DRAGON HISTORY/DRAGON LORE

DRAGON ETYMOLOGY• Dragon – entered Middle English in a particular vehicle 13th century which

was borrowed from the French word “dragon” which goes back to the latin word Dracon

• Dracon – is a combining form of Draco which means Serpent Dragon to Greek Drakon (“serpent”)

• Drakon is similar in meaning to the Greek word DERKESTHAI which means “to see, look at” and is similar to the Sanskrit word DARSAYATI which means “he causes to see”

• The King James Version of the Bible, for example, uses the word dragon frequently for multiple purposes. Among its meanings are land monster (Isa. 13: 22), sea monster (Isa. 27:1), and Satan himself (Rev. 20:2).

• Since at least the 18th century, dragon has been a colorful epithet for a violent, combative, or very strict person. Further extended, the word means something or someone formidable. 

DRAGON LEGENDS• According to some people dragon legends are just superstitious stories invented by ancient

people who were afraid of the dark.• PROBLEM WITH THIS IDEA: dragon legends describe nearly the same thing from almost EVERY

human culture. Human cultures are very different in many ways: customs, languages, living conditions, ways of dressing and religions all vary widely from one continent to the next.

• But Dragon stories, cave drawings, carvings, drawings on stones and written descriptions of these animals are very much the same. Almost every culture describes dragons as….

• Lizard-like with scales.

• Very large and terrifying.

• Having vicious claws and teeth.

• They lay eggs to reproduce.

• Some had bat-like wings.

• Some were able to defend themselves with smoke or fire from the mouth and nose.

• They killed and ate cattle and other domestic animals. 

• IMPORTANT NOTE:

• Now…it would be one thing to explain a dragon myth as local superstition. It’s quite another to figure out how nearly EVERY human culture had similar stories.• Keep in mind – these cultures were separated by culture,

language and distance.• Not only this – but many of these cultures were also

separated by TIME. We have stories and drawings from tombs prior to the time of Christ all the way up to the Middle Ages.

DRAGON LEGENDS: "MAYBE ANCIENT PEOPLE JUST FOUND FOSSIL DINOSAUR BONES AND TRIED TO EXPLAIN THEM."

• PROBLEMS WITH THIS IDEA:1. There is NO evidence that ancient humans dug up fossils.2. Fossil bones are often found in solid rock.  3. Fossil bones are often very fragile..4. Most fossils are found scattered and broken. It is exceedingly rare to find more than 50% of an animal’s bones.5. Fossil bones usually need to be protected by polyvinyl acetate. 

NEGATION OF THE THEORY• ANATOMY is complicated• The best scientists we have today normally take years to put the pieces of

a dinosaur together.• It’s a giant mix-matched puzzle. Scientists must compare the bones of the

dinosaur to the bones of other, similar creatures to try and put them back together again. This is called “comparative anatomy.”

• and once they put the skeleton together, how do they decide which animal ate plants? Well…usually this is done by studying their teeth. 

• ******But ancient people explained that some dragons ate meat and others ate plants. They seemed to know – even without advanced degrees in anatomy.

THINK ABOUT IT….WE KNOW ANCIENT CULTURES FROM:

• Artifacts they left behind such as stone tools and pottery.

• Ancient writing such as Egyptian hieroglyphs and Sumerian cuneiform.

• Burial sites where people left grave goods such as food, weapons and jewelry.

• Remains of living sites such as villages and camp sites.

• Oral traditions and stories passed down over the centuries. You can still hear these stories and traditions among groups like the American Indian tribes. 

• Nowhere in ANY of these places do we find evidence ancient cultures dug up dinosaur bones.

• Nowhere in ANY of these places do we find evidence of people putting dinosaur bones together.

• Nowhere from ANY of these tribes do we read about “wise men” digging up bones and putting them together.

• Nowhere from ANY of these tribes do we hear stories about putting bones together. 

• All of the evidence seems to say ancient people did NOT dig up dinosaur bones and make up dragon legends

CREATIONIST THEORY: DRAGONS IN THE BIBLE

• The Authorized Version utilizes the word "dragon" sixteen times, all in the Old Testament, rendering two Hebrew words which mean "sea or land monster." 

• Behemoth (Job 40:15ff)• Leviathan (Job 41:25)

THE DRAGON & CREATION: RECLAIMING THE SACRED

• The dragon plays an integral role in the creation mythologies of many world cultures.

• dragon Uroboros- illustrates the cosmogenic circle of the alpha and the omega - the beginning and end, creation and re-creation.

• By rediscovering the magic of the dragon we can begin to find our common origins and recreate the link between Heaven and Earth.

• Creation Beliefs of our ancestors helped maintain respect for life and its lessons and gave the Unknown form through poetic oral traditions, art, music and ritual.

TIAMAT BABYLONIAN DRAGON GODDESS

QUETZALCOATL

NU KUA

ITZPAPALOTL

AIDO HWEDO

RAINBOW SERPENT