Dragon Statue

The dragon is virlually a universal mythical beast
appearing throughout written history. Legends of dragons
appear in writings as far back as the ancient Egyptians,
Romans, Greeks and Babylonians. Stories of dragons
also appear in the literature of the English, Irish, Norse,
Scandinavians and Germans to mention a few cultures
with tales of dragons.

The dragon of legend is often depicted as a giant
replilian like creature having wings, a long alligator like
tail, huge claws and a breath of fire. Images of dragons
have been seen on many art objects around the world
throughout the ages. The dragons likeness can be seen
on Babylonian landmarks, Roman mosaics, on royal
robes, governmeent seals, on shields and on the fronts of
boats of the ancient Norsemen to mention a few of these
artifacts.

The dragons nature has been depicted in various
ways depending on the mythology and culture of different
people throughout history. Dragons were
honored,respected and revered by some cultures and
feared, hated and despised as a monster to be
destroyed by other cultures.

In the biblical writings of the ancient Hebrews the
dragon often represented death and evil. The Christians
later followed with this inherited conception and used the
dragon as a symbol of sin to be slain triumphantly by
saints and martyrs.

Tales of the dragons nefarious acts are often told in
the stories of many ancient mythologies. The dragon in
the story is often slain by some brave warrior hero to gain
honor and credibility after saving a village or town from
the dreaded dragon. Such a hero battling a dragon is the
legendary Hercules of Greek mythology.

The dragon is not always seen as a menace. In
certain mythologies and stories the dragon is seen to be
old and wise, possesssed with magical powers, and
having an ability to communicate to humans the many
mysteries of the earth. Rather than being portrayed as a
thing to be feared, the dragon is seen as being benign
and a protector rather than an enemy.

The dragon is very prominent in the far east in
countries such as Japan and China. The dragon is
spoken of in the ancient Chinese book the I Ching in
which these creatures are associated with feritlity, power
and well being. The dragon is deified by the Taoist
religion. Among the Chinese people the dragon is
traditionally regarded as a symbol of good fortune and its
likeness is on the national emblem of the Chinese
empire.