Who doesn't love dragons? Even though they never existed, they've left their mark on human history. Here are the 10 most culturally significant dragons in the world.
10. Zilant
You may not have heard of this, but Kazan — one of Russia's most important cities. The capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, an independent khanate, it was captured by Ivan the Terrible, rebuilt by Catherine the Great, and both Tolstoy and Lenin studied here during their student years. In fact, it's a century and a half older than Moscow and better captures the mystique of Eurasia, where East and West meet. In fact, Moscow paid Kazan huge sums , so that it would remain part of the country. It is currently a large, oil-rich production center.
The story of its foundation is similar to the myth of the creation of the world. According to legend , The land on which Kazan was built was a nest of snakes, permeated with a putrid stench and a hissing sound. One of the snakes, known as Zilant, had two heads: one like a snake, with which it ate animals, and one like a bull, with which it ate grass. Thinking it the ideal place to found a powerful capital, Kazan's founder hired a wizard to clear out the nest. However, since it also had wings, Zilant fled to a nearby hill and terrorized the city as it grew.
Eventually, Zilant was killed and is now immortalized oncoat of arms of Kazan . In heraldry, Zilant is a dragon called wyvern . They have the upper body of a dragon and the lower body or tail of a snake.
9. Ryujin
In Japan, the dragon is a symbol of power. There are two types, Tatsu и ryu , both of which, unlike Chinese dragons, are usually depicted with three claws. The most powerful of these is the Shinto dragon god Ryujin. Living underwater in a coral palace, he is the Lord of the Ocean and the possessor of the Tidal Jewels, which he uses to control the tides. Being a water dragon, he is accompanied by a staff of butlers. -half-fish-half-human .
Considered the guardian of the Shinto faith, Ryujin is depicted in temples and shrines throughout Japan. dragon kings , perhaps the most diverse dragons in the world. Among them are the 40-foot Han Ryu, striped with nine different colors; the eight-headed Yamata-no-Orochi; and the super-sighted Ri Ryu, who can see over 100 miles.
Ryujin also has a daughter, "Luminous Pearl"« Toyota-Hime . As the Sea Dragon Princess, she is known for her extraordinary beauty, except for her dragon form.
8. Antaboga
Warp Javanese shadow theaters , Antaboga - "World Serpent" - "older than age itself." Antaboga spent his entire timeless existence in meditation, eventually meditating on the creation of a companion, Bedwang "World Turtle." This was the beginning of the Universe .
Noticing that Bedwang had come with the underworld, as well as the world, Antaboga sealed it with a lid of black stone. But the gods of the underworld, Setesujara and Batara Kala, disliked the darkness and brought it back, allowing earth and light to flow into existence, and then water and sky, the sun, moon, stars, and so on.
Then, when the universe was created, Antaboga went to Heaven. However, the story doesn't end there. In Heaven, he was asked to build a palace for the supreme god, Batara Guru, and he discovered that without arms and legs, it was impossible. So the dragon wept, and from his tears emerged an egg encrusted with precious stones. Fortunately, this was enough to please Batara Guru, who considered it a beautiful decoration for his palace—even after the goddess Devi Sri hatched.
7. Fafnir
Once a mortal man, Fafnir became a dragon after killing his father for his gold, which, unknown to him, was cursed by the Norse god Odin. Unable to spend his ill-gotten gains, Fafnir was doomed to protect him …until the hero Sigurd, urged on by Odin and Fafnir's brother Regin, slew him. At his brother's request, Sigurd also removed Fafnir's heart and roasted it over a fire. According to legend, Regin hoped to gain knowledge by eating the dragon's heart. Unfortunately for him, however, Sigurd touched the heart while it was cooking to check its readiness and burned his thumb. He then put the burnt finger in his mouth, inadvertently swallowing part of the heart, and suddenly discovered he could understand the language of birds, which warned him, just in the nick of time, that Regin planned to kill him. So Sigurd killed Regin instead and took Fafnir's treasure for himself.
What makes Fafnir so important, you ask? This ancient Norse dragon wasn't just the star of the Völsunga saga; he was also a key influence on J.R.R. Tolkien and became the model for dragon Smaug from «The Hobbit» . Like Fafnir, who warns Sigurd against his hoard, saying, "The same gold I possessed will also be your curse," Smaug can speak. "My armor is like a tenfold shield," he warns Bilbo Baggins, "my teeth are swords, my claws are spears," and so on. And, of course, Baggins, like Sigurd, is here to steal his treasure.
However Fafnir and other dragons in ancient literature (including the dragon in "« Beowulf ») were not just models for Smaug; they were the spark of all Middle-earth. «I longed for dragons,» Tolkien once said, describing «the world which contained even Fafnir’s imagination» as rich and beautiful. In fact, some of his earliest stories were about dragons. So without Fafnir, we might never have had any «The Lord of the Rings» , not even the fantasy genre as we know it.
6. St. George's Dragon
The dragon killed by the Roman warrior of Greek origin, known today as Saint George, lived near the city of Silene (in the territory of modern Libya ). According to legend, he rode into the city amidst an approaching storm and pierced the beast with his spear, whom he named Ascalon .
However, it wasn't until the 9th century, 500 years after Saint George's death, that the earliest depictions appeared. The tale didn't even reach Western Europe until the 13th century—almost a millennium after his death. In other words, it's safe to say the story was nothing more than a fable.
However, this does not mean that people in the Middle Ages did not believe in dragons. They did . In fact, dragons have appeared in reputable bestiaries and natural history books. One reason for this is the prevalence of counterfeit stuffed "dragons." But it's also due to the fact that observations are lost in translation. At least in Europe, the mythical dragon likely evolved from centuries of embellishment of what was originally a kind of snake, because the Greek word for "serpent" is dragon .
5. Yu Draig Goh
The national flag of Wales is one of the most striking in the world: a large and detailed red dragon ( Ddraig goch (in Welsh) on a green and white background. And although (officially) he dates back to 1959 , the red dragon has been the emblem of Wales for much longer, and was used as early as 655 AD by Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd.
The red dragon also appears as a symbol of Wales in the 12th-century legend of Merlin ( Mirdine ), awakening and battling a white dragon representing England. In fact, the name of King Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, means "dragon's head." In 1346, at the Battle of Crécy Welsh archers in green and white robes They marched under the banner of the red dragon. But it was Henry VII who first superimposed the image of the red dragon, the symbol of his lineage, Cadwaladr, on a green and white background, the colors of the House of Tudor, for his flag at the Battle of Bosworth.
By the early 19th century, when Great Britain annexed Ireland, the red dragon was the obvious choice for Wales's national emblem. In 1953, it was surrounded by a circle of text: Y Ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn (The red dragon gives a push.).
4. The Great Red Dragon
In the Bible's final apocalyptic book, the Book of Revelation, Satan appears as the Great Red Dragon. And he doesn't hold back. Appeared seven-headed beast with 10 horns (it is believed that it symbolizes seven hills of Rome ) and "took a third of the stars from the sky and cast them to the earth." Then he "stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth to the child, he might swallow it up.".
The Great Red Dragon , painted by William Blake, He hates the woman for giving birth to a follower of God. In Blake's series of watercolors, the sky is stormy and dark, stirred by the flapping of the Red Serpent's wings. A torrent summoned by the dragon rises to engulf her, but at the last moment, as the dragon hovers to watch her drown, God saves her by granting her wings.
For Blake, good and evil were two sides of the same coin, hence the image of the woman and dragon's arms extended in mirror image. Neither exists independently of the other.
3. Print
Another country with a dragon on its flag is Bhutan. Almost ethereal in white ( although initially green ) against an orange and yellow background, this is Druk - Thunder Dragon . In fact, for the people who live there (the Drukpa), Bhutan's real name is Drukul, "Land of the Thunder Snake." There's an entire Thunder Snake culture, complete with dragon temples and monuments, that has been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times.
The Druk originated in Tibet and spread to Bhutan as the Drukpa Kagyu lineage. In Tibetan mythology, the Druk reports to Klu — Chinese-style water dragons, temperamental in nature, whose queen rode out dressed in snakes and with a sack full of diseases.
The Druk is generally benevolent. On the flag of Bhutan, its white scales symbolize the purity and unity of the various ethnic groups, and the precious stones in its claws symbolize the wealth and perfection of the Drukul, or Bhutan.
2. La Gargouille
The French city of Rouen was terrorized by a bloodthirsty dragon in the Middle Ages—at least according to legend. La Gargouille, who lived in a cave by the Seine, had a serpentine neck, a thin head, and «"membranous wings". But he continued to wreak havoc wherever he went, spewing water that sank ships and belching fire. According to legend, locals were so desperate to make peace with the dragon that they sacrificed criminals and (less often, reluctantly) young women.
Eventually, a nobleman named Frater Romanus saved the people, but only on the condition that they build a church in the city and be baptized. After they agreed, he rode to La Gargoyle and tamed him with the sign of the cross, then led him back to be burned at the stake.
Only his head and neck survived ( fire-resistant ), so they were attached to the city wall. A replica was also carved on Rouen Cathedral, becoming the world's first gargoyle, an architectural drainpipe named after a dragon. Incidentally, the name La Gargoyle comes from the Late Latin gurgula , which means "throat".
1. Azure Dragon
Azure Dragon so important In classical Chinese mythology, the group of stars (or asterisms) representing it occupies a quarter of the sky and is divided into seven parts. In fact, the Azure Dragon is even important in Japan as the protector of Tokyo and Korea.
Representative of the East, the Azure Dragon is one of the four cardinal totems , except for the Scarlet Bird (south), White Tiger (west) and Black Tortoise (north). He controls the weather, breathes clouds and affects rivers, lakes and seas.
Of course, in Chinese mythology There is many other dragons . Besides the Dragon King, who controls all the seas of China and can assume any form, the Azure Dragon is simply the most important. Others include the Horned Dragon, an evil creature that has lived long enough to grow horns; the Treasure Dragon, which guards personal wealth; and the Cloud Dragon, which flies through the clouds, bringing rain, and is often depicted in paintings.