First, the domain name of this webpage--dracodraconis--means "dragon" in Latin. (Draco is the noun dragon in nominative case, singular while draconis is the noun dragon in genitive case, singular thus making the Latin designation for "dragon" draco, draconis, masculine, third declension.) Hence the obvious page dedicated to dragons.
- Dragon (DRAG uhn, DRAYG uhn) [ME dragun, dragoun, fr. OF dragun, dragon, fr. L dracon-, draco serpent, dragon, fr. Gk drakon serpent]
- 1:archaic:a huge serpent
- 2:a fabulous animal generally represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws
- 3a:the heraldic representation of a monster with a griffin's head, a scaly winged body with four legs and claws, and a long barbed tail and tongue borne as a charge or used as a supporter b: dial. Brit. a paper kite of dragon form c: a beneficent supernatural creature in Chinese mythology connected with rain and floods
- 4: a violent, combative, or very strict person; esp.: a woman that watches fiercely and vigilantly over the welfare ofher charges
- 5: any of several arums popularly associated with dragons: as a: GREEN DRAGON b: JACK-IN-THE-PULPIT c: WATER ARUM d: a plant of the genus Dracontium
- 6a: a short musket formerly carried hooked to a soldier's blet; also: a soldier carrying such a musket b: an armored tractor for artillery
- 7:[trans. of NL Draco] a: any of numerous small brilliantly colored arboreal agamid lizards (genus Draco of the East Indies and southern Asia having five or six of the hind ribs on each side prolonged and covered with a web of skin forming a sort of wing and aiding them in making long, gliding leaps from tree to tree--called also flying dragon b: any of certain other lizards of related genera: as (1): JEW LIZARD (2): WATER DRAGON
Types of Dragons:
- Western Dragon--
- a hoarder, evil, malevolent, breathes fire in later myths
- Wyvern--
- a two-legged dragon used in heraldy to represent pestilence and war
- Eastern Dragon--
- a kind, beneficent dragon, brings rains, fertility
- Imperial Chinese Dragon--
- five clawed dragon, protector of heaven, represents Imperial power, divinity, timelessness
- Common Chinese Dragon--
- four clawed dragon, represents temporal power, tied to the earth
- Christian Dragon--
- a physical manifestation of evil and Satan
- Cartoon Dragons--
- Common in Children's movies and on TV, these are artists' conceptions of the mythical beast.
- Puff The Magic Dragon--
- A magic dragon who lived on the shores of Honna Lee, he has delighted small children for decades and--God willing--will continue to do so.
Western dragons tend to be hoarders of everything that is precious to the people whose countryside they ransack as well as malevolent creatures bent on doing harm. In Greek mythology, dragons are always guarding something or eating someone. Ladon, offspring of Typhon and Echidna, guarded the goldend apples of Hesperides, Pythos controlled the oracle at Delphi until Apollo slew it, a fifty-headed Hydra guarded the gates to Tartarus, Andromeda was given as a sacrifice to a sea-dragon but was saved by Perseus, and a dragon guarded the golden fleece in Colchis until it was put to sleep by Medea. The list goes on. In Christian mythology, dragons symbolize evil and are the physical embodiment of Satan. The number of Saints who slew dragons is numerous. Among them, Saint George, the patron saint of England, is the most famous, but Saint Anthony of Egypt who lived in the third century and killed dragons in the desert is also well-known. Moreover, the Archangel Michael is credited with having slain Satan in the form of a dragon.
In Egyptian mythology, the god of the underworld, Osiris, is sometimes represented by a dragon.
Eastern dragons are usually benevolent creatures that bring rains to water crops, fertility, and balance to the forces of nature. They are also seen as being old and wise. There are two classes of Chinese dragons--the Imperial Dragon and the more common dragon. The common dragon has four claws on each foot and represents finite, earthly power. The Imperial Dragon has five claws on each foot and represents the power of the Chinese emperors.
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