The Dragon in World Mythology and Culture

Dragons are everywhere, seemingly hidden in plain sight. These mythological reptilian monsters date far into known human history in nearly every part of the world and are still prevalent in today’s media and entertainment. The wide cultural, geographical, and linguistic diffusion of dragons or dragon-like creatures shows how modern humans have influenced each other through shared tales of monsters while simultaneously hinting at a shared genesis.
This book introduces dragon myths and legends from around the world by following human culture’s shared evolutionary past via language, folklore, the arts, and commerce. Dragons in folklore, literature, and pop culture are analyzed from Eastern and Western perspectives, leading to a dual analysis of dragons in today’s popular culture and media. While other books on the topic have focused primarily on classical sources, or on cataloging various dragon tales in general, this work identifies the subtle yet profound ways in which the dragon figure or related motifs have slyly entered into our collective psyche as participants in the modern, interconnected world.

Robert M. Sarwark is a librarian and writer living in Atlanta, Georgia. He has previously been published in Vexillum, The Porch Press, Reverb.com, and the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom blog.

Robert M. Sarwark
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 85 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8529-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5257-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 5
Part I—Birth of the Dragon
1. The Dragon Complex 12
2. Dragon Myths and Legends Around the World: Africa, the Middle East/Central Asia, and Europe 27
3. South Asia, East/Southeast Asia, and Oceania 45
4. North America, Central/South America, and Cross-cultural/Parts ­In-between 55
Part II—East and West
5. The (Anti-)Christian Dragon 72
6. Dragons in Western Folklore and Literature from Prehistory to 1900 99
7. Dragons in Western Pop Culture and Literature from 1900 to Today 121
8. Dragons in Eastern Folklore, Literature, and Pop Culture 135
Part III—Dragons of Today and Tomorrow
9. Dragons in Global Popular Media and Culture: For Children (of All Ages) 154
10. Dragons in Global Popular Media and Culture: Just for Grown-Ups 170
11. Dungeons & Dragons: A Realm unto Itself 182
12. Dragons in Historical and Contemporary Popular Visual and Material Cultures 194
Whither the Dragon? The Twenty-First Century and Beyond/Conclusions 215
Chapter Notes 227
Bibliography 243
Index 247

“Introduces dragon myths and legends from around the world and examines how dragon motifs still pervade modern culture”—Library Journal