Editing Dragon (section)

==Mythology==
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===Origins & Inspiration===

The fact that many [[Human]] cultures the world and time over have some from of a dragon or dragon-equivalent suggests that the concept or the inspiration for them is millennia old, possibly dating to before there even was a civilization. That being said and as the sections below demonstrate - the concept of a "dragon" evolved from a relatively humble origin to later become the majestic beast we all know and love.

There are many theories on how the concept of dragons came about, the most common one being that we inherited a fear of large predators and snakes, the latter of which is especially significant since the earliest myths featuring dragons have the hero or gods battling serpentine beings of great strength. This would also explain how the Asian, Mesoamerican, early European and Egyptian dragons are serpentine in appearance.

Another theory suggests that humans may have seen dinosaur bones (especially skulls) and confused them for being the remnants of dragons. This may have likely happened early in humanity's developmental history though with the advent of civilization and recorded history & mythology may have served to refine the beasties further.

Lastly, though a bit of a stretch, there is the Stoned Ape Theory which suggests that a crucial leap to consciousness that occurred around 70.000-30.000 BC (Cognitive Revolution) was due to our ancestors getting high and the resulting hallucinations kickstarted our mind development. During these seances it is possible that the subconscious fear of snakes may have lead to hallucinations that eventually resulted in dragons.

===Classical===

There are a bunch of monsters that might be referred to as a "dragon" by modern readers; among them are Apep of Egypt, various beasts from Mesopotamian myths, the Greek [[Hydra]], and the Jewish Leviathan. The fact that so many different cultures across such vast gulfs of time and space all come up with the same general idea of what a dragon is, has generally be attributed to dinosaur fossils which appear all over the earth, or simply scaling lizards and crocodiles up. As for the unusual traits, some of those go way back - such the Leviathan from Jewish tradition has heat breath attributed to, particularly in Scripture - and their origins are harder to discern.

===Medieval Times===

In Medieval lore, the most important dragon story is that of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon Saint George and the Dragon]. Most depictions of dragons descend in some way from it (either directly, or by imitating something that imitated it), especially its generally monstrous character due to it demanding tribute in the form of [[Hot Chicks]]. A few other noteworthy dragons in Western literature include the final antagonist in Beowulf (the first recorded fire-breathing dragon), as well as Fafnir, noted for his intense greed and cursed golden hoard. Special mention needs to go to the slavs however, since their dragons had greater penchant for benevolence than those of other european nations and bulgarian folk legends outright have dragons getting it on with humans.

===Asia===
Asian Dragons are typically long (in fact the Chinse word for dragon is literally just "Long," pronounced exactly like the English word long, all by pure coincidence), snake-like creatures with thin limbs, and are generally less malevolent than their European counterparts. They tend to be associated with water, specifically rivers, rather than fire; a generally accepted theory was that East Asian dragons were based on Chinese Alligators (Chinese alligators have very short snouts), which used to be a lot more common. At least one Chinese creator-goddess appeared as a hybrid of woman and dragon, whilst there are Japanese stories of noble men marrying female dragons.

They don't usually have wings, flight being accomplished either by magic or "swimming" through the wind. Should be noted that in most Asian mythologies, dragons are usually depicted as divine beings more on the side of good than evil, not too many stories about dragon-slaying over here. That said there are a handful of tales of individual Longs being less-than-ideal heavenly citizens; ''Journey to the West,'' for example, has a brief moment where a long is arrested for aiding a trio of conmen.

Southeast Asian dragons are often called "[[Naga]]", but are distinct from Indian Nagas, they share a name because of centuries of Buddhist influence, with Southeast Asian cultures syncretizing the Indian Nagas as the same thing as theirs. In India, the Naga are the mythic half-human, half-snake inhabitants of the underworld; they're the mortal enemies of the flying ''Garuda'', associated with mountains and the wind, but are otherwise just another race, like the [[Deva]]. Southeast Asian ''Naga'', on the other hand, are more like god-dragons/sea-serpents, associated with specific rivers and lakes like Chinese dragons. Being a region of frequent rain and flooding (and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naga_fireball occasional swamp-gas fire<s>works</s>balls-at-the-lake show]), Southeast Asian Nagas are ''very'' important in their mythos, and they are often portrayed as the patrons of ancient kingdoms. In the Philippines, the [[The Islands of Sina Una|Bakunawa]] is entirely malevolent, being responsible for earthquakes and [[Morrslieb|eating the Sun]] during Solar Eclipses.

===Elsewhere===

Aside from broadly "Eastern & Western" dragons, there are other creatures and outliers that don't usually get the amount of attention the former categories do. Among them are:

*'''Quetzalcoatl/Nahuatl''' - A mesoamerican deity whose name means ''feathered serpent''. He was a god of wind, air and knowledge. Though depicted as an anthropomorphic figure, his name and general form could classify him as an equivalent of a dragon. For some reason, the Japanese keep depicting Quetzalcoatl in various [[anime]] as a [[rule 34|blonde-haired, big-tittied woman]] (though at least [[Nasuverse|one of those depictions]] is an [[Amazon]] luchadora).
*'''Apep''' - A giant serpent-demon who resides in the Duat, the Egyptian Underworld. Could be considered a ''wyrm'' more than a true dragon.
*'''Vrtra''' (''Vritra'') - Another giant serpent, this time form Hindu vedas. There is also Visvarupa - a three-headed variant.
*'''Ušumgallu''' (''Ushumgallu'') - A mesopotamian "lion-dragon-demon". They often accompanied kings in ancient sumerian myths.
*'''Taniwha''' Polynesian monsters that dwelled in watery dens or caves with fiery eyes and lashing tails. Some were akin to Western Dragons as monstrous beings for heroes to slay, while others were more akin to Eastern Dragons as guardian spirits for tribes.