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This article is about the legendary creature. For other uses, see Dragon
(disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Draconian (disambiguation).

Illustration of a winged, fire-breathing dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch from

1806

Carved imperial Chinese dragons at Nine-Dragon Wall, Beihai Park, Beijing

A dragon is a large, serpent-like legendary creature that appears in the folklore
of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by
region, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been
depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in
eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine
creatures with above-average intelligence.

The earliest attested dragons resemble giant snakes. Dragon-like creatures are
first described in the mythologies of the ancient Near East and appear in ancient
Mesopotamian art and literature. Stories about storm-gods slaying giant serpents
occur throughout nearly all Indo-European and Near Eastern mythologies. Famous
prototypical dragons include the mu�?u��u of ancient Mesopotamia, Apep in Egyptian
mythology, V?tra in the Rigveda, the Leviathan in the Hebrew Bible, Python, Ladon,
Wyvern, and the Lernaean Hydra in Greek mythology, J�rmungandr, N��h�ggr, and
Fafnir in Norse mythology, and the dragon from Beowulf.