WhisperingWoods Dragon Lore Course – Lesson Five

Egyptian:

Many believe this is the era in history where the dragonoriginated. In early Egyptthe Dragon was chiefly a representation of the snake.

In Egyptian myth “Re” (the sun god) traveled through Duat(the underworld) each night. During the journey through the underworld Rereaches two open doors guarded by snakes, some having human heads and fourlegs, while others having three snake heads and wings. Re passes by thesewithout incident as they are only guards.

Later on Re observes the demise of Apophis, the giantserpent representing chaos, whose severed coils are bound by Aker, a Dragonrepresenting the Earth.
There are many occurrences of Dragons in Egyptian mythology, another examplebeing Denwen. Denwen was attested in the third millennium B.C.E. and isdescribed as a fiery serpent that would have caused a conflagration destroyingall of the gods if it had not been thwarted by the King.
Amphitptere:

This dragon is thought to be one of the oldest varietiesof Dragon; the Amphitptere was a winged serpent-type without legs. In ancienthistory it was recorded in Egyptand in Arabia. Many believed that it guardedthe precious Frankincense trees, from which a resin comes that is used in manycultures for religious purposes.

Babylonian:

The Babylonian Dragon is found in the Epic of Creationfrom the early second millennium B.C.E.
It details the struggle of “Apsu” (God of the primordial waters under theearth) and “Tiamat” (the sea) against their son “Ea”. Accordingly, Apsu is saidto be defeated by Ea, who takes over his domain and produces a son, thegod-hero

“Marduk”.

Tiamat created all sorts of Dragons, including theMushussu Dragon, in order to have her revenge, but she is defeated in singlecombat by Marduk and her body is split to form the earth and the sky.

The Mushussu is subdued by Marduk and takes its place athis feet. These images were relatively short lived however, as the Chinese Lungtypes soon came to dominate in later Near Eastern mythology.
Lindworm:
The Lindworm had a serpentine-type body, one pair of legs, and it was wingless,therefore, it could not fly. Lindworms were found in Central Asia

India:
From there birthplace of Buddhism, around 500 BCE, we find pre-Buddhist snakeor serpentine-like creatures known as the NAGA were incorporated early on intoBuddhist mythology. Described as “water spirits with human shapes wearing acrown of serpents on their heads” or as “snake-like beings resembling clouds,”the NAGA are among the eight classes of deities who worship and protect theHistorical Buddha.
Even before the Historical Buddha (Siddhartha, Guatama) attained enlightenment,the Naga King Mucilinda (Sanskrit) is said to have protected Siddhartha fromwind and rain for seven days. This motif is found often in Buddhist art from India,represented by images of the Buddha sitting beneath Mucilinda’s hood andcoils.  In early India,images of the Dragon were in some ways similar to the Egyptian ones in thatthey resembled the snake. There were those, however, that represented the formof the crocodile, such as the “Makara”.  In Hindu myth the Indiansidentified the Dragon with nature. One of the Indian Dragons, “Vritra”, causeddrought by withholding water in its body until it is slain by Indra, god ofrain, with a bolt of lightning thus starting the monsoon. While there are manysimilarities with the Egyptian images, we can also see influences from theChinese Lung type.  The Indians Naga are more snake-like with a human headand a long thin limbless body.  But they are also water elementals,controlling rain and thus determining the flooding of the majorriver deltas.

They live in an underground city (some describe it as awatery underworld) and are also believed to protect springs, wells and rivers.They are also the symbol of fertility. In Hwaters then coiled upon amountainside. When it was killed by the thunderbolts thrown by the god Indra,life-giving waters flowed down the mountains.
Islamic:
Dragons in the Islamic world initially started out as astronomical figures, andwere linked to the Egyptian myth of Re’s voyage through the underworld.

The Dragon “Jawzahr” was thought to be responsible foreclipses and comets. The Dragons “Draco” and “Serpentarius” were emblazoned inthe stars.

There are many tales in Persian mythology of Dragonsrepresenting evil being slain by heroes, influenced by the Greek legends.

It is from this that the idea of Dragons guardingtreasure emerges, the treasure eventually passing to the King who representsgood.

This, however, was not to last. (When the Mongols invadedPersiathey imposed their own Chinese style images).
Mayan and Aztec:
The Mayan “Kukulkan”, later the Aztec “Quetzalcoatl”, was both good and evil,and it was thought to rule the four parts of the Earth. The greatest god of theAztecs was “Xiuhtecuhtli” who took on many manifestations, one of which beingthe fire serpent. There are parallels with the Chinese myths in thatQuetzalcoatl is described as being able to take the form of the Sun and isdepicted as being swallowed by the Earth serpent thus causing an eclipse.
African:
The “Amphisbaena” was a two-headed dragon (one at the front, and one on the endof its tail). The front head would hold the tail (or neck as the case may be)in its mouth, creating a circle that allowed it to roll.
Apocalyptic beast:
{Biblical – Most likely Middle East} A creature mentioned in the Book ofRevelation in the Bible. It has two horns, speaks like a dragon, and bears themystical number of the devil.
Malay mythology:
Raja Naga, the King of Serpents is dragon-like and lives in the sea. InIndonesian mythology, the dragon-like creatures are more earth than waterelements. The Javanese Naga of lore (left) is a mythical serpentine dragon thatrules the underworld, hoarding immense treasures.

Batak lore speaks of Silampane or Naga Padoha who rulesthe middle-earth and can take the vital essence of the man who faces the wrongdirection when fighting.

He also rules the moon and his wife lays eggs. Antabogais an Indonesian underworldindu mythology, the serpent-dragon Vritra, whichadopts a cloud-like form, absorbed the cosmicserpent that controls theproduction of rice. In Thailand,the Naga often has five heads and is a symbol of Narayana. In Myanmar, thenaga are called Nats or serpent-gods.
Vietnam:
Dragons are similar to Chinese Dragons in appearance and behavior but are moresinuous and spit fire. But they also control rain and the weather, and areassociated with the major rivers and the sea.

The Vietnamese Dragons are also closely associated withroyalty. Like the Chinese and Japanese Dragons, they are believed to be theprogenitors of the Vietnamese race.
North America:
The Piasa originated in North America, and wasworshipped by the Algonquians. It had the body of a dragon, the head of aperson, a lion’s mane, and a tail twice as long as a person.

This was a neo-dragon which lived near the Mississippi River. This dragon did not bother humansuntil it found dead ones and tried the meat. To its surprise, it liked thetaste. It now hunted humans and abducted people to bring them back to its lairfor dinner.
Ethiopia:
There is another neo-dragon known as “The Ethiopian Dream.” This type of dragonhad four wings and two feet with claws. They have no breath, but they atepoisonous plants to make their bite and their scratches deadlier. They werelarge enough to kill elephants. Once four of them were reported to have woventhemselves into a raft and sailed over the Red Sea to Arabia,where there was better places to hunt.
Source:

Author & Researcher

Crick

Website: Whispering Woods

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