Appreciate a Dragon Day

16th January is Appreciate a Dragon Day, a fun day celebrating the very many different depictions of dragons and what they mean to us.

A History of Dragons

There have been stories about dragons from the very earliest times in history. They appear in many different forms, with many different alignments towards good and evil.

Depictions of dragons tend to differ according to culture. In ancient times, most societies appeared to have ambivalent views about dragons. They viewed these giant flying serpents like any other creature, as having the nature to be both good and bad.

Over time, the West started to depict dragons as fearsome creatures to either overcome or have a kinship with. Meanwhile, in the East, dragons became a symbol of royalty and heavenly forces.

circa 4500BC

The earliest archaeological evidence of dragons are in Neolithic China. Serpent-like and dragon-shaped figures, carved into jade and pottery, seem to identify dragons with power, fertility and natural forces.

circa 4th century AD

In the West, attitudes towards dragons changed with the advent of Christianity. Dragons became associated with the devil, sin and evil. The Serpent in the Garden of Eden tempted Eve and led us into sin. The Leviathan in Job 41 is terrifying, with its impenetrable scales and fiery breath. Yet God created it and it serves God’s purposes. The Lord masters the monster and uses it to bring harmony to His creation. But the Dragon in Revelation fights against God and threatens God’s people. Then Archangel Michael defeats the dragon and the Lord ultimately triumphs.

Some people believed dragons to be real and created stories about great warriors going into the wilderness to defeat them. The story of St George slaying a dragon has pre-Christian origins but has become an enduring Christian legend. In the legend, the dragon symbolises evil or paganism, while St George has come to represent moral and spiritual victory.

7th-10th century AD

The Tang Dynasty adopted dragons as symbols of imperial authority and harmony with nature. Different versions of dragons came to represent rain and water and benevolent but powerful forces that blessed agriculture and brought prosperity.

13th century AD

The Word “Dragon” was adopted into the English language. Dragon evolved from the Old French dragon and Latin draconem, both meaning large, serpent-like creatures. This reflected the popularity of dragon stories and imagery in medieval European culture.

1377AD

Around 1377AD, the Nowell Codex records the epic poem Beowulf, which features a climactic battle between the hero and a dragon. Beowulf is the first recorded English epic and is considerd one of the masterpieces of Anglo-Saxon literature. Although composed centuries earlier, the written recording reinforced the role of dragons in medieval Western literature.

Modern Appreciation of Dragons

There’s now an ever-widening variety of dragons in literature. The fire-breathing type is the most famous, with wings and armour-like scales covering their bodies. But there are some dragons that look like the gargoyles you find on old churches. There are also many-headed hydras. Some dragons live on land, while others live in the ocean. A few authors depict them as wyverns, basilisks and other mythical creatures. Chinese dragons still tend to look like serpents with four legs and no wings.

When most people think of dragons, they imagine something like Smaug, in the film The Hobbit. But folklore expert Carol Rose describes dragons as “composite creatures” which can have unusual features, including elephant trunks.

The top 3 modern-day stories depicting dragons are probably:

• JRR Tolkien’s Hobbit, with the evil, greedy, gold-hoarding dragon, Smaug
• How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, with a vast catalogue of good and bad dragons with very vivid personalities
• A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin, later televised as Game of Thrones

My Dragons

My dragons are heavily influenced by the 1996 film Dragonheart and the dragon in the 2008 TV series Merlin. I tend to write about loving and wise dragons, attuned to God and His goodness. Abe in Pure of Heart is a big softie, but he can muscle up when he’s needed! And only the pure of heart can see him. Timeline 67 features a dragon as Enoch’s first in command who helps to fight the armies Lucifer brings into 1901.