Transcript Presentation by Lourdes Fuller The Dragon has played an important part in the myths and religions of mankind since pre-historic times...

Presentation by
Lourdes Fuller
The Dragon has played an
important part in the
myths and religions of
mankind since pre-historic
times... Although
regarded as a sacred
guardian by many of the
ancient cults the dragon
in Western cultures has
been more commonly
symbolic of the principle
of evil.
The Latin word
draco, comes
directly from Greek
drákōn or the Latin
word Draco. The
word for dragon in
Germanic mythology
and its descendants
is worm meaning
snake or serpent.
Though a winged
creature, the dragon
is generally to be
found in its
underground lair, a
cave that identifies it
as an ancient
creature of Earth.
Likely, the dragons of
European mythology
stem from the cult of
snakes found in
religions throughout
the world.
In the sacred Hebrew
texts the Serpent or
Dragon was the source
of sin and death, a
conception which was
adopted by the New
Testament and so
passed into Christianity...
This magnificent mythical monster is usually
represented as a huge crested snake, with great
bat wing- like extensions growing from it's back,
clawed limbs, or both. Dragons were once believed
to be real creatures and they were a very real
terror even as late as 1564.
The belief in
dragons seems to
have risen without
even the slightest
knowledge of
dinosaurs...
However, some
believe that the
finding of dinosaur
bones gave rise to
stories of dragons.
Some even report
sightings of them
to this very day.
The Dragon myths
of the East took
new forms in the
West in the
legends of the
victories of St.
Michael and St.
George... slaying
the Dragon.
Raphael, Renaissance Painter, 1503
His wings outstretched and his
cloak fluttering behind him, St.
Michael plunges his spear into
the dragon's jaws. The
archangel's position on the
body of the dragon symbolizes
the victory of good over evil,
which is further emphasized by
the contrast between the
sweeping wing of the archangel
and the immobilized wing of the
dragon. By extending Michael's
wing beyond the punched
border decoration, the painter
makes the archangel seem to
expand into the picture field in
front of the gold background.
1380-1389 (Medieval)
Legend of St George, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, about 1862.
The patron saint of
England, in his legendary
combat with the dragon,
is a subject which occurs
frequently in English
sculpture and painting,
and enters largely into
the language and
literature of the nation.
St. George appears to
have been selected as
the patron saint of
England not long after
the Norman conquest.
"In many a church his form is seen,
With sword, and shield, and helmet
sheen:
Ye know him by his steed of pride,
And by the dragon at his side."
Thought to have been a Palestinian
who was a senior officer in the
Roman army of the Roman Emperor
Diocletian (c236 - 284 - 305 - c316
(80)), who was responsible for the
last great Christian persecutions,
before Constantine's Edict of Milan
(313).
George secretly converted to
Christianity, and had his head
chopped off in Palestine, after he
was found out.
St. George by Hans Acker 1440
In one version of the
legend, a dragon
living in a pond was
devouring people of
the surrounding
region and was about
to eat the king's
daughter, when
George intervened
and subdued the
dragon. The princess
tied her belt around
the dragon's neck and
led it back to the city,
where George killed it.
St.George rescuing the emperor's daughter, 15-th century.
His memory was
rediscovered when there was
a need for military models in
and after crusading times
(c1100 - c1300), and he
slipped into the role of
Patron Saint of England
(replacing the England's only
sainted King - Edward, who
was neither knight nor
dragon killer)
Saint George by Gustave Moreau, 1826 -1898
St. George on Horseback
c. 1500 – 1530
Bass Museum of Art Collection
The Welsh Dragon or "the Red Dragon"
is the symbol of Wales and adorns its
national flag. This dragon was
featured on the legendary battle of
King Arthur, the heathen Celtic gods
and historic chieftains and kings. In
the treasured ancient Mabinogion
legends the red dragon fights an
invading White Dragon. For centuries
their castle walls were demolished
nightly by these spirit beings. The
legendary fight was said to symbolize
the struggle between the Welsh and
English and prophesied that after
years of tyranny the Welsh would drive
the English from their homeland.
Russian dragons usually
have heads in multiples
of three. Some have
heads that grow back if
every single head isn't
cut off.
Raphael 1506
The dragon of the modern period
is typically depicted as a huge
fire-breathing, scaly and horned
dinosaur-like creature, with
leathery wings, with four legs and
a long muscular tail. In Western
folklore, dragons are usually
portrayed as evil, with exceptions
mainly in modern fiction.
A fictional character from
the novel Through the
Looking-Glass, and What
Alice Found There by
Lewis Carroll.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
'Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that
catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!'
He took his vorpal sword in
hand:
Long time the manxome foe
he sought -So rested he by the Tumtum
tree.
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he
stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes
of flame,
Came wiffling through the
tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One two! One two! And through
and through
The vorpal blade went snickersnack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
'And hast thou slain the
Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish
boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Kindergarteners in Mrs. Rowe’s class have been reading
about the dragons in My Father’s Dragon. Today at morning
program, one of the dragons came to life. (Thanks to
Maria’s father, Paul Colucci!) The dragon will grace the
kindergarten classroom until he gets too hungry and flies
away to look for skunk cabbage.
In Eastern culture, the dragon
enjoys a completely different
persona. Asian dragons are viewed
as awesome creatures filled with
power and wisdom. They are the gobetweens of heaven and earth, and
help keep the mortal world in
balance. In fact, Asian dragons are
considered down right lucky, so it's
good to have symbols of them in
your home and on your person.
The dragon is the national
symbol of China and was
the badge of the imperial
family, and as such it
plays a huge part in
Chinese culture. Chinese
and Japanese dragons,
although considered
powers of the air are
wingless. The Dragon
Kings are among the
deified forces of nature .
The Ancient Chinese
Dragon also occupies a
very important position in
the mythology of China. It
shows up in art, literature,
poetry, architecture,
music, and many aspects
of the Chinese
conscience. The origin of
Chinese dragons is
unknown, but certainly
pre-dates any written
history.




Heilongjian (Black
Dragon)
Huanghe (Yellow
Dragon)
Changjiang (Long
Dragon)
Zhujiang (Pearl
Dragon).
The Chinese Dragon (Lung) was a divine bringer
of rain, necessary for the good of the people.
Throughout Chinese history the dragon has been
equated with weather. It is said that some of the
worst floods were caused when a mortal has
upset a dragon. Chinese dragons of myth could
make themselves as large as the universe or as
small as a silkworm.
The dragon is a well-known ancient symbol found in many
Eastern cultures. The Chinese dragon is made up of nine
entities:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
the head of a camel,
the eyes of a demon,
the ears of a cow,
the horns of a stag,
the neck of a snake,
it's belly of a clam,
it's claws of an eagle,
while the soles of his feet are that of a tiger, and
the 117 scales that cover it's body are that of a carp, 81 are of
the yang essence (positive) while 36 are of the yin essence
(negative).
There are a total of nine types of classical
Chinese dragons. Chinese scholars
categorized the dragons according to their
cosmic tasks:
1. The Celestial Dragon ("heaven dragon")
is the ruler of the dragons, in charge of
protecting the heavens and homes of the
deities.
2. The Spiritual dragon ("spirit dragon")
controls the weather and had to be
appeased, or weather conditions would
turn disastrous. A special rank of these
dragons is known as Imperial Dragons that
have five toes. The only place they could be
depicted on was imperial insignia.
3. The Earth Dragon controls rivers. It spends springtime
in heaven and autumn in the sea.
4. The Underworld Dragon is the guardian of precious
metals and jewels buried in the Earth. Volcanoes are said
to be created when they burst out of the ground to report
to heaven.
5. The Horned Dragon. Considered to be the mightiest he
the most recognized in emblems.
6. The Winged Dragon. (The only Chinese dragon
with wings.) Believed to be a powerful servant
of Huang Di, the yellow emperor, who was
later immortalized as a dragon. One-legend
states that Yinglong helped a man named Yu
stop the Yellow River from flooding by digging
long channels with his tail.
7. The Coiling Dragon. Dwells in the ocean.
8. The Yellow Dragon. A hornless dragon known
for its scholarly knowledge. Emerged from the
River Luo to show Fuxi the elements of writing.
The Yellow Dragon symbolizes the emperor of
China,
9. The Dragon King. Really four dragons that were
respected and honored as these were the
dragons people approached when there was
no rain. Each of these rules over one of the
four seas, those of the east, south, west, and
north.
A very popular tourist site in Beijing is this Nine-Dragon
Wall in BaiHai Park. After hundreds of years, the colors of
the ceramic tiles are just as brilliant. The wall was built in
1756. It is 21m long, about 15m high and i.2m thick. It is
faced with 424 7-colour ceramic tiles.
At the centre of the wall,
there is a giant dragon,
flanged by four dragons
on each side. In addition
to these nine large
dragons, the wall is
covered from edge to
edge with many smaller
dragons. In all, there are
635 dragons.
Although fearsome
and powerful,
dragons are
equally considered
just, benevolent,
and the bringers of
wealth and good
fortune. The
dragon is also
considered a
shape shifter who
can assume
human form and
mate with people.
Chinese Dragon is also the symbol
of the Chinese race. Chinese
proclaim themselves Descendents
of the Dragon.
Many legends draw connections
between the dragon and the
emperor. The emperor’s wisdom
and divine power comes from
dragons. Chinese emperors think
they are the real dragons and the
sons of heaven. Thus the beds they
sleep on are called the dragon
beds, the throne called the dragon
seats, and the emperor's
ceremonial dresses called the
dragon robes.
The Chinese dragon
has four claws as
standard, but the
Imperial dragon has
five, this is to identify
it above the lesser
classes. Anyone other
than the emperor
using the 5 claw
motif was put to
death.
According to legend the
Dragon had nine sons, and
each had a strong
personality. Here is how they
look and where to find them.
A reckless and
adventurous dragon
that is fearless. He
loves to take risks
and watch from high
places, so he
decorates the corners
of palace roofs in
ancient China.
Ya Zi Ya Zi is bad-tempered,
fractious, and inclined to
fight, so he often appears
on ancient weapons. He can
be seen on sword-hilts, knife
hilts and battle axe. It is said
that his figure can add
power to these weapons.
Ya Zi, the dragon’s seventh
son is said to frequent
battlefields and war.
His figure is like a
lion. SuanNi is fond
of smoke and fire;
he can be seen on
the legs of incenseburners. He is also
used to guard the
main doors. It is
believed that by
having him in your
home, your children
will all be attractive.
The second son of the dragon, is
in charge of rainfall. His image is
placed on the ridges of buildings
to protect from fire. Made of
terracotta and colorfully glazed,
he can be seen on virtually every
imperial building. He likes
swallowing things, so he is also
called the Ridge-Swallowing
Beast. He looks like a wolf.
Pulao is fond of
roaring and his
figure is put on bell
handles. He lives
near the sea.
Though he is son of
a dragon, he fears
the big whale. When
the whale attacks,
he roars loudly.
The figure of Bi An is like a tiger. He
is wise and can tell who is good or
evil, so his figure became
decorations of prisons or courts.
Fuxi loves literature, his
figures are carved on
sides of stone or tablets
with inscriptions.
His figure is like
tortoise, Baxia has
great strength and
likes to carry heavy
things. BaXia loves
words , so he is used
to carry stone tablets
with inscriptions.
Jiaotu is as tightlipped as a mussel
or a snail. His
image is carved on
doors.
Qiu Niu loves music,
he likes to crouch on
the head of stringed
instruments and
listens to music. His
figure became a
common decoration
on the bridge of
stringed musical
instruments. Qiuniu
looks like a small
yellow dragon with
scales. Some Tibetan
musical instruments
also bear his headraising and mouthopening image.
The color of water in Five
Elements system is related
to black. Therefore we can
say 2012 is a Black Dragon,
Water Dragon or Black
Water Dragon year.
These special water
influenced years are
notoriously erratic in their
outcomes but nevertheless
considered fortunate time
periods.
The Dragon is in fact the major
symbol of good fortune in Chinese
Astrology, meaning that we can
expect grand things this
year. Bigger than life is very much a
Dragon thing – there will be
spectacular successes as well as
failures…
Begins on January 23rd until
February 9th, 2013. It indicates a
transformational time for world
events and important turning points
for individuals. The calm perceptive
nature of the Water Dragon will
make it a good year.
The Dragon, is a reminder that everyone has dreams, and
that the time to pursue them is NOW! Now is the time to take
a chance, to not only dream but act on that impossible
dream. The Dragon gives you the best chance to make it
come true. Furthermore, under the influence of the Dragon it
is a yang year. Yang water is like a flowing river rather than a
stagnant lake. Things will move, ideas flow, creativity abound,
economies boom, and love blossom in this environment.
2012 is likely to be an exciting year indeed!