On Sun, 18 Jun 2000 jktaber wrote:
> It's been a very long time. I looked into dragons about 30
> years ago, so what I say may be woefully out of date, but
> here goes.
>
> They aren't the same dragon. The Northern dragon is the
> guardian of wealth, who keeps good things from men. The
> hero kills him to free the wealth.
>
> The Greek dragon is a demon or demiurge to whom human
> sacrifice is required, especially a young woman. Killing
> it frees man from the sacrifice.
>
> The Chinese dragon is a symbol of good fortune. Dragons
> appeared at Confucius's birth as a sign of auspiciousness.
> So far as I know nobody kills Chinese dragons.
>
> There is really quite a literature on dragons East and
> West.
>

Have you read Apollonius of Tyane ?
There is quite nice descryption of 2 kinds of dragons living in India about
2000 years ago.

It looks for me enormously strange and impossible to explain that this legendary
(as scientist say) animal is known by so many separate cultures. Dragons are
known also in China, but in Germany & Poland as well but are rather unknown for
African and native American cultures.

In our contemporary world of narrowow specialisation and narrow specialists
claim that species draco vulgaris has existed couple of thousands years ago must
to be considered completely mad.

But it was really an excellent animal, just check Apollonius. He knew what he
was writing about. Pound has read Apollonius too, there are references in late
Cantos.

Pawel
Wroclaw /Breslau 18.07.2000



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