One of the earliest stories about dragons is a Sumerian (Sumeria was located where Iraq lies in present day) myth, dated from about 5000 B.C. The dragon's name is Zu. Most early myths about dragons, including this one, involved some kinds of gods. In this myth, Zu steals the Tablets of Law from the god known as Enlil. Enlil in turn sends Ninurta, the sun god, to retrieve the Tablets. Ninurta then kills Zu and takes back the Tablets.
The Enuma Elish, a Babylonian story of creation, is another early dragon story. The story states that the sea serpants Apsu (meaning fresh water) and Tiamat (meaning salt sea) were the first gods' parents. Little is said about the appearance of Apsu. It is mentioned though that Tiamat has the head and front legs of a lion, wings and hind legs of an eagle, and tongues, scales, and tail of a snake, making him look much like a backwards griffin. Enki, one of the serpents' great grandsons, kills Apsu because of a misunderstanding. Angered, Tiamat tries to go after Enki. One of the youngest gods, Marduk, agrees then to fight Tiamat. Marduk succedes in trapping Tiamat in a net and shooting arrows down her throat. Marduk then becomes chief of all the gods for this amazing feat and creates the earth of Tiamat's remains.
There are many tales of dragons that are similar to this one. One Hittite tale tells of how the strom god, with the help of the goddess Inaras and her human lover Hupasigas, slayed a dragon name Illugankas. A Canaanite story, from the Poem of Baal, tells of how the young god Baal defeated a dragon with seven heads named Yam-Nahar. A tale in Egypt tells of a sea dragon name Apophis tried to overcome Ra, the egyption god of sun. Apophis was then slain by the young god Seth.
Drakon was the name given to dragons in Greek. It is derived from the word Darc, which means to see, or to see clearly. There was a seperate word for female dragons, Draikaina, but the name was rarely used because nearly all famous dragons were male. Greek legends were the first stories to contain the popular scenerio of the princess being captured by a dragon and saved by a young hero. The earliest known dragon story in Greek is the tale of the golden fleece. In this story, a man named Jason, with the help of a beautiful sorceress and princess named Medea, set out on a quest for the golden fleece, which was held by King Aeëts of Colchis and guarded by a dragon with a bad temper. Medea forced Jason to marry her if she showed him how to retrieve the golden fleece. She made a sleeping potion and slipped it to the dragon. Jason accomplished his mission with all limbs in tact.
One of the dragons killed by Hercules was the Hydra. It had nine heads. One of the heads was immortal, and if you cut one of them off, two would immediately grow back in its place. Hercules and his charioteer Iolaus killed Hydra by burning off eight of its heads, then burying the immortal one under a stone. Hercules dipped his arrows in the Hydra's fatally poisonous venom. In present day, the meaning of the word hydra is a dragon with more than one head.
In another dragon story involvin Hercules, the gods Poseidon and Apollo made a deal with King Laomedon of Troy. Poseidon and Apollo said that they would build impenetrable walls around Troy for a small price. After the walls were built, Laomedon did not keep his end of the bargain. Poseidon punished him by connjuring up a sea serpant to attack the city. Laomedon went to and oracle was told that he could sacrifice his daughter to the dragon to please the gods. The overly greedy Laomedon chained his daugher to a rock and left her as a meal for the dragon. At that time, Hercules was passing through Troy and offered to slay the dragon in exchange for horses that Zues had given Laomedon. Laomedon agreed, but yet again went back on his word. After Hercules killed the dragon, a curse descended upon troy that later lead to the Trojan war, in punishment for Laomedon's lies.
In yet another story involving Hercules and dragons, Hercules had been given the task of stealing three of the golden appleas from a tree that had been given to the goddess, and his evil step-mother Hera. The tree was guarded by a large dragon with 100 heads named Ladon who had curled completely around the tree to protect it. Hercules asked Atlas, a man who had offended the gods and was punished by carrying the world on his shoulders, for help. So, Hercules held the world on his back for an hour while Atlas got the golden apples for him. Atlas accomplished this and decided that it felt so good not to have the world on him that he would take a few months off. Hercules agreed to it and had Atlas hold the earth while he grabbed soem padding for his head. But, instead of getting paddding, Hercules took the apples and left. Hera, being very saddened by the loss of her pet, made a place for it in the sky in the form of the constellation called Draco.
Not long after her died in 303, the story of his dragon encounter was thought up. By the 500's, the story was translated into six different languages. The story became very popular very quickly. In the height of its fame, nearly 200 churches were dedicated to St. George in England alone. One of the earliest of the stories goes like this:
There was once a large city with no source of water. The nearest water was in an osasis, guarded by a dragon, outside of the city walls. The dragon would not allow anyone to drink of the water unless he was given a youth or maiden to eat. The dragon's way of defending the oasis was his fiery breath. Many men tried many times to slay the dragon, but every time the men were killed by him breath. So, one by one, the youths and maidens of the city were eaten until only the King's daughter was left. He finally gave in to the begging of his people and sent his only daughter to be devoured. St. George rode up on a white horse only seconds before she was to be eaten. He charged directly at the dragon and killed it with a single blow to the heart with his lance. St. George was given half of his kingdom and his daughter's hand in marriage by the grateful King.
Other, later versions of the staroy had many differences. One version had the dragon living in a cave and demanding sheep and young virgins. In another, St. George only injures the dragon with his lance. He then drags it into town and chops off its head in front of all of the villagers.
There were also dragons stories being told at the same time in Cathay (present-day China) and other parts of Asia. The following is from the 400's. A very wonderful dragon painter, Zhang Zengyad, painted four dragons once on a wall in Anle Temple in Jinling. Strangely though, he did not paint any eyes on the dragons, saying that if he painted eyes, they would be able to see and therefore fly away. After much urging, he reluctantly finished the painting, but only put eyes on two dragons. After he painted, clouds quickly rolled in and thunder clapped and lightning flashed. The two dragons with eyes broke out of the wall and soared into the sky, never to be seen again.
A Roman legend of how the constellation Draco came to be takes place during the war between the gods and giants. Minverva throws Draco's twisted body into the heavens before it has time to unwind itself.
The most commonly accepted version of Draco's arrival in the heavens is that Draco was the dragon killed by Cadmus. Cadmus discovered the fearful dragon who had slain his companions. He killed it with his spear, and then upon the order of Minerva sowed the dragon's teeth in the ground. From the teeth sprung warriors, who batttled each other until only five were left. These five, along with Cadmus himself, were the first people of the city of Thebes.
