DRAGON encyclopedia topics

flying dragon, gliding lizard of the genus Draco, found in tropical forests of SE Asia. There are about 15 species. Most are about 8 in. (20 cm) long. On either side of the lizard's body are thin, winglike folds of skin supported by five to seven ribs that extend from the body. With its "wings" extended the lizard is capable of gliding for distances of up to 30 ft (9 m). The wings are often brightly colored, sometimes with stripes or spots, but when they are folded the body, greenish with a pale yellow belly, blends with the foliage. Flying dragons have slender legs, tapering tails, and brilliantly colored throat sacs, typically blue in the female and yellow-orange with a blue spot in the male. They live in trees, rarely descending to the ground, and feed on arboreal ants. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Reptilia, order Squamata, family Agamidae.

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Licensed from Columbia University Press

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dragon

dragon, mythical beast usually represented as a huge, winged, fire-breathing reptile. For centuries the dragon has been prominent in the folklore of many peoples; thus, its physical characteristics vary greatly and include combinations of numerous animals. The dragon has often been associated with evil. In many legends a dragon had the ability to wreak havoc upon a land and therefore had to be either propitiated by a human sacrifice, or killed; it was also often the guardian of a treasure or a maiden. The highest achievement of a hero in medieval legend was the slaying of a dragon, as in the story of St. George. King Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon (dragon's head), also killed a dragon. The giant red dragon of the Apocalypse (Rev. 12) gave rise to the use of the beast as symbolic of Satan in Christian art and literature. In ancient China the dragon was associated with fertility and prosperity. Many of the beliefs connected with the dragon are echoed in snake worship.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Komodo dragon

Komodo dragon: see lizard; monitor.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Bel and the Dragon

Bel and the Dragon, customary name for chapter 14 of the Book of Daniel, a passage included in the Septuagint and the Apocrypha. It was written possibly in the 1st cent. B.C. as a response to Gentile threat to the Jewish culture and state. The first half recounts the story of the Babylonian idol Bel, ministered to by priests who secretly consume food left for it, thus deceiving the king and the people. Daniel reveals the fraud, and priests and idol are destroyed by the king. The second half of the passage tells of a dragon, i.e., a live reptile, worshiped as a god; Daniel kills it and is thrown to the lions. The prophet Habakkuk is brought miraculously to the den by an angel to feed him. Daniel is preserved, and the Babylonian king recognizes the power of the God of Daniel. Both stories are highly satirical and polemical.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

dragon

Legendary monster usually depicted as a huge, bat-winged, fire-breathing lizard or snake with a barbed tail. The dragon symbolized evil in the ancient Middle East, and the Egyptian god Apepi was the great serpent of the world of darkness. The Greeks and Romans sometimes represented dragons as evil creatures and sometimes as beneficent powers acquainted with the secrets of the earth. In Christianity the dragon symbolized sin and paganism, and saints such as St. George were shown triumphing over it. Used as warlike emblems in many cultures, dragons were carved on the prows of Norse ships and depicted on royal ensigns in medieval England. In the Far East the dragon was a beneficent creature, wingless but regarded as a power of the air. In China it symbolized yang in the yin-yang of cosmology, and it served as the emblem of the royal family.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

jack-in-the-pulpit

North American plant (Arisaema triphyllum) of the arum family, noted for the unusual shape of its flower. One of the best-known perennial wildflowers of late spring in the eastern U.S. and Canada, it grows in wet woodlands and thickets from Nova Scotia to Minnesota and south to Florida and Texas. Three-part leaves on each of two long stalks overshadow the flower, which consists of a conspicuous green- and purple-striped structure called a spathe (“pulpit”) that rises on a separate stalk. The spathe curves in a hood over a club-shaped spadix (“jack”) that, at its base, bears minute flowers. In late summer the plant produces a cluster of brilliant red berries that are poisonous to humans but are eaten by many wild animals.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Komodo dragon

Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

Largest living lizard (Varanus komodoensis), a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae. They live on Komodo Island and a few neighbouring islands in Indonesia. Driven almost to extinction, they are now protected. Komodos grow to 10 ft (3 m) long, weigh up to 300 lb (135 kg), and may live up to 100 years. They dig a burrow as deep as 30 ft (9 m). Carrion is their main diet, but adults may eat smaller Komodos. They can run swiftly and occasionally attack and kill humans.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.