The Myth of Dragons

Dragons have mystified people all over the world forever. They have been used to explain strange happenings; they have been worshipped, hated, and feared. However, the often stereo-typed dragon, mostly thought of as a giant winged reptile with 4 legs, can vary so far from the common conception that it turns into a very different creature. This was written to describe those variations and uncover the truth about dragons.

It is a collection of my research that I have gathered over a period of time.

Now anyone can accuse me of making up all this information about dragons but if you go to any of the source about dragons, you will find information roughly the same. This is because the people who originally documented the information studied the records of dragons written in roughly modern times. They have also studied the cultures where dragons are part of the religion or are believed in by the majority of the population.

Stereotypes

In many cultures that do not know each other know the dragon. They are integrated into the culture and in many cases, the religion. Dragons can vary from the common 4-legged, 2-winged European dragon, dracco occidentalis magnus, to the Indian naga, a mixture of a serpent and a human. This just goes to show that dragons not only vary in appearance, but also culture and background. It is also a common misconception that dragons only breathe fire, but have also been known to spit poison, breathe gas, “cold” (often an extremely icy gust capable of freezing objects it comes in contact with), lightning, or nothing at all. Also, the dragon is known to have a scaly coat of armor, but some, such as the amphithere, have feathers, and others, such as the Pernese dragon, have smooth leathery skin. Another stereotype is that dragons have spade tails. The amphisbaena has a second head at the end of its tail. The aforementioned amphithere has large and beautiful tail feathers. As for the number of wings and legs, as well as the type of wings, the stereotype is that dragons have two wings and four legs. However, as ever present in the African wyvern, all different combinations of legs and heads are not rare. So it is plainly clear that dragons are not all the same.

Physiology

A dragon is a creature that can adapt to many different habitats, thanks to its homoeothermic temperature system. In other words, a dragon is in complete control of its body’s temperature.