Dragons are myth...at least in my opinion.
most dragon references and myths stem from serpent myths, cults and totems. myths which have evolved.
the discovery of dinosuar/dinosaur bones has been used by cultures as proof of the existence of dragons.

the word Dragon is an umbrella which incorporates a number of types of creatures, some of which are composite...ie made from different parts of various animals...they are as real as griffons, hippogriffs, gorgons, centaurs, cyclopses, etc. The category dragon comes from one culture, already an evolved phenomenon, other creatures from different cultures were assimilated into this category where some parallels could be drawn.


Theological incorporation of 'dragons' is not proof of their existence, rather it evidences their evolution in myth.
there is no single universal source for the dragon myth, many grew independently. Most are cross cultural, their evolution is evident here.
understanding this requires an understanding of mythology and how stories and symbols evolve.
you can approach this in a socially scientific way....but there is no biologically scientific evidence to suggest that dragons - as we see them - existed at all.

Well, a truly educated person, does not talk down to people. I am educated, but I am not about to shove that in anyone's face to prove I am right. The magic and wonder of Dragons and the people on here who want to believe in some small way that they could have been real gives me hope that the magic of life is not gone. Without fantasy, dreams or hope, what are we? And I really resent someone trying to take that away from everyone else. SO, Matt, say what you want, but don't condescend, please, respect others here and their hopes, it does not make you a better educated person by tearing the myth down. I don't believe in the fire breathing aspect since of course, that is scientifically improbable. BUT, IF, and I say IF there was contact between humans and a giant lizard like creature, and it roared at them, would it not have very hot breath and lots of it? If birds survived, why couldn't something else have survived? There are too many myths about these creatures. And if people believing in them still, makes them happy, awesome.

myth.

the fire breathing thing is closely related to the tradition that they live in caves and mines.
methane gas pockets....
scares the bjesus out of flame carrying miners and cave explorers....probably toasted a few too.

Sorry but I offered perfectly valid repsonses and as a counter arguement Question just insulted me and that is all. I am not tearing a myth down, I just pu across perfectly valid points. If you post something that can be disputed or disproven you can not complain when someone does. If you want fantasy or myth, there is a cryptozoology section, this is the science section so don't be upset if someone offers a scientific arguement.

Oh really? You've never been around me during a hangover. My dragon breath will melt your face off.

LOL

Several scientists have put forth plausible explanations of how a dragon could spew fire, and they are no less extraordinary than electric eels and bombardier beetles.

But no, if dragons were simply a kind of flying dinosaur that lived until the Middle Ages, we would have to find their remains, because millions would have had to have lived and died since the time men dwelled on the earth. Dragon remains were worth a fortune and there are many fake ones, but none that are real. But you are right, people all over the world claimed to have seen them for thousands of years. Dragons appear in the religious beliefs of viertually every human theology. Therefore if even one theology has some semblence of reality, part of that reality will be dragons. They are as real or as fake as any and all "Gods " or angels, and the majority of humans still believe in such things, including scientists with far more laurels than poor Mattshark will ever attain. In fact, dragons are probably the most universal supernatural creature in the world, so we may deduce they are probably the most plausible supernatural creature. And this would explain why dragons appear in every culture for thousands of years. They apparently never "die", so their remains are never found.

Verrrrrrrrry nicely put!

I used to think that maybe the earth (and universe) goes through different incarnations. In effect, it's born, creatures evolve on it to the point to where they grow intelligent enough to destroy it, then it starts all over again. Could be that in a previous earth incarnation there were dragons, unicorns, and whatnot.
It's an extremely far-fetched idea, but who knows?


By the way, I voted for myth.

as much as i would like to say real, i cannot i have to agree with mattshark the storys probably came from people finding bones of long dead dinosaurs

dragons are real end of story!

not in the sense of being a physical creature that is alive their not.

No one has yet disproved the Loch Ness Monster, some scientists still believe it is real, and it was origally called a "dragon". All around the world these creatures were thought to be more intelligent than humans....just because they found some fossils? There are many sighitings of dragon like creatures in the ocean as well, not to mention many sighting of giant flying creatures. There are millions of giant squid, yet only in the last decade was one ever seen alive. And a squid has a brain the size of a finger. If dragons were highly intellegient as the legends say, they could easily elude humans.

it was a mock documentary about if dragons were real this is what there sroty might be they gave ways of how dragons cold fly and breath fire and such it was very intresting but not real

this topic is intended to exchange opinions and ideas. it is not intended to attack someone too personal.

Like what i said this is just an exchange of ideas and opinions. It is not intended to attack someone too personal.

I agree. let's all respect one's opinions.

yes, a true educated person takes responsible to his opinions. It should be in a proper ways and time.

lets look at it this way if dragons were to exhist then if you are talking about asian dragons thne u are getting into spirituality and religion and magic and that can not be counter acted against by science if u are thi9nking eroupean dragons then lets say they are real and lets say that they evolved that way how do they have an extra set of limbs? look at all reptiles alive today or that ever lived they have front limbs back limbs now eroupean dragons generaly have an extra set on there back that are the wings now they also produce enough thrust to put this huge animal into the skys getting into the physical problems there and then they are said to breath fire? hmmm i tihnk many stories of dragons come from people seeing an animal that was not from there area like if i told u i killed an animal with dark dry skin with cracks in it with horn on its head that as it ran it shook the ground it could sound liek a tricerotops or it could be a rhino and with the little bit of info i gave u u could go wild and creat anythig u wanted that fit that broad description and yet if anyone asked u could say well robbieb saw and killed one thne the myth gets spread

I think dragons existed but some of the abilities attributed to dragons are mythological. I don't believe they could really breath fire. One theory I read is there were crocodiles in Europe. According to that dragons were a species of crocodile.

Many European dragons are portrayed with only two legs and wings, exactly like REAL Pterosaurs.

There is a modern lizard, and many ancient types that have four feet and also "wings" formed from rib bones. They are even called the genus "Draco".

Cultures all over the world believed in nearly identical dragons and were commonly reported all over the world for centuries. They appear in "natural history" books through the 18th century, and winged reptilian creatures are still regularly being reported cryptids as can be seen on this website.

Spewing fire is probably no more fantastic than an electric eel or bombardier beetle. Several scientists have come up with plausible ways this can be done.

Dragons are not only part of Eastern religions, but play a part in virtually every religion and are mentioned many times in the Bible. They are considered a "heavenly creature", though few Christians realize this today.

Many top scientists believe the God of the Bible is real, and believe their religion and evolution are compatible. There is a good deal of spiritual/psychic phenomena that science cannot explain. Much of this website is devoted to these subjects.

I would agree that dragons cannot be some kind of dinosaur that survived the KT event, or we would find their fossils. And although there are many legends as to people killing them, I doubt this ever happened. For example one of the most famous dragon slaying stories is St. George, and this wasn't added to his story until 1000 years after the Saint actually lived! In fact in St. George's time, (3rd century AD), the Church recognized dragons as heavenly creatures, much like angels. Dragons were added to saint stoires as evil creatures in the middle ages. In earlier stoires there are no dragons or the dragons are heavenly creatures who judge and punish the wicked.

Dragons as presumed IMO are a myth never been proven...we have technology why beyond our imagination surly with the education and technology we have we would be able to classify "finds" as such..but to this point we have not..

I believe in dragons and I think any person here can tell the dragon from dino by just looking at their image. There are specific features that make the difference. Every myth is based on the real story.

ok but the reason the genus drac is able to glide NOT fly is because there size is far less so weight becomes less an issue and there flaps are not the same as the wings u see in ur tipical dragon pictures if u chose to belive in these dragons then i have a unicorn i would like to sell u too only drove it to church on sundays just had its shoes replaced lol

Actually, many ancient depictions of quadrapedal dragons place the wings exactly where they should be if they were modiefied ribs, and some of the most detailed ancient depictions suggest these wings could be modified ribs. These rare illustrations will appear in my upcoming book on the subject.

And if you actually drive your "unicorn" to chruch becasue you might believe in the God of the Bible is real, then understand that the Bible says dragons are heavenly creatures, much like angels. In fact Scholars of ancient near eastern religion can trace the God of the Bible directly back to a Sumerian "dragon god"!

yes i know of the dragons in the bible in fact the highlevels of angels were original dragons and if you people looked into my remark about if u are refering to dragons in the religious aspect as in asian dragons then no remakr can be said because science vs religion is not what this is about im refering to people thinking that dragons are flying over london breathing fire and such as in an animals like any other animal one would expect to see flying threw the skys like an eagle

Actually, hundreds of people in london, and all over medieval europe constantly reported seeing dragons. This is why it is such a mystery. Was everybody on drugs? Dragons are like UFOs. Like today, thousands of people in the Middle Ages claimed they saw dragons.
People are still seeing dragons nowadays, but nobody likes to use that word. Now they are called pterodactyles, thunderbirds, giant birds, but not the "D" word.

i say that seeing one flyting over head is most likely a misidentification of large birds aircrafts in fact id say its more likely for it to be a space ship form naother planet then a dragon and i dont belive in space travel on an intergaltic level

I agree with what you are saying except that angels were never dragons.

no angels were never dragons but dragons became angels the church changed things they do that alot angels and dragons originaly were two seprate things dragons were higer then angels then the church got rid of dragons and amade everyone an angel another example is originaly christinity belived in reincarnation many people from the bible were said to be the same soul jesus is an example of reincarnation espicaly if u belive in his second coming dont forget he was born lived died asended to heaven and is said to come again sounds like reincarnation to me a little hindu for the christians the romans actualy changed the reincarnation aspect in an atempt to control peopel threw the church making people belive that if u are bad u will go to hell u wont get a second chance but anyway this is off topic

I think what he means is that what some Christians believe is "thie highest order of angels", the Seraphim are actually "fiery flying serpents, aka "dragons", and translated by the ancient Rabbis themselves as dracons, to remove all doubt. This is not to say angels are dragons, just the hevenly creatures called Cherubim, Seraphim and Destroyers.

yes absolutely