Dragon
From DRwiki
The dragon is a mythical creature typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile with magical or spiritual qualities. Mythological creatures possessing some or most of the characteristics typically associated with dragons are common throughout the world's cultures.
Dragon comes, ultimately, from Greek drakon (genitive; drakontos) which refers to a "serpent, seafish." The lexical root comes from drak, strong aorist stem of derkesthai "to see clearly." The literal meaning of the word drakon, then, is "seeing one".
Dragons are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing extremely large, typically scaly, bodies; they are sometimes portrayed as having large eyes, a feature that is the origin for the word for dragon in many cultures, and are often (but not always) portrayed with wings and a fiery breath. Some dragons do not have wings at all, but look more like long snakes. Dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two or four. Modern depictions of dragons are very large in size, but some early European depictions of dragons were only the size of bears, or, in some cases, even smaller, around the size of a butterfly. Although dragons (or dragon-like creatures) occur commonly in legends around the world, different cultures have perceived them differently. Chinese dragons, and Eastern dragons generally, are usually seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent. Malevolent dragons also occur in Persian mythology and other cultures.
Where the original concept of a dragon came from is unknown, as there is no accepted scientific theory nor any evidence to support the past or present existence of dragons. While the concept of dragons may be true or false, the fact that dragons are a myth in so many places that had no contact with each other suggests that dragons are possibly extrapolations based upon some ordinary forms of creature coupled with common psychological tendencies amongst disparate groups of humanity.
Dragons are commonly symbols of good luck or health in some parts of Asia, and are also sometimes worshipped. Asian dragons are considered as mythical rulers of weather, specifically rain and water, and are usually depicted as the guardians of pearls. In China, as well as in Japan and Korea, the Azure Dragon is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellation, representing spring, the element of Wood and the east.
Western culture does not view dragons in such a positive light, as in Christian teachings the devil is associated with the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve, thus giving snake-like dragons connotations of evil. Generally speaking, biblical literature itself did not portray this association. The demonic opponents of God, Christ, or good Christians have commonly been portrayed as reptilian or chimeric. In medieval symbolism, dragons were often symbolic of apostasy and treachery, but also of anger and envy, and eventually symbolized great calamity. Several heads were symbolic of decadence and oppression, and also of heresy. They also served as symbols for independence, leadership and strength. Many dragons also represent wisdom; slaying a dragon not only gave access to its treasure hoard, but meant the hero had bested the most cunning of all creatures.
