This page groups mythical creatures by the role they play in their own story. Wikipedia notes that "these monsters thus have the basic function of emphasizing the greatness of the heroes involved." Browsing by domain function lets a visitor compare the narrative job one creature does against another.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingGreat serpentine or reptilian beasts, collected by body-form. Form is the only thing the traditions gathered here share: the English word "dragon" is doing the collecting, not the traditions. 2 Peoples and Traditions CoveredChinese: the long is an auspicious being of water, rain and imperial authority - invoked in rain ritual and worn by the emperor, not a monster to be slain. 3 Peoples and Traditions CoveredEuropean: the dragon of Latin and Germanic tradition, and of later heraldry, is a hoard-guarding or land-wasting monster confronted and killed by a hero. 3 Peoples and Traditions CoveredNorse: Nidhogg gnaws at the root of the world-tree Yggdrasill - a being of Old Norse cosmology and eschatology rather than of heraldry or of rain ritual. 4 Learn More
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.
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Motif-Index of Folk-Literature: A Classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-Books and Local Legends
Stith Thompson, Indiana University Press, 1958B0-B99, Mythical Animals
3. Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005on dragons and heraldic beastsView the Source 4. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press, 2001the entry on NidhoggView the Source Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.