𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐀 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒

龙 . 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲

The term dragon has no zoological meaning, but it is derived from the Latin word draconem. It has also been applied in the Latin generic name Draco, to several species of small lizards found in the Indo-Malayan region. The name is also popularly applied to the giant monitor, Varanus komodoensis, discovered on Komodo Island and a few neighbouring islands of the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia.

Dragons are massive animals and are usually known to breathe fire. They have large, beautiful wings and a long tail along with unique coloured scales. Most people find them terrifying, but if you take the time to look at them closely and understand them, you'll find that they're actually very beautiful creatures.

Dragon tales are known in many cultures, from the Americas to Europe, and from India to China. They have a long, rich history and continue to populate our books, films, and television shows.

When Christianity spread across the world, dragons took on a decidedly sinister interpretation and eventually came to represent Satan. This has influenced our modern perception of dragons to become terrifying beasts that must be slain for the protagonist to win.

However, in East Asian mythologies the dragon retains its prestige and is conceived as a beneficent creature. The Chinese dragon, lung, represents yang, the principle of heaven, activity, and maleness in the yin-yang of Chinese cosmology. In ancient times it was the emblem of the imperial family, and until the founding of the republic in 1911, the dragon adorned the Chinese flag.

The dragon came to Japan with much of the rest of Chinese culture, and there it became capable of changing its size at will, even to the point of becoming invisible. Both Chinese and Japanese dragons, though regarded as powers of the air, are usually wingless. They are among the deified forces of nature in Daoism.

Dragons also figure in the ancient mythologies of other Asian cultures, including those of Korea, India, and Vietnam, but nowhere else in the world was the creature quite so revered as in China. There, it marked contrast to other world mythologies, the dragon was almost always seen in a positive light and particularly associated with life-giving rains and water sources. Considered the most auspicious year sign, worn on the robes of emperors, depicted in the most precious materials from gold jewellery to jade figurines, and with countless references in literature and the performing arts, the dragon was everywhere in ancient China and looms as large today in the Chinese psyche as ever.

One of the earliest depictions portrays dragons as giant snakes in the mythologies of the ancient Near East, particularly in Mesopotamian art and literature, where dragon-like creatures are described in the Epic of Creation, the Enuma Elish, from the late 2nd millennium BC.

In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Apep or Apophis is a giant serpentine creature who resides in the realm of the dead or below the horizon. First mentioned during the 8th Dynasty (2181 BC to 2160 BC), Apep was born from Ra's umbilical cord and was the opponent of light and Ma'at, locked in epic duels through the ages with Ra.

Dragons (Ancient Greek: drakōns) played a significant role in Ancient Greek mythology, often appearing with a poisonous spit, although fiery breath is attested in several myths. Some depictions also show the drakaina, a female serpent with several features of a human woman. Many Greek heroes fought or encountered draconic creatures. For example, Heracles slayed the Lernaean Hydra, Jason drugged a sleepless dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, Zeus battled the monster Typhon, and Cadmus fought the dragon of Ares.

The Romans had little interest in developing new dragon (Latin: dracōnis) traditions of their own, mainly adapting the mythology of the Ancient Greeks to suit their needs. During the 2nd century AD after the Dacian wars, the Roman military used the Draco as their military standard of the cohort, as the eagle (Aquila) was that of the legion.

A cosmological diagram of the Dragon God presents the concept of dragons in Chinese culture and the cosmological Sihai Longwang 'Dragon King of the Four Seas'. Each Dragon King is associated with a colour and a body of water. The Azure Dragon or Blue-Green Dragon represents the East and the essence of Spring. The Red Dragon holds the South and the essence of Summer. The Black Dragon of the North and the essence of Winter. The White Dragon belongs to the West and is the essence of Autumn, and then there's the Yellow Dragon, who is the zoomorphic incarnation of the Yellow Emperor.