Did the dragons really exist?

Legendary monsters, able to fly and sizzling with fire all living things, custodians of huge treasures and owners of an acute mind - dragons like that appear in legends and fairy tales. There is not a single people whose mythology does not have stories of these giant monsters. Many still believe that dragons exist now or have lived before. The description of these creatures is almost the same for peoples living on different continents. And this fact suggests that our ancestors once saw the dragons live, and the impressions from these meetings are forever preserved in myths, legends and fairy tales. Were dragons on Earth? Let's try to understand.

Who are they?

With the precise definition of these creatures there are complexities. The dragon is a collective name. In each country there are individual ideas about this mythical animal. The most widespread image of the dragon was in mythology and folklore, horoscopes and fantasy.

With the exception of some differences, the appearance of a giant monster looks like this: the torso of a reptile with parts of the bodies of other animals. Often the dragon has wings, can fly and spew a deadly flame.

Dragon and snake

There is a confusion between these two mythical animals. A small number of researchers believe that the dragon and snakes are different creatures. The image of the snake is found in the Slavonic texts from the 9th century, in the Bible and folklore works. By the 19th century, the word "dragon" had become common. Now it is considered that these two concepts denote the same being.

Favorite character of myths and fairy tales

Did dragons exist in the distant past? When you see their diversity in the cultures of different nations, this idea involuntarily arises.

The dragon is an indispensable element of the mythology of any country. He can be an evil and insidious monster, sowing death and destruction, or appear in the image of a wise being. Very common is the myth of the dragon as a guardian of fabulous treasures and a kidnapper of beautiful girls.

Snake Gorynych - one of the brightest characters of Slavic tales and mythology. Here, his image is deprived of a hint of attractiveness or wisdom. He is the most important evil of the Slavic myths.

How it all began

Myths about dragons arose a long time ago. It is believed that for the first time this image appeared among the Sumerians more than five thousand years ago. Then it spread to Egypt, Greece and other countries of Europe and the East. How did this image form? And did the dragons really exist? There is a version that snakes creeping out from under the earth after winter hibernation led to the appearance of the ancient people of the first myth of unusual creatures.

According to another version, these creatures are ancient dinosaurs, the memory of which has survived in such a fantastic image. Opponents of this theory indicate that the first people appeared much later than the time when dinosaurs lived.

There is also the assumption that dragons were once a separate species of animals, but died out due to the small number of their population.

Types of dragons

Did the dragons really exist? Judging by the abundance of their species, described in different myths and folklore of many countries, it seems that once in the past people really encountered these creatures. It is extremely difficult to classify them. In general, everything that concerns this fairy-tale character is extremely confusing. Each country has its own description. In addition, it is sometimes not clear who of the mythical animals can be referred to dragons. Conditionally they are divided into the following types:

1. Lindvorm - a winged snake with two legs and poisonous saliva. This species is Farfnir - a famous monster from the Scandinavian sagas. He crawled on his belly. With this kind of dragons, there is confusion, because in some legends the lindvorms are wingless and can have not two but four paws.

2. Givre . He does not have paws and wings. The head is massive, horned.

3. Classic, or heraldic dragon. It has four paws and wings.

4. Wyvern . It has two legs, wings and a tail with spikes. Fire can not exhale.

5. Amphipter - winged dragon with rudimentary limbs that are not used.

6. Dragons of the eastern countries - Chinese, Japanese, Korean.

Conditionally, dragons include monsters from ancient Greek mythology - the snake Python and the Lernean Hydra.

Who is studying them?

Periodically, there are reports that in different parts of the planet have seen or even caught mysterious creatures. The science of cryptozoology deals with the search and study of animals that are considered fictitious or long extinct. She is not included in the number of academic disciplines, and official zoology considers her a pseudoscience. For cryptozoologists, the answer to the question of whether the dragons existed was simple and understandable. They believe that if not in our days, then in the past man really lived next to dragons, the memory of which came to us in the form of myths and fairy tales.

The night fury is fiction or reality?

After the release of the cartoon "How to Train Your Dragon," many became interested in the question of whether there is a dragon Night Fury in fact? Unfortunately, this character is a pure fiction of the filmmakers. He has memorable signs: a dark, almost black color, eight appendages on his head, playing the role of ears (therefore these creatures have a very delicate ear), and the ability to exhale is not just fire, but a clot of blue flame. The night fury has no analogues among the mythical dragons.

Are there really dragons? And where can they be seen?

On the question of whether there are now dragons, you can say with certainty in the affirmative. Of course, with this, we will keep in mind modern animals that received this honorary title. The closest of all modern fauna representatives to mythical dragons is the Komodo Varan, or the dragon of the island of Komodo. The predator weighing 150 kilograms and a body length of about 3 meters externally closely resembles the legendary monsters.

Flying dragons are another representatives of lizards from the genus agamov who wear this famous name. On the sides they have leather folds, with which they can plan in the air. For this feature of the lizard and got its name.

The sea dragon is a species of predatory fish. Has on the thorns poisonous glands, the prick of which can be fatal to humans.