from at least the 5th millennium BCE. Several myths and legends from different eras of Chinese history feature various kinds of dragons, which are often described as snake-like creatures with four legs, but sometimes appear as winged animals or sea monsters.
The many dragons of Chinese legends are often highly intelligent and have several mythological powers, they can fly without wings, form clouds, turn into water, change color, control weather, and cause droughts, floods, and volcanic eruptions, just to name a few. Because of its prominence in Chinese culture, and its association with the power of the emperor, a dragon was depicted on the flag of the Qing dynasty between 1862 and 1912. Dragons are still very important in China today, as several traditional festivals revolve around these creatures. The most notable of these is the Dragon Boat Festival, during which people race in dragon-shaped boats.
Flag of the Qing dynasty of China between 1889 and 1912. An earlier triangular version was used since 1862.
Chinese dragons have inspired similar creatures across all of East and Southeast Asia. Korean dragons, or yong, are similar to the Chinese ones, but are often depicted with a long beard, and in ancient texts they can speak and understand human emotions. In Korea, dragons are mostly benevolent, they are associated with rain and clouds, and often live in rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Similarly, dragons in Japan (called ryū) are serpentine creatures with legs, linked with rain and bodies of water. Different types of dragons appear in Japanese legends, and some have multiple heads or can turn into humans. Dragons in Japan are also often linked with Buddhist and Shinto traditions, and temples frequently have names related to dragons.
Vietnamese dragons, or rồng, are also similar to the Chinese ones. In Vietnamese folklore, dragons bring rain and represent the power of the emperor. As such, dragons have been depicted on flags, coins, and other national symbols in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, in India dragons first appear in the Rigveda, the oldest Vedic Sanskrit text, dating from the 2nd millennium BCE. Here, Vritra is a giant serpent and the personification of drought, which is killed by the god of storms Indra. Other Hindu and Buddhist legends describe large serpentine creatures, or half-human, half-snake deities called naga. Nagas inspired other similar beasts in the mythology of South and Southeast Asia. Different monsters appear in the mythology of the Meitei people from the Indian state of Manipur. These include the dragon python Poubi Lai, and the snake-like Taoroinai, who was said to live on the Moon.
In Bhutan, the “thunder dragon” Druk is a national emblem depicted on the flag of the small country. This creature appears in Tibetan and Bhutanese mythology, and has been used for centuries as a symbol of the Drukpa lineage of Buddhism, which originated in Tibet and later spread to Bhutan.
Dragons in the ancient Near East
Some of the earliest records of dragon-like creatures come from mythological tales of the ancient Near East. The ušumgallu, a large winged creature often described as a lion-dragon demon appears in Sumerian poetry from the 3rd millennium BCE, and similar beasts are depicted in several Mesopotamian artworks until the 6th century BCE. Another serpentine creature called mušḫuššu is depicted on the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, and appears in Mesopotamian art until the Hellenistic period. Various other dragon-like monsters are included in several Mesopotamian legends.
Bas-relief of a mušḫuššu on the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin (Allie_Caulfield, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).
Iranian myths and Zoroastrian texts instead feature demons called azhdaha, described as huge snake-like creatures that can live in the sea, in the air, or on the earth. Another serpentine dragon called Illuyanka appears in Hittite mythology.
The giant sea serpent Lotan is a mythological figure in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle from the 2nd millennium BCE, where it is described as a servant of the sea god Yam. This myth inspired one of the most famous dragon-like creatures, the Leviathan, which is referenced several times in the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Job, the Leviathan is described as a large fire-breathing sea serpent, so powerful that only God is able to defeat it. A red seven-headed dragon with ten horns appears later in the Bible, during the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament.
Another giant snake-like creaure called Apep or Apophis appears in Egyptian mythology since the 22nd century BCE, as a deity embodying darkness and chaos. Apep was described as being able to cause thunderstorms and earthquakes with its roar, while solar eclipses were said to be caused by its battles with the Sun god Ra. Egyptian mythology also features other similar creatures, such as the primordial snake god Nehebkau, and the symbol of a serpent swallowing its own tail. This was later adapted by the Greeks as the ouroboros, and often appears in medieval European texts.
Dragons in Europe
In prehistoric times, tales of heroes defeating giant serpents appeared in Indo-European mythology, and these later evolved into numerous European and Western legends. In ancient Greece, a drákōn (from which the word dragon descends) was a supernatural serpentine creature, first mentioned in the Iliad. Various dragon-like beasts appear in Greek mythology, such as the monstrous Typhon, described as having one hundred snake heads or as a fire-breathing winged serpent.
One of the most notable ancient dragon-like creatures is the Lernaean Hydra, which was the offspring of Typhon and was described as a serpentine monster with many heads. The Hydra is killed by Heracles as the second of his Twelve Labors. In his eleventh labor, Heracles instead slays another dragon called Ladon, who guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides. Other dragons appear in the myths of Jason and Medea, and in the founding myth of Thebes.
The ancient Greeks also listed the dragon as one of their constellations, now known by its Latin name Draco, and often depicted these creatures in artworks. Greek historians and geographers also reported that monstrous or winged serpents lived in Arabia and Lybia. In Latin literature, a dragon is described by Roman poet Virgil in his poem Culex.
Fragment of a Greek vase depicting Heracles slaying the Hydra, dating from the 4th century BCE.
Dragons are also often depicted in Norse mythology. One of these is Níðhöggr, a dragon that gnaws the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil. Jörmungandr is instead a huge sea serpent that encircles the entire world biting its own tail. Another dragon from Germanic folklore is Fáfnir, a snake-like creature with legs and wings who is killed by a hero called Sigurd or Sigfried.
One of the depictions that defined dragons in Western culture is in the Old English epic poem Beowulf. Here, the eponymous hero and another warrior called Wiglaf slay a dragon, but Beowulf ultimately dies after the battle. This creature is described as noctural, fire-breathing, and violent, and this legend inspired many other stories of dragonslayers from the Middle Ages until today.
Greek literature, Norse legends, and myths from the Near East shaped the image of dragons in medieval Europe. Many stories of dragons and dragonslayers appear in European legends especially in the Late Middle Ages. These dragons are often large fire-breathing winged reptiles similar to the creature from Beowulf. One of the most widely known medieval legends featuring these monsters is the story of Saint George, a soldier that slays a dragon who tormented some villages. For this reason, Saint George is universally depicted in art while killing a dragon.
During the Middle Ages, dragons were also sometimes used as heraldic symbols, most notably in Wales, where a red dragon is still a national emblem and it is now depicted on the flag of the country. In Welsh mythology, the red dragon that symbolizes the Welsh people defeats the white dragon, which represents the Anglo-Saxons, foretelling that the Welsh will ultimately defeat the English. Another dragon from Northern and Central European folklore is the lindworm, described as a giant snake that lives in the forest. The lindworm might have inspired the Germanic wyvern, a dragon with two legs and two wings, which often appears in heraldry to this day.
In France, the wyvern became the guivre described in legends as a serpentine creature with venomous breath. Another similar creature is called La Velue in France or Peluda in Spain. This name means “the hairy one”, as the beast is depicted as a serpentine creature with long fur. The cuélebre is instead a giant winged snake described in Asturian and Cantabrian mythology.
Sculpture of a typical European dragon on the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Ronnie Macdonald, Flickr, CC BY 2.0).
Mythological serpentine figures are also often present in the legends of Eastern Europe. In Albanian mythology, fire-breathing serpents like the kulshedra are the cause of natural disasters, while Slavic legends often depict dragons as violent monsters with multiple heads, usually associated with evil. According to a popular Polish myth, the man-eating Wawel Dragon plagued Kraków until it was killed by the sons of legendary king Krakus. Hungarian mythology instead features the sárkány, an evil reptilian beast with wings, usually described with human-like characteristics. The spirit aitvaras from Lithuanian folklore instead appears either as a dragon or a bird.
Dragons in Africa, Oceania, and Pre-Columbian America
Several creatures similar to dragons appear in many other cultures around the world, often more similar to snakes than to European or East Asian dragons. West African folklore features various serpentine spirits like the primordial creator Damballa and “rainbow serpent” Ayida-Weddo, which are also venerated in Haitian Vodou and other African diaspora religions. Another reptilian creature from the same region is the Ninki Nanka, which is said to inhabit the swamps and rivers of West Africa. In Southern Africa, other serpentine creatures include the Monyohe from Sotho mythology, and the huge snake Grootslang.
The Rainbow Serpent is common in the mythology of Aboriginal Australian peoples, where it is depicted as the creator deity. Polynesian myths instead feature supernatural monsters more similar to lizards. Native American folklore describes various kinds of horned serpents, sometimes with wings, while Mesoamerican mythology features some dragon-like creatures. The most notable of these is Quetzalcoatl, one of the most important Aztec gods, depicted as a feathered serpent. In Inca mythology, the amaru is a chimera similar to a dragon sometimes described as having multiple heads, while Mapuche religion features some serpentine gods.
Modern dragons
The dragons of medieval Europe and East Asian traditions heavily influenced the modern depictions of these mythological creatures, that now often appear in the fantasy genre. Today, dragons can be violent fire-breathing creatures who are slain by heroes, or benevolent fairy-tale beings in children’s stories, and anything in between.
Many modern works of Western literature feature dragons, such as The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, where the dragon Smaug is the main antagonist, but also A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, and the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. These creatures also appear in more lighthearted animated movies like Shrek, Mulan, and How to Train Your Dragon. Dragons are also featured in several Japanese manga, anime, and video games, most notably Dragon Ball, but also Spirited Away and Pokémon, where the “dragon” type is among the most powerful. Many video games often include dragons as powerful monsters and final bosses, but sometimes also as protagonists, such as in the Spyro series. Finally, dragons are heavily featured in the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.