Draco

Draco or Dracon, fl. 621 B.C., Athenian politician and law codifier. Of his codification of Athenian customary law only the section dealing with involuntary homicide is preserved. From this and from later accounts in the writings of Aristotle and Plutarch it appears that in Athens the penalty of death was prescribed for the most trivial offense. The code adopted the principle that murder must be punished by the state and not by vendetta. Though the code was considerably ameliorated by Solon, its name became a synonym for harsh legislation.

Draco [Lat.,=the dragon], northern constellation lying SE of Ursa Minor and N of Lyra and Hercules. It is traditionally depicted as a dragon. Draco contains the bright star Eltanin (Gamma Draconis). Thuban (Alpha Draconis) was the polestar 5,000 years ago, i.e., it was the star nearest the celestial pole, but because of the precession of the equinoxes, the polestar is now Polaris. Draco reaches its highest point in the evening sky in July, and is visible throughout the year for observers north of 40°N lat.

or Dracon

(flourished 7th century BC) Athenian lawgiver. Almost nothing is known of his life. His harsh legal code (621 BC) punished most crimes, even trivial ones, with death. Solon repealed Draco's code, retaining only the homicide statutes.

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Draco is the Latin word for dragon.

Draco can also refer to:

Science

• Draco (constellation), a constellation in the northern part of the sky
• Draco (dwarf galaxy), a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way
• Draco (genus), a genus of gliding lizards

History

• Draco (lawgiver), the first lawgiver of ancient Athens, Greece, from whom the term draconian is derived
• Draco (military standard), a Roman cavalry military standard in the shape of a dragon

Literature, film, and television

• Draco Malfoy, a character in the Harry Potter series of books and movies
• Draco (comics), a dragon-like humanoid in Marvel Comics
• Draco, a dragon in the film Dragonheart
• Draco, a warlord character in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess
• Antares Draco, an Imperial Knight from Star Wars: Legacy
• Jaq Draco, an Inquisitor who is the protagonist of Ian Watson's Inquisition War Trilogy

Games

• Draco Centauros, a dragon-like humanoid from the Puyo Puyo video game series
• Draco, a 9/9 Artifact Dragon from the card game Magic: The Gathering
• Draco, a character in the fictional opera The Dream Oath: Maria and Draco in Final Fantasy VI
• Draco, a black dragon found in the Kasumanium Mines in Dark Ages (computer game)
• Draco, Singer and a Black listed Master, Number #0.

Other uses

• Draco (programming language), a shareware programming language for CP/M and the Amiga
• Draco, a supposed reptilian humanoid alien race that has been purported to exist by certain UFO conspiracy theorists
• Draco Racing, a motorsports team
• An orbital maneuvering thruster being built for the SpaceX Dragon and upper stage of the Falcon 9 spacecraft
• Robi Draco Rosa, a Puerto Rican songwriter and member of the band Menudo
• Draco (Linux distribution), an operating system
• A guitar built by BC Rich guitars. It has a cutaway V body with Rockfeild pickups.