Dragon

(drag'on.) [Gr. drakōn.] (Myt.) A fabulous winged animal of the Saurian cla , frequently mentioned in the traditions and mythical romances of the Middle Ages, and supposed to have been identical with the pterodactyl of antediluvian times. By the ancients, Perseus and Hercules have been represented as slayers of the D., this supposed animal being looked upon as the incarnate beast of evil. Later, several of the heroes of the Nibelungen-lied are celebrated as destroyers of the D., as also was Thor among the Scand in avians, and St. George, the patron-saint of England, among the Teutons and Celts. The Greeks and Romans adopted the symbol of the D. as a crest for their helmets, and among the book men of the med iæval centuries it was represented in religious blazonry as the embodiment of sin, to be crushed to death under the feet of saints and holy men. In China, at the present day, the figure of the D. is the sacred symbol of imperial power, and as such it appears on the military standards. In its Scriptural application, the D. is very variously defined by implication as a sea-monster, huge serpent, crocodile, or jackal.-(Art. and Zool.) See DRACO. [s. 301]