Dragon myths are common all around the globe from times when global communications did not exists. Dragons often appear in religious and spiritual contexts. One can find dragon stories in the old religions of South America, in Africa, In Scandinavia, in Celtic countries and of course China and Japan.

The symbolism of dragons is wide and varied, from spiritual omens, to destroyers and creators of worlds, to guardians of divinities, to symbols of sexuality and victory over sexual desire.

Why is the dragon such a powerful symbol found on every continent? Does it go back to contact with Dinosaur like creatures? Does the fire breathing dragon a reference to volcano or is it simply use of fire a well known symbol for spirit (in the ancient world)?

My main question is… even if the origin of Dragon myths is Dinosaur, large reptiles or snakes, what lends this particular myth to being taken as spiritual / religious symbol, that it should be common around the ancient cultures of the world?

here's a picture the sexual-energy lifeforce snake/dragon/kundalini that fooled adam and eve among many other things: the snake that turns into a staff (http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/7936/spinenerveshk9.jpg)

I don't think dinosaurs and dragons are myths. Fear of our external world and deadly creatures is programmed into our DNA across all cultures.

dragons existed and still exist. They are spirits of power of will and honor. They dance within our hearts unison united.

http://www.alidasaxon.com/gallery/images/t33.jpg

Possible, indeed I would say probable, explanation for ALL dragon myths is related to the consumption of halucinogenic substances which, until our more recent, enlightened!, times has been quite normal.

Very neatly explained by Graham Hancock in his book 'Supernature' and in a series of clips by him on the following:

http://grahamhancock.thd-web.jp/

Possible, indeed I would say probable, explanation for ALL dragon myths is related to the consumption of halucinogenic substances which, until our more recent, enlightened!, times has been quite normal.

Very neatly explained by Graham Hancock in his book 'Supernature' and in a series of clips by him on the following:

http://grahamhancock.thd-web.jp/

Graham Hancock has no imagination it seems. This world is just as real as any other to where souls like as travel.

Eh?

probably the best dragon in the world:

the welsh dragon:

http://www.evans-welshponies.com/images/welsh_dragon.jpg

probably the best dragon in the world:

the welsh dragon:

http://www.evans-welshponies.com/images/welsh_dragon.jpg

A good example; how on earth did a dragon come to be the symbol of wales....and why?

A good example; how on earth did a dragon come to be the symbol of wales....and why?

Chinese travelers.

Don't be ridiculous, Chinese dragons are completely different from their European counterparts.

Don't be ridiculous, Chinese dragons are completely different from their European counterparts.

well than...were did it come from?

From that which is common in human brains.

I don't think dinosaurs and dragons are myths. Fear of our external world and deadly creatures is programmed into our DNA across all cultures.It's called an "archetype," an instinctive belief that is pre-programmed in our synapses. Jung catalogued hundreds of them, and religions are essentially nothing more than collections of archetypes. Many are inexplicable, either survival traits in response to a risk that existed in the past that we can't imagine, and those humans who didn't have it didn't live to reproduce; or random mutations that were passed down through a genetic bottleneck.

I've never seen a good hypothesis for fear of snakes as a survival trait in primitive humans. However as an aviculturist I know that it is almost universal in bird species and that is understandable. Snakes are the only predators that can follow them up into the trees and out to the ends of their branches where they're safe from everything else. If I drag a garden hose past the window where my parrots are watching, they go absolutely berserk.

Since the theory that we're all descended from a tribe of proto-humans in Africa is still holding up, maybe in those days there were some really big dangerous snakes in Africa. Only the people who got an adrenaline rush when they saw one lived to found our species. For that matter, our earlier primate ancestors were arboreal like birds and snakes were doubtless a problem for them like they are for birds. Our fear of snakes could be tens of millions of years old.

Look around you. How many of the people you know--heck, how many of you folks yourselves--go berserk when you see a snake? We're all rational, educated people and very few of us actually live in locations inhabited by dangerous snakes. Except in godforsaken places like Arizona, virtually every snake we're ever likely to encounter is our friend because he feasts on rodents. Yet we scream and run away.

The dragon is just the snake archetype writ large.

With all due respect sir (:D). I think snake is an archetype on its own.

Did somebody say Satan? Bwahaha.

I think there might be some truth the old dragon myths.
Obviously, it's not some fire-breathing monster. That would be an example of grossly exaggerating something that possibly existed.
However, it is possible that they were based on surviving, relict, and isolated groups or populations of large reptiles that posed a danger to neolithic man. Not dinosaurs per se, but possibly related groups, or even large lizards.

These things would have probably died out before the chalcolithic age, but stories and legends about them would have been passed down from culture to culture, through many civilizations, with new cultural fixations and ideals being imprinted onto their interpretation of these original, old, and historically-based myths.

Look around you. How many of the people you know--heck, how many of you folks yourselves--go berserk when you see a snake? We're all rational, educated people and very few of us actually live in locations inhabited by dangerous snakes. Except in godforsaken places like Arizona, virtually every snake we're ever likely to encounter is our friend because he feasts on rodents. Yet we scream and run away.

The dragon is just the snake archetype writ large.

What you say undoubtably makes sense for snakes, but in many cultures the dragon is not something to be feared, it is a benificial omen.

In Taoism dragons often protect dieties, also the dragon is sybol of male sexual force.

In the English Isles, the leaders of clans were called Dragons and their kings were Pendragons

With all due respect sir (:D). I think snake is an archetype on its own.

which is true, while the majority find snakes repulsive; the notion of dragons seems to be far more attractive to people. ??

Yes, the dragon in Asia is a different symbol than in Western mythology. For one thing, it has no wings. But in the West it is an evil snake that kills people and burns down villages. For powerful men to use the dragon as their symbol is similar to using any fearsome creature such as a lion or a bear. It's a way of telling your enemies, your competitors, your subordinates and your captive peoples, "I'm big, I'm bad, I'm strong, and I show no mercy."

Archeologist Gimbutas dug up a lot of ancient lore and concluded that the snake was revered in the mother-goddess pre-history society. When the patriarch-monogamous religions developed in Sumer and then Egypt, they promoted the male god and turned the snake into a symbol of the old order, the old and discredited system. The new male-dominated system proved so successful it created those two civilizations and spread into India and China to produce several more.

In Babylon-Sumer, the snake was made to be "evil" and big enough to be a threat that strong, brave men could kill. In the Genesis myth, it merely tempts eve, a member representing the old order, to get Adam to defy the new male God. Of course, the new male god wins and they are cast out into the world. This myth also establishes the partriarchal monogamous system. Adam was given just one woman. Even the alpha males were (theoretically) allowed only one. It was a system of rationing.

charles, http://humanpurpose.simplenet.com

probably the best dragon in the world:

the welsh dragon:

http://www.evans-welshponies.com/images/welsh_dragon.jpg

its so cute and cudly i want one for a pet

I saw a picture of one bringing down the World Trade Center. I'm not kidding! I saw it at a scientific site!!

probably the best dragon in the world

I thought you were going to say 'the Carlsberg dragon' :D (sorry, Carlsberg joke).

Anyway,

I wonder if many dragon stories perhaps originated from the finding of dinosaur fossils? In ancient times such a find must have been quite freaky as best and one could assume that the finding of such a thing would ultimately lead to many dragon style stories. I'm just guessing though..

All these hypotheses are mere speculation. The most plausible explanation is probably the most sane: that aliens are running the earth and occasionally send giant space lizards to lay waste to a city (or of course the World Trade Center) to scare us into compliance.

Seriously, though, it's probably akin to the legends of sirens and other sea creatures that turned out to have real biological origins, but were distorted by word-of-mouth telephone games between sailors and landlubbers alike.

Whales are well-known for singing, and anything the size of a sperm whale would certainly have seemed threatening to ancient sailors. Consider their reactionary defenses upon attack! They may be gentle giants, but I bet they can get pretty ugly when pissed off.

Snakes are known to reach well over 15 feet in length, and crocodiles can weigh a few tons. Hunters venturing into the woods in Africa probably had similar encounters with potentially threatening (or at least very large) creatures, in their case reptilian ones. Rather frightening creatures still exist, if seen in the proper context. A rhinoceros may be cute in the zoo, but I doubt you would mess with one in the wild!

There are birds in Africa the size of large men. They aren't fliers, but I imagine they wouldn't be fun to toy around with, either.

I think that they existed, and still do. The reason is that there were so many different stories that mention dragons, on seperate continents, before there were any ways to get over large oceans.

Has anyone seen the cover of this months Natl Geographic. That damn thing is a dragon. Its scientific name is Dracorex.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/images/promo_dec_ngm_dino.jpg

Orleander...is quite obvious that you are trying to collect the worst pictures depicting how evil dragons are...for the reason that is also quite obvious.