Dragons Lair

 So what exactly is a Dragon?

Summary

This essay aims to give a basic idea of what a dragon is. It is split into two main sections. The first deals with the problems of defining dragons, and traits common among dragons. The second section covers what dragons are not. Modern misconceptions about how dragons must be are listed. Also some creatures which share many traits with dragons, but are not dragons, are described.

Section One: Common Draconic Traits

In modern times, the idea of what a dragon looks like has become increasingly stereotypical: reptilian, two bat-like wings, four legs, long neck and tail, tail spade, breaths fire, hoards treasure, and is often green. But this was not always the case. Ancient dragons were very diverse in form and behaviour. This diversity makes it difficult to write a definition of what a dragon is. Dictionary definitions are fairly accurate, but give no clue about whether a creature lacking all of the traits a dragon 'usually' has could still be a dragon. Or how to tell a dragon apart from a creature which also has some of these traits.

One answer would be to say that a dragon is any monster which is claimed to be a dragon by the tellers of the myth. There is a big language problem with this approach. In many cultures dragons have a close affinity with some other species. The dividing line between snakes and dragons is particularly small in many cultures. Some serpentine dragons look like giant snakes, and have some snake-like attributes (such as spitting poison). This similarity is reflected in language: often one word can be used to describe a snake or a dragon. Among the Polynesians, Mo'o or Moko, means a lizard of some type. From language alone the moko of a legend could just as easily be a fearsome dragon, or a cute little gecko.

Probably the most accurate way of deciding what is a dragon, is to compare the creature with other dragons. There are a number of traits that many dragons possess, and a number of themes which appear time and again in the legends. If a creature shares a fair number of these traits and themes, there is a good chance it is a dragon. Below is a checklist of traits which many dragons share. A dragon does not need all (or even most) of these traits to be a dragon. A list of themes from dragon myths will be kept on a separate page (currently under construction), as it is a large topic in its own right.

These are some of the most common traits among dragons. All of these appear in numerous cultures. It is unlikely to find a dragon which does not have at least one of these traits:

• Reptile-like in appearance or behaviour.
• Breathing or spitting fire or poison.
• Living in water, or being associated with water.
• Having control over some aspect of the weather (particularly storms, rain, wind and floods).
• Being able to fly (not necessarily by having wings).
• Guarding something (often treasure or knowledge, but it could be a city, maiden, or some other resource. This also leads to comments about a dragon's vigilance, as many of these guardians fight to the death to protect the resource).
• Magical/Supernatural powers. Sometimes these are powers displayed by the live dragons, and sometimes magical properties of dead parts of the dragon.

Less Widespread Common Traits:

• Having bird-like traits (most commonly feathers).
• Roundals on the wings and/or body.
• Ability to turn into another type of animal (including human).
• Holding a position of power (such as a being a god, or close servant of the gods).

Section Two: What a Dragon is Not

Another important point when deciding what is and is not a dragon, is to beware modern stereotypes. There are many generalisations and stereotypes which are taken to be true of all dragons. They are not. Below are a few of these stereotypes and generalisations. If you are discounting a creature as a dragon because it lacks these, then it is a good idea to think again:

• Stereotype 1 - Western dragons are evil, and Eastern dragons are good: there is a general trend for eastern dragons to be more benevolent than their western counterparts. Even so, Eastern dragons are capable of causing total havoc and destruction (and did on many occasions). And there are Western dragons who are kindly towards local humans. For example, there are numerous helpful household dragons in the West.
• Stereotype 2 - Dragons must have legs and wings: Many of the European dragons had no limbs, such as some of the wyrms, and the Midgard Serpent. Some dragons are sometimes shown with legs, and sometimes without, such as Ouroboros.
• Stereotype 3 - Dragons must be intelligent: There are many dragons who talk in legends, and form cunning plots. However, this is not true of all of them. Some of the polynesian Taniwha show remarkable strength, but not a whole lot of thinking power. The apocrathal dragon in 'Bel and the Dragon' shows no signs of great intelligence. It eats what humans give it, does not talk, and does not have the intelligence to see the threat which kills it.
• Stereotype 4 - Mythological dragons are large: Contrary to popular belief, it was not roleplaying games like AD&D that created the fairy dragon. Various forms of fairy dragon, and draconic household spirits, appear in folklore. In general they are very small. Much smaller than a human.

Based on everything said here, there are a number of creatures which could be mistaken for dragons. Gryphons are one of these creatures. They fly, they hoard gold, and some even have serpent tails. Unlike dragons, gryphons have a limited physical range. They mainly consist of a mix of cat and bird traits. They have bird-like wings and a bird-like head (including beak) with ears. Though other parts of the gryphon vary, they generally have a cat-like back half, with cat back legs, and a bird-like front half, with bird talons for front legs. Gryphons also tend to store their gold in a nest. Bird style nests are not common among dragons.

As was mentioned earlier, dragons and snakes have a lot in common. In mythology, snakes are sometimes attributed with certain powers. Usually these are effects caused by touching the snake. Common examples are healing powers and sexual references (such as changing the sex of anyone who touched them). Neither of these two themes are common among dragons. Snakes also tend to be the size of real snakes.

Conclusion

Defining dragons is a very complex subject, and cannot be done with a few sentences. Even a more elaborate definition, such as this one, has problems classifying some creatures. Ancient sources of dragon information can be hard to translate, and some information may only be found in one source. This means that sources cannot always be crossed checked. Even with good sources, there are some creatures who are borderline cases, such as nagas. Nagas are from India. They are serpents, with human heads. Many have supernatural powers. Nagas would not be the first dragons to look chimeric. Having human parts is not intrinsically different from a dragon having bird wings or fish fins. Dragons already share other human traits (such as intelligence), so why could a dragon not share physical traits too? It is a matter of opinion whether there is a difference in looking like a human, to looking like a bird. Issues like this also contribute to blurring the borderlines of what is a dragon, and what is not a dragon.

Dragons remain fixtures in fantasy books, though portrayals of their nature differ. For example, Smaug, from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, who is a classic, European-type dragon; deeply magical, he hoards treasure and burns innocent towns. Contrary to most old folklore and literature J. R. R. Tolkien's dragons are very intelligent and can cast spells over mortals.

A common theme in literature concerning dragons is the partnership between humans and dragons. This is evident in Dragon Rider and the Inheritance Trilogy. Most notably it is featured in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. Dragons in Pern (genetically modified fire-lizards, which were Pernese natives) are ridden by dragonriders to protect the planet from a deadly threat, the Thread.

In Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series, the portrayal of dragons undergoes significant changes from book to book. In the original, they resemble Smaug; later, they are portrayed as demi-gods who share an ancestry with humanity.

Dragons in the Deltora Quest's third installment are portrayed as very intelligent and proud; as being divided into seven distinct tribes; as having the capacity to reproduce by parthenogenesis; and as each having a virtue to which it adheres, such as Strength, Honor, Luck, Faith, Hope, Joy, and Truth.

The dragons in Harry Turtledove's Darkness series, a magical analogue of the Second World War, are beasts, highly pugnacious and under incomplete human control. In the storyline they are the analogue of fighter planes and dragon riders are obviously intended to represent fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe and the RAF.

In Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series, dragons and humans coexisted in the distant past. Their essences became mixed in some cases, producing scaled humans referred to as Elderlings, or small, rubbery-skinned dragons, called "Others" and treated as abominations. Humans carved living dragon statues out of special living stone; these statues were later used as a weapon against the Outislanders by King Verity Farseer of the Six Duchies. Hobb's dragons would begin life as sea serpents, who would swim upriver to a special beach where they would cocoon themselves and hatch as dragons the next year. After a natural disaster changed the shape of the land, the serpents could no longer find their cocooning grounds and remained in the sea, as the cataclysm wiped out all but two of the dragons.

In the present-day fantasy novel Collinsfort Village by Joe Ekaitis, mural painter Dorian di Drago (a dragon) gives up flying on the same day a famous aviatrix disappears in 1937.

Dragons are mentioned throughout the Harry Potter books and a baby dragon appears in the first installment and dragons later play a significant role in the fourth. They are portrayed as having strong magic (even in their blood), but they do not exhibit any hints of intelligence or self-awareness. Within the series, dragons are considered very dangerous by most characters (Rubeus Hagrid being a notable exception) and private ownership of dragons is illegal.

Dragons have been portrayed in several movies of the past few decades, and in many different forms. In Dragonslayer (1981), a "sword and sorcerer"-type film set in medieval Britain, a dragon terrorizes a town's population. In contrast, Dragonheart (1996), though also given a medieval context, was a much lighter action/adventure movie that spoofed the "terrorizing dragon" stereotype, and depicts dragons as usually good beings, who in fact often save the lives of humans. Dragons can also be passionate protectors, just like the dragon in Shrek and Shrek 2, who displays her affection for a donkey. Reign of Fire (2002), also dark and gritty, dealt with the consequences of dormant dragons reawakened in the modern world.

In the popular Real Time Strategy game series "Warcraft", dragons are very intelligent and divided into 5 distinct tribes, each ruled by an "Aspect", or overlord dragon. The different tribes are Red, the life dragons, ruled by Alexstrasza; Green, the dream dragons, ruled by Ysera; Bronze, the time dragons,ruled by Nozdormu; and Black, the earth dragons; formerly ruled by Neltharion, before his betrayal of the other for aspects and his ascension to the lofty title of Deathwing. The Warcraft dragons tend to disassociate themselves with the other races of "Azeroth". They only get envolved when the world itself is in danger.

Dragons are common (especially as non-player characters) in Dungeons & Dragons and in some computer fantasy role-playing games. They, like many other dragons in modern culture, run the full range of good, evil, and everything in between.

On the lighter side, Puff the Magic Dragon was first a poem, later a song made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary, that has become a pop-culture mainstay. The poem tells of an ageless dragon who befriends a young boy, only to be abandoned as the boy ages and forgets him. This is sometimes suspected of being riddled with references to the drug Marijuana.

Another famous dragon is Spyro the Dragon who is the main character of many video games. In the first game he was portrayed as a small purple dragon with wings, four legs and had the ability to breath fire, charge with his horns, and glide short distances. As the game developed he was able to learn to swim, climb, and use power-ups. In the game Spyro: enter the dragonfly he is able to learn other breaths including bubbles, electricity and ice. Later, in the game Spyro: A Hero's Tail bubble-breath was replaced by water breath. In the latest installment of Spyro; The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning he is shown as a young dragon while the game describes how he came to be. In this game water breath is replaced by earth breath. Also this game includes melee attacks, breath bombs, and fury attacks, which can all be upgraded with special gems.

The Harper Hall Trilogy (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger and Dragondrums) uses dragons and fire lizards (miniature dragons). The dragons are used to fight the deadly "Thread" and fire lizards are used to carry messages and are also pets. A rider has a very strong telepathic link to it's dragon.

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, Traditional Chinese: pinyin: lóng), and Eastern dragons generally, are usually seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent (there are of course exceptions to these rules). Malevolent dragons also occur in Persian mythology (see Azhi Dahaka) and other cultures.

Dragons are particularly popular in China. they make floats of them and then use them in celebrations.

Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many Eastern and Native American cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature and the universe. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernormal power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. In some cultures, they are said to be capable of human speech.

Dragons are very popular characters in fantasy literature, role-playing games and video games today.

The term dragoon, for infantry that move around by horse, yet still fight as foot soldiers, is derived from their early firearm, the "dragon", a wide-bore musket that spat flame when it fired, and was thus named for the mythical beast.

Symbolism