by neufer » Mon Feb 18, 2019 3:16 pm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon wrote:
<<Dragon-like creatures appear in virtually all cultures around the globe. In his book An Instinct for Dragons (2000), anthropologist David E. Jones suggests a hypothesis that humans, just like monkeys, have inherited instinctive reactions to snakes, large cats, and birds of prey. He cites a study which found that approximately 390 people in a thousand are afraid of snakes and notes that fear of snakes is especially prominent in children, even in areas where snakes are rare. The earliest attested dragons all resemble snakes or bear snakelike attributes. Jones therefore concludes that the reason why dragons appear in nearly all cultures is because of humans' innate fear of snakes and other animals that were major predators of humans' primate ancestors. Dragons are usually said to reside in "dank caves, deep pools, wild mountain reaches, sea bottoms, haunted forests", all places which would have been fraught with danger for early human ancestors.
In her book The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2000), Adrienne Mayor argues that some stories of dragons may have been inspired by ancient discoveries of fossils belonging to dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. She argues that the dragon lore of northern India may have been inspired by "observations of oversized, extraordinary bones in the fossilbeds of the Siwalik Hills below the Himalayas" and that ancient Greek artistic depictions of the Monster of Troy may have been influenced by fossils of Samotherium, an extinct species of giraffe whose fossils are common in the Mediterranean region. In China, a region where fossils of large prehistoric animals are common, these remains are frequently identified as "dragon bones" and are commonly used in Chinese traditional medicine. Mayor, however, is careful to point out that not all stories of dragons and giants are inspired by fossils and notes that
Scandinavia has many stories of dragons and sea monsters, but has long "been considered barren of large fossils." In one of her later books, she states that "Many dragon images around the world were based on folk knowledge or exaggerations of living reptiles, such as Komodo dragons, Gila monsters, iguanas, alligators, or, in California, alligator lizards.">>
Boomer12k wrote: ↑Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:19 am
Gee...maybe this is where Dragon's come from in Lore....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_(constellation) wrote:
<<Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon.
It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. The north pole of the ecliptic is in Draco. In 3000 BC, the faint star Thuban in the constellation Draco was the North Star. Dragons in Greek mythology that may have inspired the constellation's name include Ladon, the dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. Heracles killed Ladon during his 12 labors; he was tasked with stealing the golden apples. The constellation of Hercules is depicted near Draco. In Greco- Roman legend, Draco was a dragon killed by the goddess Minerva and tossed into the sky upon his defeat.
The dragon was one of the Gigantes, who battled the Olympic gods for ten years. As Minerva threw the dragon, it became twisted on itself and froze at the cold North Celestial Pole before it could right itself. Sometimes, Draco is represented as the Titan son of Gaia,
Typhon.>>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings wrote:
<<Facilitated by advanced sailing and navigational skills, and characterised by the longship, Viking activities at times also extended into the Mediterranean littoral, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.>>
[quote="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon"]
[float=left][img3=""]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Jabberwocky.jpg/800px-Jabberwocky.jpg[/img3][/float]<<Dragon-like creatures appear in virtually all cultures around the globe. In his book An Instinct for Dragons (2000), anthropologist David E. Jones suggests a hypothesis that humans, just like monkeys, have inherited instinctive reactions to snakes, large cats, and birds of prey. He cites a study which found that approximately 390 people in a thousand are afraid of snakes and notes that fear of snakes is especially prominent in children, even in areas where snakes are rare. The earliest attested dragons all resemble snakes or bear snakelike attributes. Jones therefore concludes that the reason why dragons appear in nearly all cultures is because of humans' innate fear of snakes and other animals that were major predators of humans' primate ancestors. Dragons are usually said to reside in "dank caves, deep pools, wild mountain reaches, sea bottoms, haunted forests", all places which would have been fraught with danger for early human ancestors.
In her book The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2000), Adrienne Mayor argues that some stories of dragons may have been inspired by ancient discoveries of fossils belonging to dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. She argues that the dragon lore of northern India may have been inspired by "observations of oversized, extraordinary bones in the fossilbeds of the Siwalik Hills below the Himalayas" and that ancient Greek artistic depictions of the Monster of Troy may have been influenced by fossils of Samotherium, an extinct species of giraffe whose fossils are common in the Mediterranean region. In China, a region where fossils of large prehistoric animals are common, these remains are frequently identified as "dragon bones" and are commonly used in Chinese traditional medicine. Mayor, however, is careful to point out that not all stories of dragons and giants are inspired by fossils and notes that [b][u]Scandinavia has many stories of dragons and sea monsters, but has long "[i][color=#0000FF]been considered barren of large fossils.[/color][/i][/u][/b]" In one of her later books, she states that "Many dragon images around the world were based on folk knowledge or exaggerations of living reptiles, such as Komodo dragons, Gila monsters, iguanas, alligators, or, in California, alligator lizards.">>[/quote][float=right][img3="Draco coils around the north celestial pole, as depicted in Urania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825"]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Sidney_Hall_-_Urania%27s_Mirror_-_Draco_and_Ursa_Minor.jpg/800px-Sidney_Hall_-_Urania%27s_Mirror_-_Draco_and_Ursa_Minor.jpg[/img3][/float][quote=Boomer12k post_id=289949 time=1550485161 user_id=120851]
Gee...maybe this is where Dragon's come from in Lore....[/quote][quote="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_(constellation)"]
<<Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. [b][i][color=#0000FF]It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. The north pole of the ecliptic is in Draco. In 3000 BC, the faint star Thuban in the constellation Draco was the North Star. [/color][/i][/b] Dragons in Greek mythology that may have inspired the constellation's name include Ladon, the dragon who guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides. Heracles killed Ladon during his 12 labors; he was tasked with stealing the golden apples. The constellation of Hercules is depicted near Draco. In Greco- Roman legend, Draco was a dragon killed by the goddess Minerva and tossed into the sky upon his defeat. [b][u][color=#0000FF]The dragon was one of the Gigantes, who battled the Olympic gods for ten years. As Minerva threw the dragon, it became twisted on itself and froze at the cold North Celestial Pole before it could right itself.[/color][/u][/b] Sometimes, Draco is represented as the Titan son of Gaia, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon]Typhon[/url].>>[/quote][quote="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings"]
<<Facilitated by advanced sailing and navigational skills, and characterised by the longship, Viking activities at times also extended into the Mediterranean littoral, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.>>[/quote]