The Dragons

This group gathers dragons, the great serpentine or reptilian creatures that appear, in strikingly different roles, in mythologies across the world. In the European tradition the dragon is often a hoard-guarding menace to be slain by a hero, while in Chinese and wider East Asian tradition the dragon is an auspicious being of water, sky and imperial power.

The browser will find the dragon figures the atlas gathers from these traditions. The entries describe each creature's form, powers and mythological role, noting how sharply the dragon's meaning differs from one culture to another.