Warning: This blogpost is not for the squeamish, or those who think that dragons are cute and cuddly. This is the (long overdue) second part of a study of 50 different ways to slay a dragon. You can find the first part here. Divine assistance Dragonslayers with holy connections call on divine assistance to help … Continued
Warning: This blogpost is not for the squeamish, or those who think that dragons are cute and cuddly. Though modern dragon stories are often about good dragons, most myths and legends of dragons are all about bad dragons. These tales are really about the hero who kills the dragon. Over the centuries there has … Continued
I was eagerly waiting to see how the dragon was depicted in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Needless to say, armed with my 3D glasses, I went to see the movie the day it was released. Smaug is one of the most well-known dragons in fiction, imagined anew by every reader for the last … Continued
The Bible might not be the first place you’d think to look for dragons, but they are there. In fact, the Bible begins and ends with dragons. The Hebrew word for dragon is tannin (plural tanninim). These are terrifying sea dragons conquerable only by God. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew between 13th and … Continued
So far, my dragonology blogs have been about dragons from ancient myths and legends. This time I want to talk about some modern dragons. Graffiti artists, like all artists, can paint whatever they want. In my search for dragons around my hometown (Melbourne), I have noticed that dragons often pop up as a subject for … Continued
Ancient Tales Dragon stories have been told for centuries, millennia perhaps. But one of the most popular dragon stories, repeated, revised, relished again and again, is the story of the hero who saves the princess who is about to be sacrificed to a dragon. The oldest version is the ancient Greek story of Perseus. He … Continued
I recently received a tweet from some students who queried my claim that I was a dragonologist. So I’ve decided to write occasional dragon blogs, to prove my credentials. This is the first one on Japanese dragons which didn’t make it into by dragon encyclopedia Dragon Companion. Different At first glance, Japanese dragons look very … Continued