I think dragons are especially fascinating because they have so much symbolism and so many layers of stories and beliefs. There are lots of stories about giant snakes, dragons and dragon like beings in different cultures around the world. I'm actually planning to write a post about dragons at some point. I think it's interesting how different lóng (the chinese dragon) is from the western dragon. Chinese dragons have much longer history and are traditionally highly respected while western dragon as we know it got it's form during medieval times and is depicted as destructive. Western style dragon's roots however go back to old legends. There are stories about dragon like beings from ancient Mesopotamia like Ushumgallu.
True, we can only guess but it would be very interesting to know. Some theories suggest that fossils of dinosaurs, reptilian sightings and fear of snakes have influenced legends about dragons. Others attempt to map different layers of those legends like Mesopotamian, ancient Greek and Medieval ones. I think both approaches have good points.
They say legends have an ounce of truth on them, I'm really curious of the truth from these monsters or were they just a result of an imaginative person.
That is an interesting question. I think it was a mixture of vivid imagination and sightings of real animals like whales. Back then sailing especially in the open seas was dangerous business and not everyone returned to the shore. So I can imagine seeing huge whales suddenly appearing in the distance could instill fear in sailors and give birth to legends about dangerous monsters.
And what's your thoughts on dragons.
I think dragons are especially fascinating because they have so much symbolism and so many layers of stories and beliefs. There are lots of stories about giant snakes, dragons and dragon like beings in different cultures around the world. I'm actually planning to write a post about dragons at some point. I think it's interesting how different lóng (the chinese dragon) is from the western dragon. Chinese dragons have much longer history and are traditionally highly respected while western dragon as we know it got it's form during medieval times and is depicted as destructive. Western style dragon's roots however go back to old legends. There are stories about dragon like beings from ancient Mesopotamia like Ushumgallu.
Yh I mean they're vividly described that one might actually think they're still roaming around. Too bad we can't trace the real origins .
True, we can only guess but it would be very interesting to know. Some theories suggest that fossils of dinosaurs, reptilian sightings and fear of snakes have influenced legends about dragons. Others attempt to map different layers of those legends like Mesopotamian, ancient Greek and Medieval ones. I think both approaches have good points.
They say legends have an ounce of truth on them, I'm really curious of the truth from these monsters or were they just a result of an imaginative person.
That is an interesting question. I think it was a mixture of vivid imagination and sightings of real animals like whales. Back then sailing especially in the open seas was dangerous business and not everyone returned to the shore. So I can imagine seeing huge whales suddenly appearing in the distance could instill fear in sailors and give birth to legends about dangerous monsters.