Dragon: A mythical monster, usually represented as a gigantic winged reptile with lion's claws.
This blog is a compilation of relevant texts that pertain to Dragons with additional commentary. This would be useful for anyone interested in researching the creature.
Belgian Fairy Tales: From the collection of fables comprised by William Elliot Griffis;
The Golden Dragon of the Boringue
In one part of Belgium, they had bored into the earth so often, and so deep, to get the coal, that this region is called the Boringue. The city of Mons is the centre of the coal mining region, and here they still celebrate the victory of a brave knight over a mighty dragon.
This dragon was quite an unusual monster, for his skin was all of shining gold, with scales, like plate armour. He was as big as a battering ram, and his strength was like that of a catapult, which could hurl big stones into the city of the enemy's camp. More wonderful yet, this dragon of the Boringue had a flashing jewel in his forehead, that was worth all the diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, in the whole world. It shone like a lamp, in the darkest nights, and guided his path for him, as he moved down from the hills to devour maidens.
This monster was a conglomeration of all things terrible. He had every one of his powers, which any and all beasts, birds, fishes, or reptiles possessed; whether on the earth, in the air, or under the waters. He had a roar like a lion, the wings of an eagle, the claws of a condor, and the power to glide like a snake or crawl like an alligator. He could fly like a falcon, burrow like a rat, swim like a shark, crush with his coils like an anaconda, and had a keen scent, like a hound. He had eyes like a tiger, teeth like a wolf, and tusks sharper than a boar's, the nose horns of a rhinoceros, the antlers of a stag, the tossing horns of a bull, the double moustaches of a catfish, and the shell of a tortoise. He could breath fire out of his nostrils and burn up the grass. With a nail in his tail, he could scratch a furrow like a plow. When he thrashed around, in anger, he could deliver a blow like a battering ram. At the tips of his wings were hooks, as hard as steel. In short, he was like an encyclopedia of everything that was strong, vicious, and dreadful. It seemed as if all the might and force of the old creatures, that had lived and died in the ancient forests, before the ocean rolled in, and before the ages of coal, had risen to resurrection in him to make a monster combining all the powers of every living creature.
The worst of the matter was that the Romans, coming into the land, soon found that none of their daughters would be left alive, if that monster kept roaring and rambling about. In addition to this terror, no one could sleep at night for the noises that he made. His howling, bellowing, hissing, barking,and rumbling, were kept up till sunrise. Yet when he was quiet, it was still more dangerous, for then he was lurking for his prey. No parents could trust their lovely daughters outdoors, by night or day. For any girl, who was plump or pretty, was sure to be gulped down alive, or carried off to the dragon's lair in the hills. The fact that no other bill or fare, except one that had a live girl as part of his feast, would satisfy the monster, caused constant anxiety to parents.
For this dragon, while always hungry, was very particular in his diet. He would never make dinner on a man, or a boy, a horse, or a pig, unless he fasted a long while and was nearly starving. He thought they tasted "too salty." He was always on the lookout for young and tender maidens, or those well-favoured or fat, who might be out picking flowers, or strolling along the road. These he would seize and then run away swiftly to his lair. He could easily outstrip any man on foot, even the fleetest runner. If men mounted on horseback to pursue him, he would spread his wide wings, give a flap or two and then rise up into the air, almost darkening the sun, and casting an awful shadow on the earth. It always smelled like burning brimstone, where the dragon had been. Disappearing among the hills, he would enjoy a feast at his leisure. Soon, the cavern, in which he slept, was covered with maidens, bones; and, not far away, was a pit, into which he threw what was left of the few men and boys, or pigs and ponies, he had eaten up.
While the dragon was coming down from the hills, to make his evening meal of a pretty girl, or to swish her off to his cave, he was careful to sniff the air on every side, lest some brave men in hiding should rush out at him, and put his eye out with an arrow, or push a spear down his throat, or throw fire or poison into his mouth. The dragon could easily swallow up a man, but he feared missiles shot or slung at him, whether arrows, sling stones or catapult balls. There were certain parts of his body, such as his eyes, or throat, or the soft places under his front and hind legs, and in the joints between the scales, where a barbed arrow or a sword blow, or spear thrust might penetrate.
The Roman general promised that any man, who would capture or slay this frightful monster, that combined a whole menagerie in himself, should marry his daughter. In addition, he should be the owner of all the gold of the scales, which anyone could, with hammer and chisel, wrench off from the dragon. But the forehead-jewel, after adorning the bride's coronet, at her wedding, must be handed over to the Roman Emperor, for a crown possession.
Now there was a brave soldier named Rufinius, who was in love with one of the Roman general's daughters, and had expected to marry her, when May and the flowers should come. He had gone to the great city of Rome, in Italy, to buy a gold ring for his sweetheart, besides his jewels and pretty woven stuff for new clothes.
But alas, in the week before he returned, the dragon had seized and carried her off to his lair, to eat her up, on the very day she was to be a bride. There was mourning in the father's home. The mother wept all day and the old general was constantly asking, "Who will fight the dragon and rescue my daughter?"
When Rufinus was on his way back home, he was met by a man, a native Belgian, famous for his skill as an archer. He, too, was in grief, because his only daughter had been grabbed by the dragon, when out walking with the general's daughter, and he knew not whether she were yet alive. This man offered to go with Rufinus and help to slay the dragon, hoping that neither of the maidens had yet entered the monster's maw. Every night, the poor father's dreams were of skulls and bones.
Without waiting to see anyone, not even the general, Rufinus sharpened his sword and spear. He prepared to go out at once, on his swiftest horse to fight the monster. He took with him the Belgian archer, who knew all the paths and hiding places. Then they waited, until the wind was favourable, so that the dragon would not get their scent, and go off in another direction. Then they got to windward of the monster, and hid behind rocks, in a thicket, not far from the roadside.
Toward evening, as the twilight deepened into dusk, Rufinus looked up toward the hilltops. He saw two round spots, like globes of fire, with something also, which was glistening and sending out rays from the centre of his forehead. These were the eyes of the dragon, with the flashing jewel in between.
Soon he saw the beams of the rising moon, reflected from the golden scales; as the terrible creature moved slowly down the mountain side. His monstrous nose was bigger than a buffalo's. He was sniffing the air, to the right and to the left, to catch sight, either of a man in hiding, or a maid walking. His long thick moustaches, like whipcords, thrashed about at everything within reach.
Now when the dragon moves along over the ground, with folded wings, he never keeps his head quiet, or straight, for one moment; but always sways it from side to side, and up and down, as if to see everything and to catch the scent of any creature near, whether man nor beast.
So when Rufinus looked up, he saw, this monstrous head, high in the air with open jaws, working and breathing out fire, which crackled like mimic lightning flashes. His long body, half hidden, trailed along, in and out, among the rocks and trees. The wind, blowing toward them, bore the odour of burning sulphur, which at times, nearly suffocated them. Yet they dared not cough, lest the monster should hear them. For fear, the horse might snort, or stamp, or make any noise, the Belgian took out his flask of strong wine and blew some liquid into the animal's nostrils; so that, while his nose was tingling, the animal could think of nothing else, so the creature was as quiet, as if made of stone.
Both men, Rufinus on horseback, and the Belgian on foot, felt their hearts beating fast, as the latter waited for the monster to get within arrow range, while Rufinus poised his spear and got ready to spur his horse forward. The Belgian trusted to speed his shaft into the monster's eye, and blind him, while Rufinus hoped for a thrust of his weapon down into the red cavern, into which soo many maidens had slipped as food.
Both brave fellows thought not only of the glory that they should win, for killing the dragon, and delivering the land from a curse, but of the joy and gratitude which the rescued maidens would feel toward them as their deliverers. They would fight, even if they should be eaten up. When within a hundred yards of the two men, the monster paused to look around as if he suspected danger. Then he reared up on his hind legs and tail.
At this moment, the temptation to the Belgian archer, to shoot, was great; for he was then sure of hitting the dragon in the heart or stomach; but he kept his arrow on the string, and waited. They could hear the rattling of the golden scales, one upon the other, while the roar, that issued from the monster's throat, by which he expected to scare away any living enemies, reminded them of thunder echoing among the high mountains.
It was the dragon's habit, after finding there was no danger, to halt, then he would rest a while, so as to dispel suspicion, making everyone think he had gone; and then, he would silently pounce upon his prey.
"Shall I shoot?" whispered the Belgian excitedly, to Rufinus.
"Yes, but be cool. Take your time and aim for the left eye, the one nearest to us," answered the Roman.
The Belgian drew the arrow clear up to his ear, and let fly. The dragon's cry of pain was so horrible, as almost to freeze the blood in the men's veins. His howls showed that the shaft had hit its mark. Then Rufinus, clapping spurs to his horse, dashed out into the path. The monster, half blinded, flapped his wings, arched his back, rose up on his hind feet and claws, and opened his terrible jaws, to dart at, and swallow up the daring Roman. To the horse and the rider, there seemed to yawn a deep, red, cavern, down which, both might, in a moment slide. The two men trembled for a moment, but they did not flinch.
Before a claw could touch Rufinus, he had run his long, steel-headed spear deep down the monster's throat. Then he drove his rearing horse forward, and pushed the weapon further down and clear into the monster's heart. With a bellow, what seemed to shake and rend the hills, making echoes even in the distant mountains, the writhing mass of force and flesh fell over. The vicious brute, that, one moment before, seemed to be a combination of all brutes and able to face an army, was now a lifeless mass, dead as a door nail.
Rufinus, drawing his dirk, began digging out of the dragon's forehead, the flaming jewel. Washing it off on the brook, he revelled in its splendour, and wished it could be for his bride. The Belgian hacked off four or five of the golden scales, to show the Roman general, as specimens, and to prove his prowess, put them in his pocket.
The two men now gave their attention to rescuing their loved ones. Neither the father, nor the lover, was by any means, sure of finding, the objects of their quest, the daughter and the betrothed, alive; but after climbing up the path, a shout of recognition in the distance was heard. It was from both the maidens, who lifted up their voices together. For an hour or more, they were both laughing and crying. In the cavern lair, they found four other girls, that were to make meals for the dragon. He usually kept a supply on hand.
The wedding of Rufinus and his promised bride, took place the following week; and the Belgian's daughter, her former companion in fear and misery, was one of the bridesmaids. All this time, the mechanics and goldsmiths, under command of an inspector, were busy in wrenching off the golden scales, to make a dowry for the bride of Rufinus. One of the most skilled craftsmen set the dragon jewel in a coronet. This shone like a radiant star, on the forehead of the lovely bride. She looked very sweet, and she walked to church, while all the maidens in the town scattered flowers before her path. The four girls, that had been rescued from the monster's lair, led the van.
And ever after that, the people of the Mons have celebrated the festival of the victory of Rufinus over the golden dragon of the Boringue. But in their Walloon speech, the name of the dragon means a snail, and the name of the hero is Gilles de Chin. Every year the people have their fun, and no wars or troubles can change their customs.
Forest-dwelling Dragons: Alexander Porteous in his work The Forest in Folklore and Mythology writes of the different appearances of dragons;
The dragon represented a symbol of the seasons;
"Another Bulgarian song tells how the forest, without the wind blowing, was uprooted by the mere touch of dragons with long white hair. These pass over, with their wives in chariots of gold, and their children in cradles of gold. Professor de Gubernatis suggests that these dragons with white hair show to us the snowy winter, and their wives are perhaps the days of summer which they carry away, and their children the days of springtime, which they will bring back."
Porteous writes of the presence of the dragon in a monastery in Korea;
"There is a famous altarpiece in a monastery, at Yu-chom-sa, which represents the upturned roots of a tree, among which fifty-three idols appear. Below them are carved three fearful-looking dragons. Mrs. Bishop says the legend of this altarpiece is that fifty-three priests came from India to introduce Buddhism, and when they reached this spot they sat down under a great tree beside a well. Three dragons emerged from the well and attacked the priests, and also invoked a mighty wind, which tore up the tree, leaving the roots exposed. Each priest then placed an image of the Buddha on each root, which thus became an altar. In the end, the dragons were defeated, thrown into the well, and great stones were placed on the top of it. The priests then built a temple over the well and founded the monastery."
Porteous writes of the Elder tree;
"Elsbeer Tree: What is known in Germany as the Elsbeer tree is in some parts called the Dragon Tree. This appears to be a name for the Elder, or perhaps the Rowan, and it is said that branches of it were hung over houses and stables on Walpugis Day in order to keep out the flying dragon."
Written about is the monstrous dragon known as Fafnir, a creature from the Netherlands;
"A German legendary hero is named Horny Siegfried or Sigurd, so named because, after he had slain the dragon Fafnir and bathed himself in its blood, he became horny and invulnerable all over except one spot between his shoulders, on which a Linden leaf had stuck. Ancient Scandinavian lore says that the mythical dragon Fafnir, lives ninety years in the ground, ninety in the Lime tree, and ninety more in the desert."
Egyptian Mythology: Lewis Spence in his work Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends writes in various sections about the wicked serpent, Apep, or the night-dragon;
"A papyrus preserved in the British Museum contains a series of chapters of a magical nature, the object of which is to destroy Apepi, the fiend of darkness, and in it we find two copies of the story of creation which detail the means by which the sun came into being."
Spence describes the eternal conflict between Horus and Set, through the rising and setting of the sun;
"As Horus was the god of the North, so was Set the god of the South. Dr. Brugsch considered Set symbolized the downward motion of the sun in the lower hemisphere, thus making him the source of the destructive heat of summer. As the days began to shorten and the nights to lengthen it was thought that he stole the light from the sun-god. He was likewise instrumental in the monthly destruction of the moon. Storms, earthquakes, and eclipses and all natural phenomena which caused darkness were attributed to him, and from an ethical point of view he was the god of sin and evil."
Lewis continues with;
"We find the myths of the combat between Set and Horus evolving from a single opposition of day and night into a combat between the two gods. Ra and Osiris, instead of Horus, are sometimes ranged against Set. The combat symbolized the moral idea of the victory of good over evil, and those of the dead who were justified were regarded as having overcome Set as Osiris had done. In his combat with the sun-god, Set took the form of the monster serpent Apep and was accompanied by an army of lesser serpents and reptiles of every description."
Spence writes of the battle between the god Ra and the monster Apep;
"The daily voyage of Ra was assisted by a company of friendly deities, who navigated his barque to the place of the setting sun, the course being set out by Thoth and Maat, while Horus acted as steersman and commander. On each side of the boat swam one of two pilot fishes called Abtu and Ant, but notwithstanding the assistance of his fellow deities, the barque of Ra was constantly beset by the most grisly monsters and demons, who strove to put every obstacle in the way of its successful passage."
Lewis describes the serpent;
"By far the most potent of these was the serpent Apep, who personified the darkness of night, and concerning whom we gain much information from the Book of Overthrowing Apep, which gives spells and other instructions for the checkmating of the monster, which were recruited daily in the temple of Amen-Ra, at Thebes. In these Apep is referred to as a crocodile and a serpent, and it is described how by the aid of sympathetic magic he is to be speared, cut with knives, decapitated, roasted and finally consumed by fire, and his evil followers also. These magical acts were duly carried out at Thebes day by day, and it was supposed that they greatly assisted the journey of the sun-god. In Apep we have a figure such as is known in nearly every mythology. He is the monster who daily combats with, and finally succeeds in devouring, the sun."
Lewis relates Apep to the underworld;
"But the evil side was undoubtedly prominent in the mind of the mind of the Egyptian, for all the terrors of death and the Unknown were personified in the monster serpent Apep, who led his broods of serpents against both gods and men in the gloom of the underworld."
Spence writes of the god Horus (Heru-Behudeti), as a destroyer of the night dragon;
"This is typical of the strength and fury of the sun at midday in Eastern Climates. Heru-Behudeti, then, because he was god of the midday sun, was the pitiless warrior wielding the club, perhaps typifying sunstroke, and the bow and arrows, symbolizing his fierce beams which were to destroy the dragon of night and his fiendish crew. He was the tropical sun? At midday, he was all-conquering and had trampled the night-dragon out of sight. In this manner, too, he represented the force of good against that of evil. The following is the myth of his battles with Set and the battalions of his evil companions."
Spence writes of the association between the dark god Set and the dragon Apep in the section of Religion of the Late Period;
"So firm was the belief in the divine government of Thebes that no human monarch of the Late period, however powerful, made any attempt to take the city. Meanwhile, a revulsion of feeling, occurred against Set, the dark brother of Isis and Osiris. Hitherto his position among the gods of the Egyptian pantheon had been unquestioned, but now he was thrown from his high estate and confused or identified with the dragon Apep; he was no longer a god, but a devil."
Greek Mythology: Edith Hamilton in Mythology writes of dragons in the following sections of her book;
In the chapter of The Royal House of Thebes, Hamilton writes about Cadmus and his descendants;
"The tale of Cadmus and his daughters is only a prologue to the greater story. It was popular in classical days, and several writers told it in whole or part. I have preferred the account of Apollodorus, who wrote in the first or second century A.D. He tells it simply and clearly."
She writes further;
"When Europa was carried away by the bull, her father sent her brothers to search for her, bidding them not to return until they had found her. One of them, Cadmus, instead of looking vaguely here and there, went very sensibly to Delphi to ask Apollo where she was. The god told him not to trouble further about her or his father's determination not to receive him without her, but to found a city of his own. He would come upon a heifer, when he left Delphi, Apollo said; he was to follow, her and build his city at the spot where she lay down to rest. In this way, Thebes was founded and the country roundabout got the name of the heifer's land, Boeotia. First, however, Cadmus had to fight and kill a terrible dragon which guarded a spring nearby and slew all his companions when they went to get water. Alone he could never have built the city, but when the dragon was dead Athena appeared to him and told him to sow the earth with the dragon's teeth. He obeyed with no idea what was to happen, and to his terror saw armed men spring up from the furrows. However, they paid no attention to him, but turned upon each other until all were killed except five whom Cadmus induced to become his helpers."
Hamilton writes about the half-man, half-dragon known as Cecrops;
"Cecrops: The first King of Attica, was named Cecrops. He had no human ancestor and even he himself was only half-human;
Cecrops, lord and hero,
Born of a dragon,
Dragon-shaped below.
"He was the person usually held responsible for Athena's becoming the protector of Athens. Poseidon, too, wanted the city, and to show how great a benefactor he could be, he struck open the rock of the Acropolis with his trident so that salt water leaped forth from the cleft and subsided into a deep well. But Athena did still better. She made an olive tree grow there, the most prized of all the trees of Greece."
Hamilton continues;
"In return for this good gift, Cecrops who had been made arbiter, decided that Athens was hers. Poseiden was greatly angered and punished the people by sending a disastrous flood. In one story of this contest between the two deities, woman's suffrage plays a part. In those early days, we are told, women voted as well as men. All the women voted for the goddess, and all the men for the god. There was one more woman than there were men, so Athena won. But the men, along with Poseidon, were greatly chagrined at this female triumph; and while Poseidon proceeded to flood the land the men decided to take the vote away from the women. Nevertheless, Athea kept Athens."
"Most writers say that these events happened before the Deluge and that the Cecrops who belonged to the famous Athenian family, was not the ancient half-dragon, half-human creature but an ordinary man, important only because of his relatives. He was the son of a distinguished king, a nephew of two well-known mythological heroines, and the brother of three."
James Frazer from his work The Golden Bough relates to the Greek tales in the following;
"Ancient Italian legend furnishes a close parallel to the Greek story of Meleager. Silvia, the young wife of Septimius Marcellus, had a child by the god Mars. The god gave her a spear, with which he said that the fate of the child would be bound up. When the boy grew up he quarrelled with his maternal uncles and slew them. So in revenge, his mother burned the spear on which his life depended. In one of the stories of the Pentamerone, a certain queen has a twin brother, a dragon. The astrologers declared at her birth that she would live just as long as the dragon and no longer, the death of the one involving the death of the other. If the dragon were killed, the only way to restore the queen to life would be to smear her temples, breast, pulses, and nostrils with the blood of the dragon."
Dragons of Antiquity: In the written work Dragons: The Myths, Legends, & Lore by Doug Niles, he writes of the Babylonian dragon known as Tiamat;
"Tiamat is the name given to the World (or Cosmic) Dragon in the early myths of both Sumer and Babylon. Tiamat and her consort, Apsu, existed long before the creation of the world and humankind. Tiamat was a female embodied the power of salt water and chaos, while Apsu was the spirit of fresh water and the all-encompassing void that was the nothingness of existence. Tiamat's body was huge and serpentine, including a long, coiling trunk and a skin impervious to weapons. She had a great head capped by two massive horns, with a long tail lashing from her hind-quarters."
"Tiamat and Apsu, according to the myth, created first the heavens and the world. These two progenitors contained the seeds of life for all living things, and after they made the world they created offspring who became the first gods of the world. Among these gods were Marduk, the fiercest and most powerful deity, and Ea, who had the uncanny ability to discern the future. Tiamat and Apsu also created the Girtablili, monstrous beings with the torsos and heads of humans set upon lower bodies of grotesque and powerful scorpions."
"Fearing Ea's power more than that of any of the other gods, Apsu decided that this most wise of his offspring must be destroyed. Of course, since Ea knew the future, he perceived the threat to his life and he acted. He was able to tie Apsu with bonds and, when his father was immobilized, kill him. When the dragon goddess Tiamat learned of the death of her first, and only consort, she flew into a terrible rage and vowed that she would destroy Ea."
"Once again, Ea's mighty power gave him warning, for he saw that if the future led to a battle between Tiamat and him, he would inevitably be destroyed. While Tiamat took as her second consort another god, Kingu, Ea gathered all of the other gods together. As a group, they begged Marduk, the most powerful of their number, to do battle with the vengeful dragon. He agreed-but only on the condition that, if he was victorious, Marduk would be hailed by all as the supreme lord of all creation."
"The two mighty beings, Tiamat and Marduk, girded themselves for battle. Marduk armed himself with a net, a club, and a bow that could shoot bolts of lightning. He mounted himself upon a chariot pulled by the four winds. Tiamat gathered her Girtablili scorpion men and created many more fierce, bejewelled dragons to fight at her side."
"The fight began with a cataclysmic clash of supernatural forces. Marduk used his net to ensnare Tiamat's monstrous allies, trapping and chaining them all. The great dragon lunged in to devour the warrior god, but when Tiamat's jaws spread wide Marduk launched one of his winds into her, holding her maw open so that he could fire lightning bolts straight down her gullet and into her heart. One after the other, he blasted these lethal missiles into the goddess's flesh."
"Tiamat's great heart finally ruptured, and after her death, Marduk slashed her body into pieces. One part he cast into the heavens, where it still sparkles as the Milky Way. From the rest, he formed the firmament that forms the landscape humankind first came to know. From the great dragon's blood, the rivers of the world were formed-including the Euphrates, which served as the source of so much of early civilization. Human beings themselves, so it was told, were formed from the pieces of Tiamat's monsters, those that had been caught in Marduk's net and, after the battle, slain and dismembered."
Myths of Japan: In the written work by Isabella Males, Japanese Mythology, dragons are written about in several sections of the book, provided is the principal chapter;
Chapter 32: The Dragons
Dragons play an important role in Japanese mythology. A great variety of dragons are present in the folklore of this country. The origins of dragons in Japan date back hundreds of years; While dragons play a negative role in Western Mythology, Japanese and Asian dragons are portrayed as noble, righteous, and bearers of good Fortune.
Historical Origins
"Dragons have been featured in Asian iconography for thousands of years, especially in China. The dragons present in Japanese mythology were imported from China. The latter has a long history of dragons represented in various artistic forms; there are examples of Chinese dragons in bronze or jade dating back to the sixteenth century BC."
The iconography of dragons arrived in Japan from China during the 5th century AD with merchant boats.
Dragons and Religion
Dragons were considered one of the eight classes of gods who worshipped and protected Buddha. The role of dragons in Buddhism, is not only present in Japan; older Buddhism taught that there was a class of snakes, called Nagas, who were the guardians of the religion. The dragons of Japanese Buddhism originated from them.
Shinto, before Buddhism, also has dragons. The guardian of Shinto is Ryu-Jin, a noble dragon who rules an underwater kingdom.
The dragons and the imperial family.
According to a myth, the Japanese imperial family is descended from a dragon. The "Tale of Hori" tells the story of the first Japanese Emperor.
There are four types of Dragons in Japanese mythology. The celestial dragons guard the abodes of the gods, spiritual dragons are responsible for bringing rain and clouds, causing floods; the dragons of earth clean up rivers and dig the bottoms of the oceans; Treasure Guard Dragons, the fourth category, protect valuable items. Unlike those of other Asian regions, Japanese dragons are represented with three claws. The farther a dragon travels from Japan, the more claws it gets in Japanese mythology.
Typically, dragons in Japanese art are portrayed as wingless snakes. Their bodies are never apparent but hidden behind clouds or waves. Dragon paintings became popular in imperial temples and palaces. The masks with the features of dragons are used during religious rites. They are made with locks of mane and rotating eyes.
The Legend of Benten and the Dragon of Enoshima
In an isle of 4 km in circumference, Enoshima, the legend of its foundation, is still told today, which has to do with a deity, Benten and a Dragon.
Located at the mouth of the Katase River, the islet overlooks Kamakura, to which it is connected by a bridge and is a popular destination for tourists and onlookers. On apparent days, it is even possible to admire Mount Fuji.
The story of Benten and the Dragon finds its theatre right here and is remembered in an opera, Enoshima Engi, written in the 11ths century. Benten is celebrated here as the patron goddess of Japan and saviour of the Japanese.
However, above all, she is known as one of the shichifukujin, or one of the seven gods of Fortune Fortune recognized by Japanese mythology.
Its origins seem to be found in the Hindu goddess Saraswati, also, like Bente, patroness of the arts.
Her figure was then filtered through Buddhism, and she became the protector of luck in business, talent, music, and beauty.
She is usually represented as a beautiful woman, often accompanied by a biwa (a kind of wooden lute) and a white snake. She is the patron saint of artists, writers, dancers, and geishas.
Finally, among the Gods of Fortune, she is the only goddess.
The Dragon Enoshima
Enoshima Engi was written in 1047 in the Chinese language.
In the first part of the work, the story is told of a 5-Headed Dragon (Gozuryu) who had his lair in what was once Lake Fukasawa, near today's Enoshima.
In Japanese culture and Chinese culture, dragons are gods associated with water and rivers. Their power is to bring down the rain and control the winds until they cause actual tornadoes.
The dragon has a prominent muzzle in the text, whiskers on the chin, eyes that emit penetrating rays like the sun at dawn, and a body surrounded by black clouds.
For 700 years, from the time of Emperor Jinmu (traditionally: 660-585 BC) to those of Emperor Suinin (traditionally: 29 BC-70 AD), the dragon has ravaged the area.
His evil power caused landslides and floods, causing unrest and epidemics among the population.
Even during te reign of Emperor Keiko (traditionally: 71-130AD), torrential rains and fires afflicted the population so much that to force them to move their homes into rock caves.
Between the fifth and sixth centuries, the dragon's madness grows to the point of devouring children. There was no escape from the dragon's violence.
To try to appease the dragon, the local population decides to offer the divinity of a little girl as a sacrifice.
At that point, around 552 AD, dark clouds cover the sea in the direction of the dragon's lair, Lake Fukasawa.
The clouds last for nearly two weeks, while earthquakes shake the earth day and night.
The goddess of Benten appears above the clouds, surrounded by servants to the right and left.
Thousands of spirits, dragons, water, fire, lightning, mountain spirits, ghosts, spirits of the dead, and demons send great boulders down from the sky.
At the same time, they cause sand and rock to rise from the depths of the sea.
The sky flames above the foamy waves of the sea.
Suddenly, the black clouds were gone: an island had appeared in the middle of the sea, built by spirits.
The goddess Benten finally descends to earth, and the dragon, seeing her in all her beauty (she shone like an autumn moon shrouded in the fog"), can only declare his love to her.
The goddess, however, disgusted by his past actions, rejects him.
Here, the dragon, persuaded by love, promises to change and follow divinity's teachings.
The dragon, therefore, turns his gaze to the south and becomes a hill.
Even today, the mountain is called Tatsu no Kuchi Yama, or Hill of the Dragon's Mouth.
Chinese Myth: In the written work of E.T.C Werner, Myths and Legends of China, dragons take shape in many forms. Werner writes of the dragon associated with the figure known as 'The Fashioner of the Universe';
"The most conspicuous figure in Chinese cosmogony is P'an Ku. It was he who chiselled the universe out of chaos. According to Chinese ideas, he was the offspring of the original dual powers of Nature, the yin and the yang (to be considered presently), which, having in some incomprehensible way produced him, set him the task of giving form to Chaos and 'making the heavens and the earth.'"
"Some accounts describe him as the actual creator of the universe-'the ancestor of Heaven and earth and all that live and move and have their being.' P'an means 'the shell of an egg,' and 'Ku' 'to secure' 'solid,' referring to P'an Ku being hatched from out of Chaos and to his settling the arrangement of the causes to which his origin was due. The characters themselves may, however, mean nothing more than 'Researches into antiquity,' though some bolder translators have assigned to them the significance if not the literal sense of 'aboriginal abyss,' or the Babylonian Tiamat, 'the Deep.'"
"P'an Ku is pictured as a man of dwarfish stature clothed in bearskin, or merely in leaves or with an apron of leaves. He has two horns on his head. In his right hand he holds a hammer and in his left a chisel (sometimes these are reversed), the only implements he used in carrying out his great task. Other pictures show him attended in his labours by the four supernatural creatures-the unicorn, phoenix, tortoise, and dragon; others again with the sun in one hand and the moon in the other, some of the first fruits of his stupendous labours. His task occupied eighteen thousand years, during which he formed the sun, moon, and stars, the heavens, and the earth, himself increasing in stature day by day, being daily six feet taller than the day before, until, his labours ended, he died that his works might live. His head became the mountains, his breath the wind and clouds, his voice the thunder, his limbs the four-quarters of the earth, his blood the rivers, his flesh the soil, his beard the constellations, his skin and hair the herbs and trees, his teeth, bones, and marrow the metals, rocks, and precious stones, his sweat the rain, and the insects creeping over his body human beings, who thus had a lowlier origin even than the tears of Khepera in Egyptian cosmology."
"Other legends recount that P'an Ku had the head of a dragon and the body of a serpent; and that by breathing he caused the wind, by opening his eyes he created day, his voice
made the thunder, etc."
Blue Dragon and White Tiger
The former, the Spirit of the Blue Dragon Star, was Teng Chiu-kung, one of the chief generals of the last emperor of the Yin dynasty. He had a son named Teng Hsiu, and a daughter named Ch'an-yu.
The army of the Teng Chiu-kung was camped at San-shan Kuan, when he received orders to proceed to the battle then taking place at Hsi Ch'i. There, in standing up to No-cha and Huang Fei-hu, he had his left arm broken by the former's magic bracelet, but, fortunately for him, his subordinate, T'u Hsing-sun, a renowned magician, gave him a remedy which quickly healed the fracture.
His daughter then came on the scene to avenge her father. She had a magic weapon, the Five-fire Stone, which she hurled full in the face of Yang Chien. But the immortal was not wounded; on the other hand, his celestial dog jumped at Ch'an-yu and bit her neck, so that she was obliged to flee. T'u Hsing-sun, however healed the wound.
After a banquet, Ten Chiu-kung promised his daughter in marriage to T'u Hsing-sun if he would gain him the victory at Hsi Ch'i. Chiang Tzu-ya then persuaded T'u's magic master, Chu Liu-sun, to call his disciple over to his camp, where he asked him why he was fighting against the new dynasty. "Because," he replied, "Chiu-kung has promised me his daughter in marriage as a reward of success." Chiang Tzu-ya, thereupon promised to obtain the bride, and sent a force to seize her. As a result of the fighting that ensued, Chiu-kung was beaten, and retreated in confusion, leaving Ch'an-yu in the hands of the victors. During the next few days, the marriage was celebrated with great ceremony in the victor's camp. According to custom, the bride returned for some days to her father's house, and while there, she earnestly exhorted Chiu-kung to submit. Following her advice, he went over to Chiang Tzu-ya's party.
In the ensuing battles, he fought valiantly on the side of his former enemy, and killed many famous warriors, he was eventually attacked by the Blower, from whose mouth a column of yellow gas struck him, throwing him from his steed. He was made prisoner and executed by order of General Ch'iu Yin. Chiang Tzu-ya conferred on him the kingdom of the Blue Dragon Star.
Th spirit of the White Tiger Star is Yin Ch'eng-hsiu. His father, Yin P'o-pai, a high courtier of the tyrant Chou Wang, was sent to negotiate with Chiang Tzu-ya, but was seized and put to death by Marquis Chiang Wen-huan. His son, attempting to avenge his father's murder, was pierced by a spear, and his head was cut off and carried in triumph to Chiang Tzu-ya.
As compensation, he was, somewhat tardily, canonized as the Spirit of the White Tiger Star.
The Dragon-boat Festival
This is said to be the origin of the dragon-boats which are to be seen all on the water-ways of China on the fifth day of the fifth moon. The Festival of the Dragon Boats, held on that day, was instituted in memory of the statesman-poet Ch'u Yuan (332-296 B.C.), who drowned himself in the Mi-lo River, an affluent of the Tung-t'ing Lake, after having been falsely accused by one of the petty princes of the State. The people, out of pity for the unfortunate courtier, sent out these boats in search of his body.
Myths of the Waters
The Dragons
The dragons are spirits of the waters. The dragon is a kind of being whose miraculous changes are inscrutable. In a sense, the dragon is the type of a man, self-controlled, and with powers that verge upon the supernatural. In China, the dragon, except as noted below, is not a power for evil, but a beneficent being producing rain and representing fecundating principle in nature. He is the essence of the yang, or male, principle. 'He controls the rain, and so holds in his power prosperity and peace.' The evil dragons are those introduced by the Buddhists, who applied the current dragon legends to the nagas inhabiting the mountains. These mountain nagas, or dragons (perhaps originally dreaded mountain tribes), are harmful, those inhabiting lakes and rivers friendly and helpful. The dragon, the 'chief of the three hundred and sixty caly reptiles,' is most generally represented as having the head of a horse and the tail of a snake, with wings on its sides. It has four legs. The imperial dragon has five claws on each foot, other dragons only four. The dragon is also said to have nine 'resemblances': 'its horns resemble those of a deer, its head that of a camel, its eyes those of a devil, its neck that of a snake, its abdomen that of a large cockle, its scales those of a carp, its claws those of an eagle, the soles of its feet those of a tiger, its ears those of an ox;' but some have no ears, the organ of hearing said to be in the horns, or the creature 'hears through its horns.' These various properties are supposed to indicate the 'fossil remnants of primitive worship of many animals.' The small dragon is like the silk caterpillar. The large dragon fills the Heaven and the earth. Before the dragon, sometimes suspended from his neck, is a pearl, This represents the sun. There are azur, scaly, horned, hornless, winged, etc. dragons, which apparently evolve one out of the other: 'a horned dragon,' for example, 'in a thousand years changes to a flying dragon.'
Dragon-gods
The dragon is also represented as the father of the great emperors of ancient times. His bones, teeth, and saliva are employed as a medicine. He has the power of transformation and of rendering himself visible or invisible at pleasure. In the spring he ascends to the skies, and in the autumn, buries himself in the watery depths. Some are wingless, and rise into the air by their own inherent power. There is the celestial dragon, who guards the mansions of the gods and supports them so that they do not fall; the divine dragon, who causes the winds to blow and produces rain for the benefit of mankind; the earth-dragon, who marks out the courses of rivers and streams; and the dragon of the hidden treasures, who watches over the wealth concealed from mortals. The Buddhists count their dragons in number equal to the fish of the great deep, which defies arithmetical computation, and can be expressed only by their sacred numerals. The people have a more certain faith in them than in most of their divinities, because they see them soo often; every cloud with a curious configuration of serpentine tail is a dragon. 'We see him,' they say. The scattering of the cloud is his disappearance. He rules the hills, is connected with feng-shui (geomancy), dwells round the graves, is associated with the Confucian Ownership, is the Neptune of the sea, and appears on dry land.
The Dragon Kings
The Sea-dragon Kings live in gorgeous places in the depths of the sea, where they feed on pearls and opals. There are five of these divinities, the chief being in the centre, and the other four occupying the north, the west, the south, and the east. Each is a league in length, and so bulky, that in shifting its posture, it tosses one mountain against another. It has five feet, one of them being in the middle of its belly, and each foot is armed, with five sharp claws. It can reach into the heavens, and stretch itself into all quarters of the sea. It has a glowing armour of yellow scales. a bear under its snout, a hairy tail, and shaggy legs. Its forehead projects over its blazing eyes, its ears are small and thick, its mouth gaping, its tongue long, and its teeth sharp. Fish are boiled by the blast of its breath and roasted by the fiery exhalations of its body. When it rises to the surface, the whole ocean surges, waterspouts foam, and typhoons rage. When it flies, wingless, through the air, the winds howl, torrents of rain descend, houses are unroofed, the firmament is filled with a din, and whatever lies along its route is swept away with a roar in the hurricane created by the speed of its passage.
The five Sea-dragon Kings are all immortal. They know each other's thoughts, plans, and wishes without intercommunication. Like all the other gods they go once a year to the superior Heavens, to make an annual report to the Supreme Ruler; but they go in the third month, at which time none of the other gods dare appear, and their stay above is but brief. They generally remain in the depths of the ocean, where their courts are filled with their progeny, their dependants, and their attendants, and where the gods and genii sometimes visit them. Their palaces, of divers, coloured transparent stones, with crystal doors, are said to have been seen in the early morning by persons gazing into the deep waters.
A Drought and its Cause
While everything was thus tranquil, a sudden and untoward event occurred which spread dismay and consternation on all sides. One day when the Prince went into the hall of audience one of his ministers reported that 'the wells are thirsty and the rivers dried up'-there was no water, and the people were all in the greatest alarm. The prince at once called his counsellors together to devise some means of remedying this disaster and causing the water to return to the wells and springs, but no one could suggest a suitable plan.
It is necessary to explain the cause of this scarcity of water. There was a dragon's cave outside the east gate of the city at a place called Lei-chen Kou, 'Thunder-clap Mouth' or 'Pass' (the name of a village.) The dragon had not been seen for myriads of years, yet it was well known that he lived there.
In digging out the earth to build the wall the workmen had broken into this dragon's cave, little thinking of the consequences which would result. The dragon was exceedingly wroth and determined to shift his abode, but the she-dragon said: 'We have lived here thousands of years, and shall we suffer the Prince of Yen to drive us forth thus? If we do go we will collect all the water, place it in our ying-yang baskets (used for drawing water), and at midnight we will appear in a dream to the Prince, requesting permission to retire. If he gives us permission to do so, and allows us also to take our baskets of water with us, he will fall into our trap, for we shall take the water with his own consent.
The Prince's Dream
The two dragons then transformed themselves into an old man and an old woman, went to the chamber of the Prince, who was asleep, and appeared to him in a dream. Kneeling before him, they cried: 'O Lord of a Thousand Years, we have come before you to beg leave to retire from this place, and to beseech you out of your great bounty to give us permission to take these two baskets of water with us.'
The Prince readily assented, little dreaming of the danger he was incurring. The dragons were highly delighted, and hastened out of his presence; they filled the baskets with all the water there was in Peking, and carried them off with them.
When the Prince awoke he paid no attention to his dream till he heard the report of the scarcity of water, when, reflecting on the singularity of his dream, he thought there might be some hidden meaning in it. He, therefore, had recourse to the packet again, and discovered that his dream-visitors had been dragons, who had taken the waters of Peking away with them in their magic baskets; the packet however, contained directions for the recovery of the water, and he at once prepared to follow them.
The Pursuit of the Dragons
In haste, the Prince donned his armour, mounted his black steed, and, spear in hand, dashed out of the west gate of the city. He pressed on his horse, which went swift as the wind, nor did he slacken speed till he came up with the water-stealing dragons, who still retained the forms in which they had appeared to him in his dream. On a cart were two identical baskets he had seen; in front of the cart, dragging it, was the old woman, while behind, pushing it, was the old man.
An Unexpected Flood
When the Prince saw them he galloped up to the cart, and, without pausing, thrust his spear into one of the baskets, making a great hole, out of which water rushed so rapidly that the Prince was frightened. He dashed off at full speed to save himself from being swallowed up by the waters, which in a very short time had risen more than thirty feet and had flooded the surrounding country. On galloped the Prince, followed by the roaring water, till he reached a hill, up which he urged his startled horse. When he gained the top he found that it stood out of the water like an island, completely surrounded; the water was seething and swirling round the hill in a frightful manner, but no vestige could he see of either of the dragons.
The Waters Subside
The Prince was very much alarmed at his perilous position, when suddenly a Buddhist priest appeared before him, with clasped hands and bent head, who bade him not be alarmed, as with Heaven's assistance he would soon disperse the water. Hereupon the priest recited a short prayer or spell, and the waters receded as rapidly as they had risen, and finally returned to their proper channels.