Age Of Mythology Tale Of The Dragon
Fabulously Favuzza
The dragon is a legendary creature found in many cultures around the world. Generally speaking, the dragon is depicted as a huge creature that has a serpent-like body and the ability to fly. Although most dragons have four legs, some are depicted as having two legs, or no legs at all. In medieval European folklore, dragons have wings, breathe fire, and are normally seen as malevolent beings. By contrast, in Eastern cultures, the dragon is wingless, associated with the weather, especially rainfall and floods, and regarded as an auspicious creature. And there are many other varieties of dragons around the world.
Arguably the best-known dragon story from medieval Europe is the legend of Saint George and the Dragon. Although Saint George is believed to have lived during the 3rd century AD, the story of his battle with the dragon only began to be widely circulated about a millennium later, during the Middle Ages.
His story is found in The Golden Legend, a collection of hagiographies, i.e. biographies of the saints. This work was originally compiled by the Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa, Blessed Jacobus da Varagine during the 13th century, and was first printed in the English language by William Caxton in 1483.
According to The Golden Legend, Saint George was born in Cappadocia, in modern day Turkey, to Christian parents, and joined the Roman army when he grew up. One day, the saint was traveling in Libya when he came to a town called Silene. This town was menaced by a dragon living in a nearby pond that envenomed the whole countryside.
While Saint George is the most famous dragon slayer in the West, he was not the only one. Another Christian saint said to have fought a dragon was Saint Margaret of Antioch, a contemporary of Saint George. Once again, it is in The Golden Legend that her story is found.
At the age of 15, the saint was thrown into prison as she refused to renounce her Christian faith and the marriage proposal of Olybrius, a Roman official. While in prison, Saint Margaret prayed to God that the fiend who had fought with her would be revealed to her. At once, the Devil, in the form of a dragon, appeared before her.
As they brought the rains needed for agriculture, dragon kings were highly revered. On the other hand, a wrathful dragon king could cause natural disasters such as floods, typhoons, and storms, hence it was necessary to keep them happy. The dragon kings of the East are also depicted as anthropomorphic creatures, as they are said to reside in palaces under the sea, where they ruled over their sea creature subjects.
Apart from that, the physical depiction of Eastern dragons is different from their Western counter-parts. According to one legend, Huangdi, a legendary Chinese ruler, and the progenitor of the Chinese people, fought against nine tribes in the Yellow River Valley. The victorious Huangdi incorporated the totem of each defeated tribe into his own dragon totem, which explains why this creature has the physical attributes of nine different animals.
Thus, the Chinese dragon is a composite creature with the eyes of a shrimp, the antlers of a deer, the mouth of a bull, the nose of a dog, the whiskers of a catfish, the mane of a lion, the tail of a snake, the scales of a fish, and the claws of a hawk.
Benevolent dragons are not limited to Eastern cultures. Vodou practitioners, especially those in Benin and Haiti, believe in a loa (the spirits of Vodou) known as Ayida-Weddo. This loa is also known as the Rainbow Serpent. Ayida-Weddo is depicted neither like a Western dragon, nor an Eastern one, but is believed to have taken the form of a giant snake with glittering scales.
Ayida-Weddo is believed to be the loa of fertility, water, snakes, and rainbows. According to one myth, at the beginning of time, there was a large serpent that encircled the earth to prevent it from crumbling. When the first rains began to fall, Ayida-Weddo appeared, and the serpent, who was in fact another loa, Dambala-Wedo, fell in love with her, and married her.
While Eastern dragons provided the material needs of their peoples, Ayida-Weddo and her husband are believed to have taught humanity the great secrets of life, so that mankind may be able to lead lives that are more spiritually fulfilling and meaningful.
Another example of an African dragon is Apep (known also as Apophis). Like Ayida-Weddo, Apep is depicted as a giant serpent. Unlike its Vodou counter-part, however, Apep was a malevolent force, and was the demon of chaos, destruction, and darkness. One of the best-known myths about Apep is his nightly battle with the sun god Ra.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the Sun traveled across the sky on a solar barque, and that each night it had to make the perilous journey through the Underworld. Here, Ra and his followers had to defend the Sun from the forces of the Underworld, the most dangerous of whom was Apep.
Thus, using a great spear, Set would pierce the side of Apep, defeating the demon, and allowing the Sun to continue on its journey. In another version of the myth, Apep would succeed in swallowing the Sun. Ra and his followers, however, would cut a hole from inside the stomach of the serpent, thus allowing the Sun to escape, and continue its journey.
For the ancient Egyptians, the failure of the gods in their battle against Apep would result in the Sun not rising and the end of the world. The gravity with which they viewed this issue is evident in the establishment of religious rites meant to defend the world against Apep. The rituals are enacted by priests and the laity each night, in the belief that they would help Ra overcome his mighty foe. Moreover, each year, a ceremony called the Banishing of Apep was carried out. A wax effigy of the demon, thought to contain all the evil in Egypt, was burnt to keep people safe for the year.
Dragon myths are also found in the New World. In the United States, for instance, there is a creature known as the Piasa Bird, which is depicted in a painting on a cliff face overlooking the Mississippi River to the north of Alton, Illinois. The earliest surviving account of the painting is provided by Jacques Marquette, a French explorer, who saw it with his partner, Louis Jolliet, during their trip down the Mississippi in 1673.
Eventually, a chief by the name of Ouataga set a trap for the monster, and offered himself as bait. When the Piasa came for Ouataga, 20 warriors, who had been waiting to ambush it, emerged from their hiding spots, and fired their poisoned arrows at it. They succeeded in killing the creature, thus saving the rest of the villages. Later on, Russell admitted to his son that he had fabricated the story. Nevertheless, by then, the story had been repeated so many times that it was widely accepted as true.
The last dragon myth is taken from South America. The Guarani, the indigenous inhabitants of the south-central part of South America, speak of a dragon known as Teju Jagua. This creature is said to be a giant lizard with seven dog heads. In addition, Teju Jagua was able to shoot fire from its eyes. According to the mythology of the Guarani, Teju Jagua was the first-born son of Tau and Kerana, the former being the evil spirit and the latter a mortal woman.
Tau is said to have fallen in love with Kerana and transformed into a handsome young man hoping to woo her. Tau visited Kerana for seven days, but failed to make any impression on her. Finally, Tau decided to abduct the woman, but was prevented from doing so by Angatupyry, the good spirit. After a battle of seven days, Tau was defeated.
Despite his defeat, Tau was able to kidnap Kerana. According to one version of the myth, Tau got help from Pytajovai, the god of courage, who battled Angatupyry. Once Tau had gotten hold of Kerana, he raped her, or in some accounts, the two got married.
The people prayed to Arasy, the heavenly mother to punish Tau. Hearing their prayers, the goddess put a curse on the couple, causing their children to be born as monsters. Thus, the seven children of Tau and Kerana became the seven legendary monsters of Guarani mythology.
Jasy Jatere would also lead Teju Jagua to Ypacarai Lake or Ypoa Lake to drink. The Guarani believe that Teju Jagua was the lord and protector of the fruits and caverns, as well as the guardian of treasures that lie hidden in the earth.
DHWTY, 2017. She Met the Devil, Escaped a Dragon, and Survived Several Attempts on Her Life: The Remarkable Story of St. Margaret of Antioch. [Online]
Available at: -origins.net/history-famous-people/she-met-devil-esca...
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The story involves an upper-class woman, generally a princess or similar high-ranking nobility, saved from a dragon, either a literal dragon or a similar danger, by the virtuous hero (see damsel in distress). She may be the first woman endangered by the peril, or may be the end of a long succession of women who were not of as high birth as she is, nor as fortunate.[2] Normally the princess ends up married to the dragonslayer.
The "princess and dragon" scenario is given even more weight in popular imagination than it is in the original tales; the stereotypical hero is envisioned as slaying dragons even though, for instance, the Brothers Grimm had only a few tales of dragon and giant slayers among hundreds of tales.[5]
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