What is it about Dragons that gives them such a presence in the fantasy genre?

What is it about Dragons that gives them such a presence in the fantasy genre?

Why have Dragons become integral to most fantasy, above all other magical creatures?

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Dragons are power incarnate. There's almost no better way to represent the strongest, most dangerous force in the setting than a dragon.

They're more simply antagonistic, I think.

Appearance, behavior, representation, pretty much everything about them is hostile and monstrous. They have really no redeeming qualities.

Compare with many other fantasy creatures, at least from actual legends and folklore, and fantasy creatures tend to have distinct behaviors or foibles, mannerisms which may not necessarily be entirely bad, and can be tricked or exploited by a clever or pure human, and can change depending on the circumstances from good to bad.

Dragons though, it's like 100% of the time, they're very simply evil in an uncomplicated way, it's quite simply just "Destroy, kill, burn.", none of that "Well if it's a pure maiden then the creature is compelled to show its belly and weep gold tears in servitude." Or "If a weary traveler should hop and spin three times with a silver coin in hand, then the creature must shed it's skin and flee."

I guess when you really get down to it, a dragon is just an animal with animalistic tendencies, though by the powers of fantasy, it is the animal which is the most empowered and so the most dangerous.

they are a creature that has been in mythology since greco-roman times, and have had their legend passed down through the middle ages told and re-told countless times

we have St Georges dragon English mythology in general loves dragons, as well as the incredibly important chinese dragons, and were a commonly used to symbolize evil in christian stories

a large reptillian fire breathing monster is very easy way to show "EVIL" in shorthand, and common use in this manner has cemented it in almost every culture

big, imposing, and guarding treasures, they are the archetypal obstacle for our hero to overcome and recieve a reward

fantasy draws heavily from mythology, so it makes sense to have dragons there, and their depiction as top dogs of evil, as well as their incredible stature in legends, mean that it would be quite off to not have dragons be the top of the food chain

>breathes fire
>6 limbs
>non-humanoid
>lizard-like
>huge
>magical

Because they're just weird enough to not be too familiar but not so weird to be too alien.

...

He looks sad, as if having to mercy kill his retarded friend.

>Big dicks
>Kidnap Princesses

Most cultures have in their myths dragons.

If you are asking why they are so frequent in many cultural myths, it probably has to do with dinosaur bones and the salamander lizard.

That's no mercy kill mate
You don't mercy kill a winged fire breathing crocodile that comes up to your shoulders in height, can you imagine how terrifying that would be

>the salamander lizard.

Are those worldwide?

Imagine "Of Mice and Men" but Lennie was a fat orange dragon,
It still works.

Name any alternative.

smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/where-did-dragons-come-from-23969126/

>The Human Brain. The most fascinating explanation involves an unexpected animal: the human. In his book An Instinct for Dragons, anthropologist David E. Jones argues that belief in dragons is so widespread among ancient cultures because evolution embedded an innate fear of predators in the human mind. Just as monkeys have been shown to exhibit a fear of snakes and large cats, Jones hypothesizes that the trait of fearing large predators—such as pythons, birds of prey and elephants—has been selected for in hominids. In more recent times, he argues, these universal fears have been frequently combined in folklore and created the myth of the dragon.


Reptiles are the natural predators of hominids.

They are our ancestral enemies. Imagine this giant lizard charging at you. The evolutionary trauma of being prey to such creatures caused hominids fear against reptiles.

Pretty much, though its association with the element of fire and magic is still somewhat mysterious.

>Why have Dragons become integral to most fantasy, above all other magical creatures?
I'm going to say three things
A: They were considered to be the highest of Monster to slay in European Medieval times.
B: Coat of arms for the many of the most important houses
and C: How OFTEN they show up.
Dragon are almost Every Oriental river that exsists.
"Large Reptile Creature" is often the end all be all in many mythologies Norse, Persian, Mesopotamia, even some version of Egyptian. In the modern world Large reptile creature often gets summed into Dragon.
>Personal Opinion

But that's wrong.

Medieval dragons are pretty much wretched horrid mutants in constant agony, only kept alive by their sheer sin and evilness.

That's pretty much the medieval view on dragons.

Killing a dragon wasn't some heroic thing. It was like euthanising a fuckup of God's creation.

>predators
>elephants
What?

If i remember correctly, medieval dragons represented the Serpent from the genesis myth, A knight slaying a dragon is basically man overcoming his sinful nature and becoming closer to god through discipline and force of will.

Its also a romanticized version of the sacrificial lamb which is common in early and pre christian mythology. Basically, this animal is your sin made manifest.

They don't need to eat you to be your preditor. Elephants will fuck you up if they migrate through your settlement or if you come between them and water.

"Tell me 'bout da horde we gonna 'ave, Sir Gallant."

They feature in the name of the game.

>So why you talking for him? is he soft in the head or something?
>Dragon: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
>I like you, you boys is hired.

I heard its because they sleep in log piles sometimes, then when a bonfire is made they scramble out of the flames. Made people think they were connectied to fire somehow.

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' DMs

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

That. And they often have black, yellow, orange, and red coloration.

You know DnD is popular, right? I'm sure that dungeon crawls even being a thing is purely coincidental.

They're giant lizards of a magical nature and often grand intelligence. The elephant in the room that also happens to hold all of the fucking trumpcards as far as physical and mental superiority.

I love dragons in fiction, they, much like man, seem to come in variations of allignments and are each their own, with their own aims and needs.

One of the examples i enjoy is the one from Fantasy Warhammer that lives in the imperial capital unchallenged. Why? Because people feed him, come to see him all the time, think he's great and protect him; Certain folks even get to ride him. Fucking genius.

...

Because dragon/giant reptile slaying has been apart of western/middle eastern culture since the beginning.

>Zeus vs Typhon
>Apollo vs Python
>Hercules vs Hydra
>God vs Satan
>Thor vs Jörmungandr

Snakes are fucking scary, and will fuck you up. The ancestral enemy of man, if you will.

The medieval dragon also has wings and four large-clawed legs - probably from eagles and lions, if I'd have to guess. (cf. all the other mythological slap-two-animals-together critters.)

It's just that in this case, well, the dragon is a combination of all the things that eat monkeys.

Oh, and dragons later get a bit of a "greedy, slothful, gluttonous tyrant" spin on them, I guess. I'm not entirely sure when that became a thing in Europe, but it certainly did. Maybe it's as a representation of the seven deadly sins, I dunno.


Also, while dragons are found in cultures all over the globe, note that they aren't necessarily all that similar! Even within just Europe you have flying four-legged firebreathers and giant serpents breathing poison gas.

They combine variability with familiarity.

Every fantasy as their own version of what a dragon is, but each of them is recognizably a dragon. So it allows creativity on the part of the creator, while still holding onto some familiarity for easy shorthand

People won't understand right away that your OC creature is a mighty boss worthy of respect.

People will understand right away that a dragon is a mighty boss worthy of respect.

So most writers and game designers take the easy path and just use dragons when they need mighty beasts.

Satan as a serpent is a modern invention, for much of the Church's history, the serpent of Genesis and the Satan of Job are two different creatures

Seems a bit off, only because that human seems tall compared to the mountain top

They make for good macguffin plot devices for both sides. Just look at Skyrim for example. You have Alduin, a ancient who wants to destroy the world and bring ruin to man, and you have Paarthurnax who is a equally ancient dragon but one that turned against Alduin and wishes for humanity to flourish. They're almost all powerful, are often times ancient and can be both good and evil.

This is the stupid version.

I think he didn't mean the serpent of Genesis. Satan is explicitly called a dragon and a serpent in the Revelation.

>implying revelations has ever been relevant to anyone but uneducated Merican evangelists

The significance of dragons lies rooted in our deepest instincts. The Dragon is a Chimera blending aspects of Pythons, Big Cats, and Raptors. These three animals where the primary predators of our evolutionary ancestors. The blending of these aspects instinctively draws and holds our attentions.

What are you talking about? The book is a part of the canon, it's recognized as such by all major Christian denominations.

And it had a great influence on the culture. Think about the four horsmen or even he word apocalypse itself.

>Marduk vs Tiamat
>Ra vs Apophis

Is the Dragon of revelations ever specifically called Satan?

Not sure about the hundred of Protestant denominations, but the Catholic Church doesn't take the book literally; it's symbolic of Roman Empire's downfall and The Church's survival of said downfall

In a lot of human culture serpents are used to represent primordial nature. The symbolism involved is fairly straight forward, the seem to live purely to wander around and eat things and only have the minimum body parts to do so, and as such are the most pure embodiment of the cycle of life and death which occurs in nature.

There is also a duality which appears in a lot of mythologies regarding serpents and birds. Unlike reptiles birds seem to devote a lot of time and effort in 'superfluous' aspects of life, they produce nice songs, look beautiful (mostly), and of course there's the symbolism of flight and being free of earthly concerns. Birds tend to have an association with divinity as a result.

The Dragon is the unity of these two opposing symbols, the symbol of primal nature combined with the symbol of being 'above' (both literally and metaphorically) those sorts of base needs.

They are rooted into almost every historical mythology in the world, and were very heavy in European history which is what all modern fantasy is based on.

Except gods. Or avatars of gods. Or you can just say "buttmonsters are the strongest ever even stronger than giant lizards with wings."

it's because what I said above. They were considered the top monster in western and eastern mythologies. Probably based on dinosaur bones they found randomly, making them relatively universal.

"An' we's gonna have adventurers for da kobolds! An' I get ta tend da kobolds!"

I find it interesting how our depictions of our flaws as humans and sins incarnate have, in general, become more ferocious and horrific over time.

There are some pretty severe exceptions though as our morals have become more and more relative. Succubi are no longer rape-monsters to be feared but walking, talking sexual fantasies if not downright waifus.

I think gramatically is a better term than literally in this context. Saying the Catholic Church (pre-Vatican II) doesn't take it literally makes it sound like they're floaty faggots who think it's all relative man. Biblical inerrancy is part of Catholic doctrine, but the church also acknowledges the existence of different genres that need to be read differently. As early as St. Augustine it was already established that the epic of Genesis (or at least the earliest 12 chapters) are not the same as the biographies of the Evangelies and should not be given the same factual credibility.

Protestants aren't more literal as much as they are more grammatical (ie. the text says what it says and no interpretation past pure grammar is possible).

>Snakes are fucking scary, and will fuck you up. The ancestral enemy of man, if you will.

>A local dragon has gotten himself stuck in the sewers, the burghers have started complaining about the smell and request adventurers release him
>The ferocious, ancient, poison gas breathing dragon can barely count to potato

>Party discovers dragon was not immune to its own toxins.
>Years of inhaling toxic gas have turned its brain to mush. Only a great healing miracle can restore the dragon's intelligence.

because they stand with us when we stand up to god.
they were destroyed in our defense in the first interstellar wars over earth.

>Turns out the dragon is older than time itself and filled with wisdom, but was cursed by the gods with toxic breath that slowly deteriorates his cognitive capacities so he cannot share forbidden knowledge with mankind

Why are gods always dicks?

Because the dragon was actually a benevolent overdeity who ruled as sole overlord of existence for aeons until he decided to bless the wisest and most capable humans to become his lieutenants. These lieutenants over time grew arrogant and spiteful and overthrew their deity, fashioning themselves gods and cursing the Overgod with a horribly self-destructive body. Initially intended to be a miniscule, barely visible lizard the Overgod's sheer power forcibly grew it to the size of a massive dragon

In most mythologies gods are responsible for (1) creating humans specially in some way and (2) controlling the natural world

the natural world will fuck you up

the only way to explain this is if the gods like humans, but also enjoy screwing with them

In a lot of polytheistic myths gods don't really like humans. Zeus fucked Prometheus up for trying to advance humanity, Athena fucked up Hector purely because he tried to fight her special guy in a war where all gods had taken sides because why the fuck not and then there's Zeus sticking his dick in everything whether it agrees or not.

Greek gods are scary, exist for the sole purpose of fucking your shit up and you'd better get on their good side.

i am sorry

Because to early humanity, birds were a symbol of transcendence, becuse they transcended gravity, and snakes were a symbol of transcendence, because many people believed they lived forever by shedding their skin, and therefore snake+bird=primal symbolism

Come on, if you want to be a memelord you should've done it like this
>Human
>Smaug
>[bunch of other dragons]
>Ancalagon the Black
>My disgust

Because dragons are literally a meme, and not even in the Veeky Forums way.

Fantasy authors use dragons so fantasy authors use dragons so fantasy authors use dragons so fantasy authors use dragons so fantasy authors use dragons so...

hope this is more to your liking

>yuge
>flying
>widely regarded as being actually real at some point in history in virtually all cultures

i found this in a dragon magazine from like 30 years ago
>tfw

>"Oh sir knight, your mere presence makes me feel safe and secure. Would you grace my bedchambers with your presence for just one night? I would be ever so grateful!"

>It's too cold
>This dragon is too loud
>I'm getting saddle sores
>I wish I was back home oppressing serfs

>"FUCKING NORMAN! GET THE FUCK OFF MY REALM! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"

And what stops that humongous dragon in OPs pic from scorching entire nations in one breath?

Just imagine when that thing take off

Well look at that.

It did

Read the Silmarillion, Dragons FUCKED Middle Earth during the ancient times

And got defeated by a drunk hobo on a rental flying carpet

Yes, but he was a MAGICAL drunk hobo, let's not forget

...

>They don't need to eat you to be your preditor
Eating you is the literal definition

Naw.

Snakes will sometimes bite you if you practically step on them and if they're venomous, it'll fucking hurt like hell and possibly kill you.

The only really scary thing about them is the fact that it can happen unexpectedly because snakes are actually fucking scared of almost everything and usually try to stay out of sight.

Just like spiders and scorpions and stingrays and all the other "scary stuff" that only really ever attacks people when they bump into the animal in question and the animal freaks out.

But they won't chase you down to kick your ass/kill you the way a dog/wolf, or bear, or big cat, or even a deer/cow/horse/pig will.

There's some old Greek tale about a guy who complains about how the whims of the gods are so unfair to humans... and then proceeds to go over and start smashing bugs for shits and giggles.

Why are all of them past The Fire Drake of Gondolin so massive? It's fucking ridiculous!

Unless you're somewhere in the world where they do chase you down to kick your ass.

Australia has spiders and snakes that do this, for one.

Honestly, the bigger people portay Ancalagon, the silly it becomes when you realise a guy on a flying boat and some eagles still managed to kill this thing.

Dragons vs Alien Invaders? Sounds fun.

>incredulous one tiny ship could ever destroy a world-ending threat

Don't forget Beowulf

The whole moral of War of the Worlds was that the smallest and most seemingly insignificant threat can take down much larger opponents. Same with David and Goliath.

>that's the joke

>Tell me about the rabbits Sir George.

>Well, Lenny...they...
>SHANK
>AAUUHHGGHH!!!!
>SHANK
>WWWWHHHHYYYYYY!!??
>This'd be so much easier-
>SHANK
>REEEEEEEEEE!
>If I had a fucking gonne!

I kinda doubt Earendil had proton torpedoes on his boat, though.

Who says he didn't? Aule had his new boy's back.

European dragons are a pretty good representation of evil, and not in the rebel from god way, or the tempter trying to corrupt you way, but in the monster that ravages the earthly realm and takes what's precious to you in its pride and greed way. They hoard gold, they hoard power, they kidnap beautiful women, either as prizes or to devour. They're great reptiles, but with a cunning to them as well, a representation of how selfish impulses that have been with us since early bestial forms can survive if the bearer is powerful and smart enough. So obviously, they set themselves up as something a true hero must slay, if they're brave and steadfast enough.

What's the size of a human on that image? one pixel?

there are a lot of fantasy stories where dragons are the good guys though

>Succubi are no longer rape-monsters to be feared but walking, talking sexual fantasies if not downright waifus.

they made a movie 30 years later simply to handwave how ridiculous it is that the world-ending threat had a self destruct exhaust tube though

Dragons are one of those concepts that resonate pretty much universally in the human consciousness. Basically every civilization throughout history, all over the globe, has some kind of dragon in their legends and folklore. It's not so much that they've "become integral" to fantasy, so much as that they were an integral notion in people's minds to begin with and found a natural home in fantasy fiction.

>Lord of the Rings
>Hobbit One
Fucking fund that shit!

I now have this oddest mental image of Earendil and the eagles doing trenchruns on ancagalon's hide.

Odd? Or...arousing?

Come up with something more badass.

Hell, even try to make a dragon more badass.

SPOILER: You can't.

There's also old stories from fantasy where the dragons are wise and benevolent, especially in the east.