Mythological Dragon List
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This is a list of some of the dragons from mythology and folklore. The dragons are in alphabetical order. Clicking on the letters that divide the entries will bring you back to the top. Nameless dragons will be listed by other associations, such as the name of the place that they lived at. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AAHI see VITRA AHRIMAN is the embodiment of darkness (evil). He invaded heaven in the form of a dragon. Mithra (associated with the sun) battled Ahriman and won. This is a Persian myth. AIDO HWEDO is the rainbow serpent from Dahomey mythology. During the creation of the universe, Mawu was carried by Aido Hwedo. When the world was finished it was too heavy, and risked toppling over. Mawu asked Aido Hwedo to coil up beneath the world to hold it in place. When he did this, she made sea around him as he was getting to hot. Aido Hwedo eats iron bars which are beneath the sea. One day, when these run out, he will eat his own tail, and the world will fall into the sea. Aido Hwedo also survives in both Surinam and Haitian vodun beliefs, by the name Aido Wedo. ANZU see ZU AO CH'IN see DRAGON KINGS AO JUN see DRAGON KINGS AO KUANG see DRAGON KINGS AO SHUN see DRAGON KINGS APALALA is a water dragon from Buddhist legend. It lived at the source of the Swat river, and was converted to Buddhism by Buddha. APOPHIS is the Egyptian dragon of darkness (and of thunderstorms, lightning and whirlwinds). Every day it attempts to swallow the solar barque, the boat on which the sun god Ra carries the sun. Every morning Ra wins the battle and the sun rises. Apophis is often depicted as a giant serpent. Other names for Apophis include: Apop, Apep, Apopis, Apepi, and Aapep.
BBEOWULF: See the essay 'The Dragons of Beowulf' for details. BIDA is a West African dragon who appears in the great Epic of the Dausi. The story goes that the dying king, Dinga, sent for his oldest son to tell him the secret of kingship. The eldest son wouldn't come. In fact the only son who did come was the youngest son, called Lagarre. His father told him to find nine jars of water, that whomever washes in them becomes king. Then to find the drum Tabele, take it into the northern desert, and strike it. When Lagarre did this a city rose out of the sand, encircled by the dragon Bida. This was the city of Wagadoo. Lagarre made a deal with Bida to gain entrance to the city. Every year a girl would be sacrificed to the dragon, and in return the dragon would spew gold over the city. For three generations this continued, until one year the dragon was killed by the lover of the girl to be sacrificed, Mamadi Sefe Dekote. When Bida came out of its lake, Mamadi cut of it's head. Bida's head was knocked to the Gold Coast, which is why gold is plentiful there. BLACK WORM: The Black Worm had a hoard of gold, which it coiled round to protect. But the worm was not quite long enough to coil around all of the gold. While it was sleeping, a local man took advantage of this opening, and climbed up onto the hoard. Soon he had filled his pockets with gold, but he was greedy for more. He called to his female companion to climb up to and take more of the gold. This cry woke the worm. The dragon roared, the man paniced, dropped the gold, and fled. The black worm and it's gold then sunk into the ground, never to be seen again. This is a Teutonic myth.
CCAPACTI is a Mexican dragon. The earth was created from its body. CHI LUNG WANG is one of the many Chinese Dragon Kings. He is associated with the use of the hand-pumps used in fire-fighting. He is invoked to aid the running of these pumps.
DDAHAK was a three-headed Persia dragon. He was killed by Athwya. Related Dragons: Zohak DELPHYNE is a Greek dragoness. She guarded Zeus when he was held captive by Typhon, and met Apollo when he first arrived in Delphi with his mother. She lived at Delphi with her mate Delphynes. DRACHENSTEIN guarded a hoard of gold. Hurnen Sifrit decided to slay the dragon, and take the treasure. He hid himself in a covered pit, and when Drachenstien passed above it, plunged his sword into the dragon's unprotected belly. After killing Drachenstein, Hurnen loaded the treasure onto his horse, and left. This story probably has the same origins as that of Sigurd and Fafnir. Related Dragons: Fafnir DRAGON KINGS. There are four main Dragon Kings, Ao Ch'in, Ao Jun, Ao Kuang, and Ao Shun (the taoist's use different names). These are the names they have in 'Travels in the West' where they are depicted as four brothers. Each of the brothers rule one of the four seas. Earth is in the centre of these seas. They each live in an underwater palace called the Crystal Palace. Also in the palace are their ministers, army (of fish, crabs, and crayfish) and watchmen who police the sea bottom. They depend directly on the August Personage of Jade, from whom they receive the orders of how much rain to distribute where. Related Dragons: Chi Lung Wang; Rinjin; Vietnamese Dragon King | Other Pages: Types of Mythological Dragon - Dragon Kings DRAGON OF THE LAKE: This dragon lived in a huge lake in Africa, with a town by the shore. Every year the town gave a virgin to the dragon in return for being allowed to draw water from the lake for a day. This water had to be stored in cisterns so that it lasted all year. Eventually only princess Fatouma was left to offer. A prince called Hammadi came into the town, and, apon hearing the princess's fate, went to the lake shore and released her. When the dragon came out of the lake to eat her he killed it. Later he married the princess. DRAGON STONE see FAFNIR
FFAFNIR began life as a dwarf. He killed Otter for the gods, and received gold as a reward. Fafnir hid this hoard, and guarded it day and night. Through his greed, he slowly transformed into a dragon. Sigurd Volsung (also known as Siegfried) was encouraged by Fafnir's brother, Regin, to kill Fafnir. Sigurd and Regin dug a hole, and Sigurd hid in it. When Fafnir passed over the top of the hole, Sigurd stuck his sword, Gram, into Fafnir's belly, killing him. Regin removed Fafnir's heart, and cooked it. When passing the heart to Regin, Sigurd burnt himself, and put his fingers in his mouth. The small amount of dragon heart was enough to allow Sigurd to understand the birds. They told Sigurd that Regin was planning to kill him, so Sigurd killed Regin, loaded the treasure onto Granni, his horse, and rode away. There are other versions of this tale. In another version, the king of the dwarves leaves equal amounts of treasure to his three sons. When the mountain threatens to cave in, two of them hide their treasure under a dragon stone (the stone is a dragon). After five years and a day, the dragon takes on human form, allowing Siegfried to take the treasure. The story of Sigurd and Fafnir probably has the same origins as the story of Hurnen Sifrit and Drachenstein. Related Dragons: Drachenstein
GGARGOUILLE, or La Gargouille, lived in the river Seine, and ravaged the local area. He was defeated by St. Romain of the city Rouen. GÓIN is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr GRÁBAK is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr GRAFVITNIR is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr GRAFVÖLUD is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr GRENDEL/GRENDEL'S MOTHER: See the essay 'The Dragons of Beowulf' for details.
HHOTU-PUKU: This entry is the beginning of a story about a taniwha (dragon) slayer called Pitaka. The story continues in two other entries. This story comes from the Polynesians in New Zealand. People were going missing whilst travelling between Rotorua and Taupo district. The people of Taupo assumed a warparty must be waylaying the travellers, so sent out a warparty to fight them. The war parties stopped at a place called Kapenga.... there they had found the real cause of the disappearances: a taniwha called Hotu-puku. The warparty fled. A new party, including a man called Pitaka, set out to Kapenga. They hung up a noose, and Pitaka acted as bait, going through the noose, so that the taniwha would stick his head through. As soon as Hotu-puku put his head through the noose, it was pulled tight until he died. Hotu-puku was cut open, and they found the bodies of the people he had eaten. After burying the bodies, Hotu-puku was cooked and eaten. For the continuation of the story go to Peke-haua. Related Dragons: Peke-haua; Kataore | Other Pages: Types of Mythological Dragon - Taniwha HYDRA (African): An African Hydra is a water-monster with seven heads. Some people bring offerings to them so that they won't stop the river flowing. The story of one Hydra is as follows: The Hydra was killed by the lover of Jinde Sirinde. When Jinde's mother was pregnant with her, she asked for the Hydra's help, in return for her child. Her water jar had been filled with mud. The Hydra agreed to the deal, cleaning out her jar, and filling it with water for her. Soon after Jinde was born. When she was old enough, she was sent to the river to collect water. One day the Hydra came to the shore and took her away to be his wife. Jinde pleaded with him to be allowed to go back to see her parents one last time. The Hydra agreed to let her go for one day, but that he would come after her if she did not return. Jinde went to her parent's house, but they wouldn't help her for fear of the Hydra. In the end she went to the house of her lover, who took his sword and killed the Hydra as it came for Jinde, by cutting off all seven heads. Also known as the Waterlord. HYDRA (Biblical): Many headed dragons appear in 'Revelation' in the Bible (specifically chapter 12, verses 3 and 4). Details of biblical dragons can be found in the essay Dragons and Serpents in the Bible. Quotations from Revelation can be found on Dragon and Serpent Biblical Quotations. HYDRA (Greek) see LERNAEAN HYDRA
IISA BERE lived in the mountains of Futa Jallon, in Africa. This dragon drank all the water from the river Niger, causing a major drought. King Samba went to fight Isa Bere, taking Tarafe, his bard, with him. The battle continued for eight years, using up 800 spears. Eventually the dragon was killed by a blow to the heart with a long sword, releasing the waters of the Niger.
JJORMUNGAND appears in Norse mythology. He is the son of Loki and Angur-boda. This serpent lives in the sea, and encircles the earth. He is so long that he has swallowed his own tail. Also known as Iormungandr, Midgardsormr, Midgard Serpent, and World Serpent.
KKATAORE: This is the third part of a continuing story. See Hotu-puku for part one, and Peke-haua for part two. Kataore was a cave dwelling taniwha living near the settlement Rotorua, in the Tiki-tapu district. Pitaka and his companions slayed Kataore. However, this taniwha was the pet of chief Tangaroa-mihi. He was enraged by the death of his pet, and made war on the killers. Related Dragons: Hotu-puku; Peke-haua | Other Pages: Types of Mythological Dragon - Taniwha KINABALU (the dragon of) lived at the top of Mount Kinabalu in Borneo. He owned a huge pearl. When the Chinese Emperor heard about the pearl he sent some of his men to go and get it. The dragon killed most of them, but a few returned to China. The Emperor decided that his two sons Wee Ping and Wee San should fetch the pearl. Wee San came up with a plan to steal the pearl. When the dragon went to find food he flew up to its lair on a large kite, and replaced the pearl with an imitation. When the dragon returned it realized that its pearl had been taken, and swam after the Chinese ships. Wee San ordered his men to heat up a cannon ball and fire it at the dragon. The dragon swallowed the cannon ball, thinking it was its pearl, and died. Wee Ping lied about the pearl saying it was him that took it. He wanted to keep the pearl for himself. Wee San did not want trouble with his brother, so left China. He eventually became ruler of Brunei in Borneo and was happy. However, by lying, Wee Ping only brought himself sadness. This story is a Borneo folktale. KNUCKER is a water dragon who lived in Sussex in England. His home was the Knucker Hole at Lyminster. His home in itself is a place of mystery. A stream leads out from the hole, but as it is fed by an underground stream, no water can be seen entering the hole. Knucker caused many problems in the Lyminster area, carrying off animals and people, and generally being a nuisance. Eventually Knucker was killed, although there are several different versions of the story describing this event. In one version the King of Sussex offered his daughter in marriage to anyone who would kill the dragon. It was said that a wandering knight battled Knucker, killed him, married the princess, and then settled in Lyminster. The second version of Knucker's end said that Jim Pulk, a local farmer's boy, outwitted the dragon. He cooked the dragon a poisoned Sussex pie, which the dragon ate, then died. Knucker got his revenge in the end though, because after Jim when off to celebrate he fell down dead. Probably he hadn't washed his hands after baking the poisoned pie. The third version also has a local man outwitting Knucker, in a similar way. This man is called Jim Puttock, and comes from Wick. In this version it is the Mayor of Arundel offering a reward. Unlike Jim Pulk, Jim Puttock does not die at the end. To get an idea of what Knucker may have been like, here is an extract of dialogue between Knucker and Jim Puttock (as told by a local, and printed in the Sussex County Magazine in 1929): And he sees thisyer tug a-coming, and sings out, affable-like, 'How do, Man?'
LLADON was the guardian of Hera's golden apples, which grew in the Garden of Hesperides. Herakles (Hercules) killed Ladon in order to steal the apples. LADY OF THE LAND: The ruler of the isle of Largo was Ypocras. A goddess turned his daughter into a dragon, who was known by the people as the Lady of the Land. As a dragon she lives in a cave inside a castle. It is said that if a knight is brave enough to kiss her on the mouth, she will turn back into a human. Many knights have come to her, but all have fled in fear, leaving the Lady to cry alone. All of those who fled have died shortly afterwards. LA TARASQUE see TARASQUE LERNAEAN HYDRA - a huge serpent with nine heads (although in some accounts she has seven or fifty heads). She lived at Lerna, in a pool formed by the Amymone spring. The Hydra was the half-sister of the Nemean Lion, and her accomplice was Cancer the Crab. She was killed by Heracles (Hercules), who had killed her half-brother, the Nemean Lion, previously. As soon as one of her heads was cut off two more grew, until Heracles commanded Iolaus to cauterize the wound with a hot iron. The Hydra was the daughter of Echidna and Typhon.
Other Pages: Dragons and Serpents in the Bible; Dragon and Serpent Biblical Quotations LYMINSTER KNUCKER see KNUCKER
MMIDGARD SERPENT see JORMUNGAND MÓIN is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr MOKO: In Mangaia, Moko is the Great Lizard, king of all other lizards. Other Pages: Types of Dragon - Moko/Mo'o MO-O-INANEA 'the self reliant dragon' is a Hawaiian dragon, said to be the mother of all other dragons. Other Pages: Types of Dragon - Moko/Mo'o MUSRUSSU DRAGON. The personal symbol of Marduk, high god of Babylon. Brick reliefs of the dragon flanked the way that Marduk, and the other gods, were supposed to pass after the new year festival.
NNIDHOGGR is a serpent from Norse mythology. It lives at the foot of the cosmic tree, Yggdrasil (or Igrasil). Yggrasil has three roots. The second root ends in Niflheim, the land of mist. It is near here that Nidhoggr lives, gnawing at the root. He also eats corpses. The squirrel, Ratatosk, scurries between Nidhoggr and the eagle in the branches of the tree, trying to stir up discord between them. Related Dragons: Góin; Grábak; Grafvitnir; Grafvölud; Móin; Ofnir; Sváfnir NIE LANG was a human boy who lived with his mother in the Szechuan province of China. There was a drought in Szechuan, and Nie Lang had to cut grass for his master's horses every day. One day he could not find any grass. A white hare appeared and led him to a place of lush grass. Everyday he returned to cut more grass, and the grass regrew where he had cut it. One day he decided to take some of the grass home to plant, so that he did not have to walk so far everyday. When he dug the grass up, he found a pearl underneath which he also took. He planted the grass by his home, and put the pearl in an almost empty rice jar to cover its glow. The next day the grass was shriveled, but the rice jar was overflowing. The pearl gave Nie Lang and his mother more rice than they needed, so they shared it with their neighbours. Nie Lang's master, Lord Zhou, heard about the magic pearl and wanted it for himself. He and his guards came to Nie Lang's house looking for the pearl. Eventually Nie Lang swallowed it to stop the guards finding it, and the guards were chased away by Nie Lang's neighbours. The pearl felt hot inside him, so Nie Lang began drinking lots of water. Eventually he went down to the river to drink. When Lord Zhou and his guards returned to find him, Nie Lang rose out of the river - he had transformed into a dragon. He sent a great wave that washed Lord Zhou and his guards away. Nie Lang the dragon ascended to heaven, and still watches over Szechuan today.
OOFNIR is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr O GONCHO, or O-gon-cho, is a Japanese white dragon which lives in a deep pool, called Ukisima. Ukisima is near Kyoto, at a place called Yama-shiro. Every 50 years the dragon changes into a golden bird. The cry of the bird is an omen of famine. OLLIPEIST was an Irish dragon. When St. Patrick rid Ireland of snakes, and imprisioned the dragons, Ollipeist fled. As he fled, he cut a furrow in the ground - this furrow was the Shannon valley. Other Pages: Types of Mythological Dragon - Peist OUROBOROS see UROBOROS
PPEKE-HAUA: This is the second part of the story of Pitaka. For the first part of this story, see Hotu-puku. After his exploits killing Hotu-puku, Pitaka was called to Te Awan-hou to kill another taniwha, called Peke-haua. Peke-haua was a water taniwha, and lived in Te Waro-uri, a deep water-hole. As this was a different sort of taniwha, different methods were required to kill him. Pitaka and his companions wove traps out of vines, before descending into the chasm. When Peke-haua was asleep, Pitaka swam down to him, and tied a rope around him, before quickly escaping. Using spells to aid them, they pulled the taniwha up, so that they could kill him. The final part of the story is under Kataore. Related Dragons: Hotu-puku; Kataore | Other Pages: Types of Mythological Dragon - Taniwha
QQUETZALCOATL is a Toltec and Aztec god. He is the feathered serpent, god of civilization. Other Pages: Types of Dragon - Birds; Alchemy - Quetzalcoatl
RRINJIN is a Japanese Dragon King, who lives in a palace under the sea. One story involving Rinjin is the story of how the jellyfish lost its bones. It is set at a time when jellyfish had bones, fins and feet. In differing versions either Rinjin's bride or daughter had a craving for a live monkey's liver. The Dragon King sent the jellyfish to bring back a live monkey. The jellyfish found one, and invited him back to visit the underwater kingdom. The monkey agreed and they started back. On the way the jellyfish told the monkey the real reason for the invitation. The monkey said that it took out it's liver before it came, and asked to be taken back so that it could fetch it. The jellyfish did this, and then returned to the palace to say why the monkey would be late. In anger the Dragon King beat the jellyfish into the shape it has today. Sometimes an octopus takes the place of the jellyfish. Rinjin is also known as Ryujin.
SST. GEORGE'S DRAGON. The standard version of this tale is that the town of Cappadocia was under threat from a dragon, who was destroying the local countryside. At first, the townsfolk fed sheep to the dragon, but eventually, they ran out of sheep. Then they began to feed maidens to the dragon, but soon only the princess was left. Whilst she was tied up, St. George came by, slayed the dragon, and returned the princess to the town. To see a sketch of the dragon, drawn from an Ethiopian manuscript (17th Century), click here. In the complete picture, the dragon is under St. George's horse, and is barely longer than the horse. SVÁFNIR is one of the serpents that lives under the ash tree Yggdrasil. Related Dragons: Nidhoggr
TTARASQUE is a dragoness that terrorized part of southern France. She came out of the sea and decided to live in the river Rhone. Many heroes died trying to kill her. The local people made an attempt to trap her, which also failed. After 21 years St. Martha visited the area. She went out the face Tarasque with only a jar of holy water. Using the power of the cross and the holy water she subdued Tarasque and led her back to the town. There the townspeople killed the dragoness. A church was built in honour of St. Martha, and the town was renamed Tarascon. Tarasque was the daughter of Leviathan (a water dragon) and Onachus (a giant snake). TIAMAT is a babylonian dragon. She is a personification of the sea. She appears in the creation myth Enuma Elish: Tiamat lived in the primordial chaos that existed before the creation of the world. She mingled with Apsu (a personification of fresh water), and the first generation of gods was born. One of these gods, Enki, killed Apsu. Tiamat wanted to avenge Apsu by destroying the gods. She gathered an army of monsters, including 11 dragons. The older gods were so terrified when they saw Tiamat, and her army, that they accepted the offer of the younger god Marduk. He offered to kill Tiamat on the condition that his supremacy was recognised. Marduk killed Tiamat in battle and used her body to make the universe. He used the blood of Kingu, leader of Tiamat's army and her second husband, to make mankind. If you want to see extracts of the Enuma Elish, click here. Other Pages: Types of Dragon - Birds
UUROBOROS is a dragon who constantly eats his own tail. Other Pages: Alchemy - Uroboros
VVIETNAMESE DRAGON KING: In the Vietnamese fairy tale, 'The Little Talking Animal and the Shining Blue Fish', a dragon king appears. The basics of the start of the story are that a kind man named Slowcoach befriends a little animal, called Cibet. Later, Slowcoach's nasty brother killed Cibet. The tree above Cribit's grave rained silver on Slowcoach whenever he went to pray there. When the brother tried, he was covered in mud. In anger, the brother cut down the tree. Slowcoach made a pig's trough from the tree, which was also destroyed by his brother, and then finally a fish hook. When he touched the hook to the water, the lake flooded and almost killed him. His rod and hook disappeared. Then a beautiful maiden appeared. She was the daughter of the dragon king. The king had the hook caught in his mouth, and wanted it removed. When Slowcoach agreed to help, the maiden turned him into a bubble and carried him to her father. Slowcoach removed the hook, and was given a jug containing a blue fish. In the time after receiving the jug, he noticed that whenever he left his cottage, it was cleaned. One day he only pretended to leave, and saw the little blue fish turn into the dragon king's daughter. He came in and smashed the jug so that she would have to stay, but first she told him that he had to make her some bones, which he did. The dragon king's daughter then became his wife. The nasty brother also wanted a wife, so dived into the lake, and the dragon king turned him into a fish. This is only a brief summery of the story. The full version can be found in 'Around the World Fairy Tales' (ISBN 0 86178 062 0). VITRA is a serpent-dragon from Vedic mythology. Vitra absorbed the cosmic waters, and then laid in coils apon the mountain side. Indra killed Vitra with his thunderbolts, releasing the waters. Vitra is sometimes seen as a personification of winter, as the slaying of winter releases the frozen waters. Vitra is also known as Vritra, or Ahi (though the latter is sometimes distinct from Vitra).
WWATERLORD, the: see HYDRA (African) WATER SERPENT is a Pueblo animal god. It is connected with water disasters and fertility. WILSER DRAGON: In the region of Helvetia, near the town of Wilser, a dragon was destroying the local area. There was a man, called Winckelriedt, who had been banished from Wilser for manslaughter. He was told he would be pardoned if he killed the dragon. He killed the dragon with a sword, but as he raised the sword triumphantly above him, the dragon's blood came down the sword onto him. As the blood touched him, it killed him.
ZZOHAK was a dragon who was killed by Feridun. This myth probably has the same origins as Dahak. Related Dragons: Dahak ZU is a Sumerian storm god. He stole the tablets setting out the laws of the Universe. The sun-god Ninurta was ordered to kill Zu. They fought, and Ninurta won. Ninurta and Marduk are sometimes interchanged in this myth. Stories of Zu the dragon were being told from about 5000BC when the Sumerians settled in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is now called Iraq. Zu is also known as Anzu.
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