In the Chinese animal hierarchy, dragons were at the top of the rankings. The word “Bhutan” translates to “Land of Druk” or “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” The Druk symbol represents a dragon holding jewels to represent wealth. In modern-day Bhutan, the country has a Druk or “Thunder Dragon” as one of its national symbols. After slaying a dragon, the heroes were showered with glory and rewards like gold, treasure, and women. Given the different Asian cultures, the portrayal and significance of dragons can be split between South Asian depictions, West Asian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.ĭragons were often depicted as monsters that terrorized people, thus requiring gods and brave men to slay them. The earliest depiction of this can be found in the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. This is a symbol of a dragon eating its own tail in a circle. The Pharaoh defeated a third serpent named Denwen, earning the divine right to rule.Įgyptian mythology is where the ouroboros symbol came from. A colossal serpent supports the Earth on its coils. It’s a giant serpentine creature in the underworld whose existence causes thunderstorms, earthquakes, and solar eclipses.Īnother dragon in Egyptian mythology is Nehebkau, a serpent that guards the underworld. The Egyptian deity Apep or Apophis personifies chaos. The earliest dragons were said to live in the bottom of the sea, dank caves, and haunted forests, but at the time, these were dangerous areas for early humans. The earliest dragons resembled snakes, so it’s possible that dragons were formed from man’s primal fear of snakes, cats, and birds of prey. This may derive from the Green verb “ ἔδρακον ( édrakon),” which means “I see.” This refers to something with a deadly glance and uncommonly bright and sharp eyes. The term “dragon” most likely entered the English language in the early 13th century after the Old French “dragon,” which comes from the Latin word “draconem,” which meant a huge serpent. Every culture has its name for a dragon, possibly because, besides crocodiles, dragons were based on Komodo dragons, iguanas, alligators, and other reptiles. No one knows which culture came up with dragons, as almost all cultures worldwide have their own mythology surrounding them. And though they are associated with ancient myths and legends about deities and demigods, the idea of dragons persists in fantasy literature and ancient cultural practices still being observed today. Dragons are serpentine creatures resembling giant snakes with added attachments. The myth of dragons likely came from giant crocodiles that are now extinct. On the other hand, eastern cultures depict dragons as four-legged, wingless, intelligent, serpent-like creatures. On the one hand, you have the Western cultures’ four-legged, winged, horned, fire-breathing dragons. There are two general types of dragons based on folklore. Dragons have been a staple in ancient folklore and legends throughout the world. Fortunately for humans, dragons aren’t real animals like owls or butterflies people would normally get for a tattoo.
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