The dragon in the West : from ancient myth to modern legend / Daniel Ogden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ogden, Daniel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dragons--History.

Dragons.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (478 pages)

Place of Publication:

Oxon, UK : Oxford University Press, [2021]

Summary:

The Dragon in the West is the first book to offer an in-depth examination of the history of the image and idea of the dragon. A creature popular in contemporary fiction and cinema, Ogden reveals how the dragon was known to the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, and came down to us through early Christianity, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse legends.

Contents:

Cover

The Dragon in the West: From Ancient Myth to Modern Legend

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Contents

List of Abbreviations

List of Figures

List of Tables

Note on Orthography

Introduction

Part I: Heroes

1: Drakon: The Classical Dragon

1.1 Drakon: The Semantic Field

1.2 The Great Dragons of Myth: Dragon-Fights

1.2.1 The Dragon of Ares

1.2.2 The Dragon of Nemea

1.2.3 Ladon, the Dragon of the Hesperides

1.2.4 The Dragon of Colchis

1.2.5 Python (or Delphyne), the Dragon of Delphi

1.2.6 The Hydra, the Dragon of Lerna

1.3 The Dragons of Cult, Great and Small

1.3.1 Healing Gods: Asclepius and Amphiaraus

1.3.2 Gods of Good Fortune and Wealth: Zeus Meilichios and Agathos Daimon

1.4 '. . . and something more' (1): Drakontes with Additional Physical Attributes

1.5 '. . . and something more' (2): The Tails That Wag their Dogs

1.6 '. . . and something more' (3): Anguipedes, and Some Deep History

1.7 Six Core Narrative Motifs

1.8 Conclusion

2: Draco: The Roman Dragon

2.1 The Bagrada Dragon and its Libyan Context

2.2 Focalization and Anthropomorphization

2.3 Kindly Dragon Deities at Rome: Asclepius and Friends

2.4 Dragons, Dragons Everywhere: Genii Loci

2.5 Conclusion

3: Drakaina: The She-Dragon

3.1 The Grammarians

3.2 Pure-Serpent Drakainai, Tout Court

3.3 The Drakaina as a Female Anguipede

3.3.1 Echidna

3.3.2 Delphyne

3.3.3 Harmonia

3.3.4 Hecate, Hecate Ereschigal, Artemis

3.3.5 Erinyes (Furies)

3.4 Further Female Anguipedes Not Explicitly Designated by the Term Drakaina

3.4.1 Lamia

3.4.2 Campe

3.5 Conclusion: Occlusion

4: From Worm to Wyvern: The Evolution of the Western Dragon

4.1 Introduction: The Romanesque Dragon

4.2 Misleading Anticipations

4.3 Classical Sea-Monsters (Kete)

4.3.1 The Form of the Ketos.

4.3.2 The Ketos' Narrative Type

4.3.3 Further Aspects of the Partial Assimilation of

and Ketos in Classical Literature

4.3.4 The Partial Assimilation of Drakon and Ketos in Classical Art

4.3.5 The Ketos Acquires Legs and Wings

4.4 The Early Christian Ketos in Art and Thought

4.4.1 Art

4.4.2 Thought

4.5 Drakontes, Legs, and Wings in the Classical World

4.6 The Drakon in Early Christian Art and Thought

4.7 The Demon, Winged or Flying, in Early Christian Art and Thought

4.8 The Drakon Takes Wing in its Own Right (c. ad 400): The Questions of Bartholomew, the Testament of Solomon, Jerome, and Augu

4.9 Enter the Wyvern: Four Illuminated Manuscripts of the Ninth Century ad: The Trier Apocalypse, the Stuttgart Psalter, the St

4.10 Coda: Two Legs Good, Four Legs Better

Part II: Saints

5: Scripture and Shape

5.1 Introduction: The Hagiographical Dragon Fight

5.2 Scriptural Catalysts

5.2.1 Leviathan

5.2.2 The Serpent of Eden

5.2.3 Trampling on Snakes

5.2.4 Moses, Aaron, and the Dragon-Staffs

5.2.5 Jonah's Sea-Monster

5.2.6 Fiery Snakes

5.2.7 The Enemies of the Jews and John the Baptist

5.2.8 Daniel and the Dragon of Babylon

5.2.9 Paul in Malta

5.2.10 Abysses and the Dragon of Revelation

5.3 Dragon Terminology

5.4 The Dragon's Personality

5.5 The Physical Form of the Dragon

5.5.1 Indications of the Dragon's Anguiform Nature

5.5.2 Additional Parts: Beards, Crests, Legs, Wings, and Multi-Heads

5.5.3 Some Exceptional Individual Dragons: The Loch Ness Monster, the Tarasque, and the Péist of Inis Cathaigh

5.6 Conclusion

6: The Etiquette of the Saintly Dragon Fight (i) Its Principal Narrative Course

6.1 The Initial Problem

6.1.1 Marauding

6.1.2 Springs

6.1.3 The Dragon's Breath

6.1.4 The Dragon's Smokiness and Fieriness.

6.1.5 Further Effects of the Dragon's Breath and its Bite: Swelling and Lividity

6.1.6 The Dragon's Whipping Tail

6.2 The Saint Prepares for the Battle

6.2.1 The Petitioning of the Saint

6.2.2 Prayer and Fasting

6.2.3 Spiritual Armoury

6.2.4 Angelic Support

6.2.5 Attempted Dissuasion

6.3 At the Dragon's Lair

6.3.1 The Dragon's Home: Caves, Wells, Tombs, Islands, Groves

6.3.2 The Saint Presents Himself at the Dragon's Lair, or Summons the Dragon

6.4 The Saint's Mastery of the Dragon

6.4.1 The Dragon Compelled to Self-Harm

6.4.2 The Cross

6.4.3 The Dragon's Bowing and Fawning

6.4.4 The Binding of the Dragon's Neck with a Stole and the Stopping of its Mouth

6.5 The Dragon Is Subject to Exorcistic Banishment

6.5.1 Dragons, Demons, and the Devil

6.5.2 Exorcistic Imagery

6.5.3 Exorcistic Banishment to the Wilderness

6.5.4 The Dragon Sent to the Abyss (i): The Underworld

6.5.5 The Dragon Sent to the Abyss (ii): The Sea

6.5.6 Across or down the River

over the Sea

6.5.7 Circularity of Banishment

6.6 The Dragon Is Killed

6.6.1 The Saint Commands the Dragon to Die or Actively to Commit Suicide

the Dragon's Belching of Venom and its Bursting Open

6.6.2 Reciprocal Weapons against the Dragon: Breath, Spittle, and Fire

6.6.3 Staffs

6.6.4 Other Physical Weapons, Conventional and Unconventional

6.7 The Stench of the Dragon's Carcass and its Disposal

6.8 Lasting Results

6.8.1 The Conversion of the Local People

6.8.2 Memorialization: The Building of a Church, Monastery, or Hermitage

6.9 Conclusion

7: The Etiquette of the Saintly Dragon Fight (ii): Some Important Narrative Subroutines

7.1 The Great Dragon and its Serpent Brood

7.2 Virgins Sacrificed to the Dragon

7.3 Statue, Sacrifice, and Dragon

7.4 The Revival of the Last-Victim Boy.

7.5 Dragons Sent Back against their Magician Masters

7.6 Female Dragon-Fighting Saints

7.7 Back by Popular Demand: Serial Dragon-Fighters and Repeat-Offender Dragons

7.8 Conclusion

8: Close to the Point of Origin: Lucian's Chaldaean Snake-Blaster

8.1 Introduction and Text

8.2 Gospel Allusions

8.3 Engagement with the Hagiographical Tradition

8.3.1 The Serpent Brood Presided Over by a Drakon

the Old-Man

8.3.2 The Last-Victim Boy

8.3.3 Blowing on the Drakon and Burning It

8.3.4 The Echidna, the Wounded Workman, and the Healing Digit

8.3.5 The Chip from the Virgin's Tombstone

8.3.6 The Abyss: A Displaced Motif?

8.4 Pagan Flavours

8.5 Conclusion

9: Theodore and George: Two Military Dragon-Slaying Saints in Context

9.1 A Later Theodore Narrative in Secular Context

9.1.1 Digenis Akritis

9.1.2 Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe (i): Introduction

9.1.3 Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe (ii): Summary

9.1.4 Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe (iii): The Poem's Dragons

9.1.5 Theodore Tyron Compared

9.2 George: Text and Image

9.3 Conclusion

Part III: Vikings

10: Worms (Still) and Wyverns: The Form of the Germanic Dragon

10.1 'Worms' and 'Dragons': Ormr and Dreki

10.2 Ground-Based Dragons

10.3 Flying Dragons

10.3.1 Anglo-Saxon Flying Dragons

10.3.2 The Dragons of Thidrek's Saga and Erex's Saga

10.3.3 The Dragon of Adalsyssla

10.3.4 The Dragon of the Southern Seas

10.3.5 The Dragon of the Rhine

10.3.6 The Dragon of England

10.3.7 Valr and his Sons and Gull-Thorir as Dragons

10.3.8 Harek as a Flying Dragon

10.3.9 The Dragon of Wexford (à la Norse)

10.3.10 The Dragon of Valdimar's Saga

10.3.11 The Dragon of Tartary

10.4 Dragons Stranded between the Wormand the Winged-Dragon Configuration

10.4.1 Beowulf 's Firedrake

10.4.2 Pfetan

10.4.3 Fafnir.

10.4.4 The Dragon of Bergara: The Third Dragon of Thidrek's Saga

10.4.5 The Jakulus of Scythia

10.4.6 The Dragon of Colchis

10.5 Norse Iconography and Ships

10.6 Conclusion

11: To the River and Back: The Etiquette of the Germanic Dragon Fight

11.1 Genesis (i): Shape-Shifters

11.2 Genesis (ii): Lying on Treasure

11.3 Genesis (iii): Spine-Snakesand Corpse-Dragons

11.4 Genesis (iv): The Small Snake

11.4.1 A Tiny Snake Grows into a Troublesome Dragon

11.4.2 Principal Dragon and Brood

11.5 The Dragon's Weaponry

11.5.1 Venom and Fire (and Marauding)

11.5.2 Sound?

11.6 The Hand of the Princess

11.7 The Slayer's Weaponry

11.7.1 The Special Sword

11.7.2 Spears and Lances

11.7.3 Other Weapons

11.7.4 Protective Clothing

11.8 The Path from Cave-Lairto River

11.9 The Vulnerable Spot

11.10 The Dragon's Blood (and Venom Again)

11.11 Two Narrative Subroutines

11.11.1 Dragon and Lion

11.11.2 Snake Pits

11.12 Conclusion

Conclusion

Appendix A: The Myths Of Typhon And Of Other Indo-european And Near Eastern World-foundational Dragons Compared

Appendix B: Hagiographical Dragon Fights: The Sources

Appendix C: Germanic Dragon Fights: Texts and Translations

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-256587-7

0-19-186854-X

0-19-256586-9