Comments on: Dragons on NPR

By: Dan Gannon

Dan Gannon — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:39:31 +0000

Here is one possible reason why dragon myths are found practically everywhere throughout the world:

H floresiensis lived along side Komodo dragons. If I’m right and hybridization events (involving H floresiensis or a close relative) were instrumental in the emergence of Homo sapiens, (or at least make some appearance in the ancestry of some of us) it makes sense that Homo sapiens might carry such myths along with them, as they colonized the rest of the world.

By: skeptik

skeptik — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:11:40 +0000

Dragon or dinosaur, potato or potato.

But dragons have a much stronger metaphysical side to them in China (or the East) which they didn’t have in Europe, though. They still call the Great Wall for the sleeping dragon, and I believe the dragon of the east is a lot more spiritual being than the evil beast that attacked European knights in the fairytales.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:16:21 +0000

There is now good evidence for dinosaur and other prehistoric fossil bones being uncovered in the ruins of many a Greek temple, along with a few suggestive snippets of text from contemporary writers to confirm that this was the case. A review of past excavations in previous centuries shows that “anomalous skull” or “Animal fossil” often turned up in the digs, but that they were, astoundingly enough, usually simply discarded!

Much has been said about the myth of the Griffin being linked to fossils of Protoceratops in Afghanistan, including eggs, and that these fossil beds often contained gold, which the Griffin was supposed to line its nests with. I think the History Channel’s “History’s Mysteries” did a piece on that not too long ago.

And of course we all know that the Chinese referred to dinosaur fossils as “Dragon Bones.”

While there may be other explanations, such as large, long-necked cryptids lurking in Africa, I think the fact that many fossils were interpreted in mythological terms in ages past is pretty undisputable.

By: daledrinnon

daledrinnon — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:18:49 +0000

BTW, I have seen an ancient Grrek silver version of the sea nymph riding on a sea serpent: much prettier, but otherwise about the same composition.

By: Sunny

Sunny — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:04:25 +0000

About a year ago, give or take, the Discovery channel produced a pseudo-documentary entitled “Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real”

It was a very well-balanced look at exactly this sort of issue, and was created around the assumption that the fossilized bones of a dragon and it egg had been found, and followed the scientific “examination” of the remains. It touched on things like why Chinese dragons were different than European dragons, for example, how they could have breathed fire, and so on.

It was fascinating for both me and my eight-year-old son — and we now own the video — and is recommended viewing for anyone who wonders about these creatures.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:32:00 +0000

“All Things Considered, January 27, 2007 · Old maps bore the scary legend “here there be dragons.” These days dragons aren’t so scary. In countless books and movies, they’re portrayed as loving companions to the humans that ride them.”

This person obviously hasn’t seen Reign of Fire or Dragonslayer! I think the stories of dragons are really interesting because you have these representations of them all over the world and it makes me wonder, where did this come from? Are they all just artistic representations? If so, why so many creatures of a similar appearance? I often wonder if there is some grain of truth to these stories of dragons. Was there ever an animal alive that was the catalyst for all of this? It is very interesting to speculate about.