Tales of Dragons from Around the World

From Europe

ST. MARTHA AND THE TARASQUE

SOME FOLKS SAY that this tale is about the same woman who was visited by Jesus in her home near Jerusalem, the sister of Lazarus. Other accounts place this story several centuries later, featuring a young local maiden whose only association with the biblical woman was to share the same name. Either way, this legend is rooted in the southern coast of France, near the Mediterranean Sea ... more

FAFNIR: DRAGON OF THE OPERA

SOME FOLKS SAY that there are few people with mild opinions about opera; that most folks are passionate about opera, either loving it or loathing it. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) wrote a famous opera called "The Ring of the Nibelung." ... more

SEA-MONSTERS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY

SOME FOLKS SAY that we know very little about what lies within the depths of the ocean, and that our oceans remain one of the great frontiers for exploration. Mariners have told tales of many fantastic creatures from the deep. The giant squid, for instance, has only been scientifically documented within the 21st century. Who knows what else may yet lurk beneath the waves? ... more

GWIBER and Y DDRAIG GOCH, a tale of two dragons

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SOME FOLKS SAY that the red dragon on the Welsh flag is a depiction of the dragon Y Draig Goch from this popular local legend. In the folklore of Wales, there are two versions of this story of two great dragons, Gwiber and Y Ddraig Goch. This one is the later, more popular, version dating from 1147 in the "Historia Regnum Britanniae" by Geoffrey of Monmouth ... more

PRINCE CADMUS

SOME FOLKS SAY that the Phoenician Prince Cadmus introduced the alphabet to the Ancient Greeks. Most traditional Greek folklore credits Prince Cadmus with founding the ancient Greek city-state of Thebes .... more

BEOWULF FIGHTS A DRAGON

SOME FOLKS SAY that the meeting between Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit and Smaug the Dragon in Tolkien's famous tale "The Hobbit" was drawn from the eighth century A.D. epic poem of "Beowulf." Although "Beowulf" was the first epic poem written in English, the story was set in lands that are now part of modern-day Sweden .... more

LAMBDON'S DRAGON

SOME FOLKS SAY that dragons are four-legged creatures with sharp claws and big bat wings. But Lambdon's dragon was a wicked worm.... more

DRAGON TROUBLE AT KRAKOW CASTLE

SOME FOLKS SAY that King Krak did not know he was building his castle atop a dragon's cave. Other versions of the story say that the King knew but was so enchanted with the lovely green hills and the beautiful Vistula River flowing by that he vowed to build his castle in this beautiful place. Perhaps the king thought that greenish speckled egg was just a strange looking rock. Or perhaps he thought it was too old and would never hatch... more

From Russia and the Middle East

GEORGE AND THE DRAGON

SOME FOLKS SAY that St. George the Dragon-slayer, the patron saint of England, is a third century adventurer named George of Cappadocia. Others insist that history has muddled two different men whose only connection is a shared name, and that their confrontations with dragons were two totally separate events.... more

THE KAZAN DRAGON

SOME FOLKS SAY that a 'Zilant' is not really a dragon, but a winged snake-like creature closely related to dragons. For the residents of the Tatarstan region in Russia, the Zilant on their flag is known as the "Kazan Dragon"... more

ILLUYANKA & TARHUN

SOME FOLKS SAY that the Hittite god of storms and the weather was named Tarhun, while other accounts call him Taru, Tarhunt and Teshub. The ancient Hittite people lived in the lands that were part of Ancient Mesopotamia, now present-day Syria in the Middle East ... more

TIAMAT: BABYLONIAN DRAGON OF CREATION

SOME FOLKS SAY that the serpent in the Garden of Eden is a thinly veiled reference to Tiamat. It's unknowable, of course, but it makes some sense ... more

DRAGONS OF THE ISHTAR GATE

SOME FOLKS SAY dragons never existed. They claim that stories about dragons are either totally fictional fantasies or symbols and allegories for epic struggles (such as good against evil or Christianity against paganism). If we dismiss the ancient tales, what about the ancient images? ... more

DOBRYNYA AND THE DRAGON

SOME FOLKS SAY that Dobrynya Nikitich was more than merely a mythical hero, that he was an historic warlord and a leader of the army under Sviatoslav the Great, famous warrior prince of the late 10th century. Although the historic people in this folktale are recognizable among the factual histories of the region known today as Russia and the Ukraine, the dragon (and therefore this story) is still considered mythical... more

From Africa

MOKELE-MBEMBE

SOME FOLKS SAY that there are exotic reptile-like creatures alive today in remote reaches of the modern nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a large central African nation situated on the equator. The land is hot and humid; the forests are dense. The largest swamp in the world, the Likouala Swamp, is located there and even today is largely unexplored ... more

From the Orient

THE CURIOUS HISTORY OF CHANG LUNG

SOME FOLKS SAY that dragons are fire-breathing calamities. But the Oriental dragon is most often a benevolent guardian usually associated with waters and rain. During the reign of the fourth T'ang emperor, Chung Tsung, around the year 684 AD, there lived an honorable man named Chang Lung .... more

CHINESE ASTROLOGY: THE DRAGON

SOME FOLKS SAY that Chinese astrology dates back over 2,000 years. Like Western astrology (which originated in Babylon), Chinese astrology seeks to explain human personalities, behaviors and fortunes by looking to the heavens. Also like Western astrology, the skies are divided into twelve segments ... more

THE MONK AND THE MONKEY

SOME FOLKS SAY that Marco Polo is the most famous traveler to traverse the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and Turkey. But most folks in the region remember Hsuan-zang, the Buddhist monk who made a famous pilgrimage from China to India along parts of the Silk Road in the seventh century AD.... more

YOFUNE-NUSHI

SOME FOLKS SAY that Yofune-Nushi was a dragon; others insist that this is a tale about a sea serpent. Whichever it was, and it seems a senseless debate, this Japanese legend tells a story of a dreaded creature with a taste for human flesh, especially for young females ... more

From Australia

THE LEGEND OF BOOBERA LAGOON

SOME FOLKS SAY that dragons are fictional composites of everything that scares us. This story from the native Dreamtime legends of Australia considers the idea of what would be scary to a dragon. Here are the traditional elements of dragon lore (dragon terrorizes community, local hero confronts the beast, etc.) but with its own unique twist... more

From The New World

HORNED DRAGONS OF THE AMERICAS

SOME FOLKS SAY that the Native American cultures had little contact with each other across the great distances of the New World. Yet many cultures of the native peoples of the Americas had legends and stories of horned dragons or similarly described beasts ... more