h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...In Teutonic legend, such as the Nibelungenlied and the tale of Siegfried in particular, the dragon becomes almost a metaphor for vengeful avarice, and the foul corruption that absolute power and hoarded wealth bring.

This tradition has continued through fantasy literature, notably that of Tolkien and Smaug in 'The Hobbit'.

The analagy is also drawn in "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by CS Lewis, although it's interesting to note that Lewis and Tolkein were friends, and often discussed their work.

As another piece of dragon lore, I've always liked Bilbo Baggin's "Never laugh at live dragons" myself.

Wyrms, or dragons, seem to always be protrayed as, as said before, metaphors of greed. But, increasingly as time goes on, dragons seem to be getting more and more peaceful. Some today could even be described as FRIENDLY!

I just want to know, what's wrong with today's dragons?

well given that Smaug was based on Fafnir from the Niebelungleid the similarity should be expected

But it is true that Dragons seem to be a lot more amenable these days. Maybe because there are far fewer virgins for Knights & Dragons to fight over?

In Southern England Dragons seem to frequent pools & mere's in forests quite a lot. So maybe that's the place to look for them and say before

I think dragons have calmed down a bit and have become more friendly because humans have stopped trying to kill us!! The Orient had the right idea when they saw dragons as creatures of wisdom, its a shame the western world has only just caught on to that idea.

Sorry to butt in on your conversation, but if
Researcher "Tysharina "
would go back to there own page and then click on the "EDIT PAGE" button and then write a little something about your self then a ACE can come and welcome you there properly
Sorry for interrupting your conversation

Manda

Sorry, very new to the whole h2g2 thingie! LoL My intro is up now, sorry if anyone went looking for it earlier...

L&H Tysha

Really sounds interesting !

Yeeah true we are more peacefull these days though my Queen is Evil and i run on a thin line between good and evil..
we still do not harm anny humans as long as they don't bother us we wont bother them

easy as that ...
regards

Dragantha thuh Aila`n-Druak a Ara a Athi Oaf Mae Ani CrimsonNoire

Yes, I am Evil, but only when I need to be.
Usually im rather calm, but always waiting for a Skethn`re to screw up.

I'll leave it at that for now, this is my way of saying, Aila`n, Your being watched.

Ani Kri`sey Druak!

*grinz*

That you are indeed
The calmsets Dragon Queen i ever met *smiles* ( actually the only one as well )
Skethn`re ussually screw up somewhere but then again we cant be everywhere all at ones .

*grinz* I did Notice that you were watchin me My Queen
I don't mind ... cause you do gotta keep a eye on the Ara a Athi as well like i always keep an eye On My Queen ...

Dragantha , Ara a Athi of Queen Kri`sey

I believe dragons as a whole as portrayed in literature and history have been incredibly stupid. Whether or not this is a (un)survival trait has yet to be discussed. For example, take a giant, freaking dragon. Light beige, brown details, wings, etc. Breathes fire. Big claws. Typical "realistic" european dragon. How can something that impressive be defeated, ever? In the natural ecosystem, predator/prey models etc, something like that would have to have three things.

1) An incredible difficulty trying to mate, to prevent excess population or
2) Either incredible intelligence or incredible stupidity, or
3) An unbelieveably short life span.

A lot of you will say intelligence, cause it's cooler. Could be, could be. Explains the whole hiding thing. Stupidity explains the whole folklore thing neatly, and the life span thing could happen, but then there's the whole human interaction deal that I won't even go into. Any other thoughts on this?

Actually, dragons have VEEEEERY long life-spans. Some live to 500 years.
It's the advancements of human technology that caused their decline. The same goes for the unicorns, griphons (or griffins), & others.

I thought it worthwhile to point out that it’s become a lot more commonplace for dragons to appear much more wyverns than the classic dragon, when some astute 3D artists decided to remove their front legs. I think this is because they suddenly came to realize why not many things with spinal chords have wings and front legs, namely, they couldn't find a place for the muscles that work the wings go. Birds and bats have huge pectoral muscles that enable them to put out the incredible force needed to use flapping to fly, and trying to put legs in the middle of those muscles is a difficult thing to conceptualize if you're trying for realistic muscle movements. But of course, they just didn't realize the bit about the flying gases.

Dragon research #003 (incomplete)

Earlier on (in Dragon Research #001) I have mentioned about the difference between DRAGONS & WYVERNS. 1 person understands that dragons have 4 legs & wyverns have 2. I would like to state that this isn't always the case. Let me try to give a more understandable explanation:

A dragon's wings are made of extended rib bones which spring from just behind the front legs. A wyvern's wings are its 'arms', much like a bat's.

Dragon's have been known to be extremely intelligent & have great wisdom. Wyverns are reminiscent of savage & brutal wild animals, except a few educated species.

Dragons are warm-blooded, like mammals. Wyverns are truly cold-blooded reptiles, like snakes & crocodiles.

Okay, here comes the confusing part of my research. Some other species of dragons have no wings. Some only have 2 legs but still have wings (the front legs are present, unlike wyverns which only have back legs). A few dragons have neither legs nor wings (like the ouroborous)! There are even wyverns without legs at all (which probably explains the stories about winged serpents).

By using the information I have gathered above, I hope that I have been of assistance to anyone who is interested in studying dragons & wyverns. If you would like to know further about wyverns & drakes, please post me your questions in my page.

HELP WANTED!
I need help on my research on the enigmatic creature known as the "Celestial Ouroboros". This ain't no normal ouroboros. This legendary creature is said to have a serpent-like body & 4 feathery, bird-like wings. It is said to be capable of flying to the stars (or other planets, at least). Some religious sources believed that it dwells in the lower heavens & would even put a Halo over the creature's head, giving it a powerful, spiritual symbolism. Which is probably why the symbol of the Celestial Ouroborous is being used by many religious & medical organizations. The problem is that I can't find enough information about the Celestial Ouroborous. Is it a dragon or a wyvern? A giant winged serpent? An angel? I just can't find enough information. So I was hoping that maybe you guys can help me research on the Celestial Ouroborous during your free time. If it's okay for you guys.

Had any extraordinary dreams on 11 July 2006's fullmoon? I have. I dreamt that I could tranform myself into a dragon & fly! Cool, huh?


Have you seen the Anime called Moncole Knight? It has so many mistakes about legendary animals. Examples are:

(1) Ogopogo - Just like its Native American Indian's name (which means 'big snake in river'), the Ogopogo is an enormous snake-like creature that lives in rivers where the Indians dwell nearby. It is peaceful unless provoked, an the Indians respect it.
YET, in the Anime, Ogopogo was portrayed as a giant man-eating fish that lives in the sea! STUPID!

(2) Quetzalcoatl - The kind & helpful creature (which in my theory is a dragon) that warns the ancient Mayan & Aztec people of incoming famine or war and imparts them with great knowledge. Quetzalcoatl means 'feathered serpents', & is almost always portrayed as a snake with eagle's wings & talons. Sometimes it is portrayed as a winged priest.
YET, in the Anime, Quetzalcoatl was called 'Kato' & portrayed as a giant, evil serpent with bat's wings & an apetite for the souls of sacrificial victims! MORONS!

(3) Ouroborous - Everyone knows the Ouroborous, the symbol of infinity & eternity, a sign of Nature's life cycle, & the image of Life, Death & Renewal. In the Anime, the Ouroborous' infinity symbol is the very image of Evil & Darkness. IMBECILES!

(4) Others - There're several dozens more mistakes in this Anime. You have to see them yourselves.

Oh, & any information about the Celestial Ouroborous?