The four types of dragon-like creatures known to the Greeks were the
Dracones, Cetea, Chimaera and Dracaenae. The first of these occur in
both myth and legend--"legend" meaning the ancients believed such
creatures inhabited the far corners of the earth in historical times.
http://www.theoi.com/
I. DRACONES MYTHICAL
The first type of Greek dragon was the Dracon
whose name was derived from the Greek words "drakein" and "derkomai"
meaning "to see clearly" or "gaze sharply." It was essentially just a
giant serpent which was sometimes equipped with rows of sharp teeth,
deadly poison or multiple heads. In myth the beast usually guarded a
sacred spring, grove or golden treasure. Our own word "dragon" derives
from the creature's name.
COLCHIAN DRACON
(Drakon Kholkikos) An unsleeping dragon which guarded the Golden Fleece
in the sacred grove of Ares at Colchis. The creature was bewitched by
Medea so that the hero Jason could steal its treasure.
CYCHREIDES
(Kykhreides) A dragon which terrorized the island of Salamis. It driven
out by the hero Cychreus and fled to Eleusis where it became an
attendant of the goddess Demeter.
DEMETER'S DRACONES
A pair of winged dragons which drew the chariot of goddess Demeter. She
gave them to the hero Triptolemos to carry him across the world
spreading knowledge of agriculture.
GIGANTOMACHIAN DRACON
(Drakon Gigantomakhios) A dragon which was cast at the goddess Athena
during the Giant War. She caught it up and threw it into the sky where
it formed the constellation Draco.
HESPERIAN DRACON
(Drakon Hesperios) A hundred-headed dragon which guarded the golden
apples of the Hesperides. It was slain by Heracles when he came to fetch
the treasure as one of his Twelve Labors.
HYDRA
A nine headed water-dragon which guarded the springs of Lerna. It
possessed the power of regeneration, producing two new heads for each
that was decapitated. The creature was eventually destroyed by Heracles
who cauterized its neck stumps with a flaming torch.
ISMENIAN DRACON
(Drakon Ismenios) A dragon which guarded the sacred spring of Ares near
Thebes. It was slain by the hero Cadmus who sowed its teeth in the
earth to reap a crop of earth-born warriors.
MAEONIAN DRACON (1)
(Drakon Maionios) A dragon which ravaged the kingdom of Lydia. It was
slain by Heracles when he was in the service of Queen Omphale.
MAEONIAN DRACON (2) (Drakon Maionios) A monstrous dragon which terrorized the kingdom of Lydia. It was slain by the giant Damasen.
MEDEA'S DRACONES Two flying dragons born from the blood of the vanquished Titans. They were yoked to draw the chariot of the witch Medea.
NEMEAN DRACON
(Drakon Nemeios) A giant dragon or serpent which guarded the sacred
groves of Zeus at Nemea. It was destroyed by the warriors of the Seven
Against Thebes after devouring the infant Opheltes, son of a local king.
OPHIOGENEAN DRACON
(Drakon Ophiogeneikos) A dragon which guarded the sacred grove of the
goddess Artemis in Mysia. It mated with the maiden Halia, producing a
son named Ophiogeneis, ancestor of the Ophiogenes tribe.
PITANIAN DRACON (Drakon Pitanios) A dragon of Pitane in Aeolia (Asia Minor) which was turned to stone by the gods.
PYTHON
A monstrous dragon which was set by Gaea to guard the oracle of Delphi.
It was destroyed by the god Apollo when he seized the shrine.
RHODIAN DRACONES (Drakones Rhodioi) Giant serpents and dragons which ravaged the island of Rhodes. They were destroyed by the hero Phorbas.
THESPIAN DRACON
(Drakon Thespiakos) A dragon which plagued the Boeotian town of
Thespaie. It was slain by the hero Menestratus, who threw himself into
the creatures maw wrapped in spiked armour.
TROJAN DRACONES
(Drakones Troiades) A pair of dragons sent by the god Poseidon to
destroy Laocoon of Troy and his sons when he attempted to warn his
people of the threat posed by the Wooden Horse.
II. DRACONES LEGENDARY
The ancients believed the remote, unexplored
corners of the earth were inhabited by Dracones. These legendary
creatures were similar to their mythical counterparts.
ETHIOPIAN DRACONES (Drakones Aithiopikoi) Giant serpents which inhabited the land of Aethiopia (that is, sub-Saharan Africa).
INDIAN DRACONES
(Drakones Indikoi) Dragons found in the hills and mountains of India.
They devoured elephants and were destroyed by Indian dragon-slayers with
the aid of magic.
PHRYGIAN DRACONES
(Drakones Phrygioi) Sixty foot tall dragons found in central Anatolia.
They stood upright on their tails in the air, snaring birds with a
magical breath.
II. CETEA MYTHICAL
The second type of dragon was the Cetus or
"Sea-Monster." The creature usually featured in myths of a sacrificial
princess rescued by a hero.
CETEA (Ketea) Gigantic, serpentine sea-dragons.
ETHIOPIAN CETUS
(Ketos Aithiopios) A sea-monster sent by Poseidon to ravage the land of
the Aethiopians. The king offered ihis daughter Andromeda to it as a
sacrifice. But Perseus slew the beast and released the princess from her
chains.
TROJAN CETUS
(Ketos Troios) A sea-monster which plauged the land of the Trojans.
King Laomedon chained his daughter to the rocks as a sacrifice to
appease the creature, but she was \rescued by Heracles and the creature
slain.
IV. CETEA LEGENDARY
The ancients imagined that Cetea or
sea-monsters populated the distant oceans of the world. "Cetus" was also
the Greek word for "whale," which was regarded as a type of
sea-monster.
INDIAN CETEA (Ketea Indikoi) Fabulous sea-monsters believed to inhabit the Indian Ocean.
SCOLOPENDRA
(Skolopendra) A gargantuan sea-monster with hair extending from its
nostrils, a flat crayfish-like tail and rows of webbed feet lining each
of its flanks.
V. CHIMAERA
The third type of dragon was the Chimera, a
fire-breathing monster whose form was a hybrid of lion, serpent and
goat. Medieval artists used this creature as the template for the Dragon
of Saint George.
CHIMERA
(Khimaira) A three headed monster, with the foreparts of a lion, the
hind-parts of a goat and goat's-head rising from its back, and the tail
of a headed-serpent.
VI. DRACAENAE
The fourth type of dragon was the Dracaena or
"She-Dragon," a creature with the upper body of a beautiful nymph and
the body of a dracon or sea-monster in place of legs. Two of these
creatures, Echidna and Ceto, spawned most of the dragons of myth.
CAMPE
(Kampe) A monstrous she-dragon which guarded the prison-gates of
Tartarus. She had the body of a serpent, a hundred serpent "feet," and a
scorpion's tale. Campe was slain by Zeus when he rescued the Cyclopes
and Hecatoncheires from their prison.
CETO
(Keto) A monstrous marine goddess with the body of a sea-dragon in
place of legs. She spawned Echidna, the Hesperian dragon and other
monsters.
ECHIDNA (Ekhidna) The she-dragon wife of the serpent-giantTyphoeus. Echidna spawned most of the dragons and monsters of myth.
ECHIDNA ARGIA (Ekhidna Argia) A she-dragon which ravaged the kgindom of Argos. It was slain by the hundred-eyed giant Argos Panoptes.
POENE
(Poine) A she-dragon sent by Apollo to ravage the kingdom of Argos as
punishment for the death of his infant son Linos. It was slain by the
hero Coraebus.
SCYTHIAN DRACAENA
(Drakaina Skythia) The Dracaena queen of Scythia in north-eastern
Europe (now, the Ukraine). She stole the cattle of Geryon which Heracles
was herding through the region and agreed to return them on condition
he mate with her.
SCYLLA
(Skylla) A she-dragon which haunted the Straits of Messina, snatching
and devouring sailors from passing ships. She was a nymph with the tail
of a sea-monster in place of legs.
SYBARIS
A she-dragon which haunted a mountain near Delphi devouring shepherds
and passing travellers. She was pushed off the cliff by the hero
Eurybarus.
EVOLUTIONS : FROM CHIMAERA TO SAINT GEORGE'S DRAGON
The Greek Chimaera was a rather un-dragonlike
hybrid of lion, goat and serpent. Like later dragons it was described as
breathing fire.
Medieval artists used the Greco-Roman image of
Bellerophon and the Chimaera as the template for representations of
Saint George and the Dragon. The dragon of St George, however, was
depicted as an entirely reptilian creature, although its basic posture
and shape echoes the form of its classical predecessor.
(1) Bellerophon and the Chimaera, Roman mosaic from Palmyra C3rd A.D.
(2) Saint George and the Dragon, Medieval painting C14th.
A SELECTION OF QUOTES FROM CLASSICAL LITERATURE
The ancient Greek poet Hesiod in his genealogy
of the gods describes how the dragons and monsters of myth were spawned
by the immortal Dracaenae Ceto and Echidna.
Hesiod, Theogony 270-333 (trans. Evelyn-White) :
"Ceto bare to Phorcys the fair-cheeked Graeae, sisters grey from their
birth: and both deathless gods and men who walk on earth call them
Graeae, Pemphredo well-clad, and saffron-robed Enyo, and the Gorgons who
dwell beyond glorious Ocean in the frontier land towards Night where
are the clear-voiced Hesperides, Sthenno, and Euryale, and Medusa who
suffered a woeful fate : she was mortal, but the two were undying and
grew not old . . .
And in a hollow cave she bare another monster,
irresistible, in no wise like either to mortal men or to the undying
gods, even the goddess fierce Echidna who is half a nymph with glancing
eyes and fair cheeks, and half again a huge snake, great and awful, with
speckled skin, eating raw flesh beneath the secret parts of the holy
earth. And there she has a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from
the deathless gods and mortal men. There, then, did the gods appoint her
a glorious house to dwell in: and she keeps guard in Arima beneath the
earth, grim Echidna, a nymph who dies not nor grows old all her days.
Men say that Typhaon the terrible, outrageous and lawless,
was joined in love to her, the maid with glancing eyes. So she
conceived and brought forth fierce offspring; first she bare Orthus the
hound of Geryones, and then again she bare a second, a monster not to be
overcome and that may not be described, Cerberus who eats raw flesh,
the brazen-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, relentless and strong.
And again she bore a third, the evil-minded Hydra of Lerna, whom the
goddess, white-armed Hera nourished, being angry beyond measure with the
mighty Heracles. And her Heracles, the son of Zeus, of the house of
Amphitryon, together with warlike Iolaus, destroyed with the unpitying
sword through the plans of Athene the spoil-driver. She was the mother
of Chimaera who breathed raging fire, a creature fearful, great,
swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion;
in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a
fearful blast of blazing fire. Her did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon
slay; but Echidna was subject in love to Orthus and brought forth the
deadly Sphinx which destroyed the Cadmeans, and the Nemean lion, which
Hera, the good wife of Zeus, brought up and made to haunt the hills of
Nemea, a plague to men. There he preyed upon the tribes of her own
people and had power over Tretus of Nemea and Apesas: yet the strength
of stout Heracles overcame him.
And Ceto was joined in love to Phorcys and bare her
youngest, the awful snake who guards the apples all of gold in the
secret places of the dark earth at its great bounds. This is the
offspring of Ceto and Phorcys."
The Greek rhetorician Philostratus speaks of the dragon's love of gold.
Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 17 (trans. Fairbanks) :
"This hill encircled by the sea is the home of a dracon (serpent),
guardian doubtless of some rich treasure that lies hidden under the
earth. This creature is said to be devoted to gold and whatever golden
thing it sees it loves and cherishes; thus the fleece in Colchis and the
apples of the Hesperides, since they seemed to be of gold, two dracones
(serpents) that never slept guarded and claimed as their own. And the
dracon (serpent) of Athena, that even to-day still makes its home on the
Acropolis in my opinion has loved the people of the Athenians because
of the gold which they make into grasshopper pins for their hair. Here
the dracon (serpent) himself is of gold; and the reason he thrusts his
head out of the hole is, I think, that he fears for the safety of the
treasure hidden below."
The Roman tragedian Seneca catalogues the dragons as he describes the witch Medea calling forth their power with a spell.
Seneca, Medea 684 ff (trans. Miller) :
"Drawn by her magic incantations, the scaly
brood leave their lairs and come to her. Here a savage serpent drags its
huge length along, darts out its forked tongue, and seeks against whom
it is to come death-dealing; hearing her incantation, it stops in amaze,
knots its swollen body into writhing folds, and settles them into coils
. . . She cries, `. . . Hither let that serpent [the constellation
Draco] descend which lies like a vast rushing stream, whose huge folds
the two beasts [constellations Ursae] feel, the greater and the less
(the greater used by Pelasgians; by Sidonians, the less); let Ophiuchus
at length relax his choking grip and give the poison vent; in answer to
my incantations let Python come, who dared to attack the twin divinities
[Apollon and Artemis]. Let Hydra return and every serpent cut off by
the hand of Hercules, restoring itself by its own destruction.
Thou, too, ever-watchful dragon [of the Golden Fleece], quitting the
Colchians, come thou to my aid, thou who through my incantations wast
first lulled to slumber."
MYTHOLOGY IN POST-CLASSICAL ART
Perseus, Andromeda and the
Dragon
by the Baroque Dutch painter Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638). N.B. In
post-classical art Perseus is depicted riding the winged horse Pegasus.
In the Greek story, however, he is equipped with a winged cap and
sandals.
