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The Dragon in the West: From Ancient Myth to Modern Legend
An exploration of how the image and idea of the dragon has evolved through history
How did the dragon get its wings? Everyone in the modern West has a clear idea of what a dragon looks like and of the sorts of stories it inhabits, not least devotees of the fantasies of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and George R. R. Martin. A cross between a snake and some fearsome mammal, often sporting colossal wings, they live in caves, lie on treasure, maraud, and breathe fire. They are extraordinarily powerful, but even so, ultimately defeated in their battles with humans. What is the origin of this creature?
The Dragon in the West is the first serious and substantial account in any language of the evolution of the modern dragon from its ancient forebears. Daniel Ogden's detailed exploration begins with the drakōn of Greek myth and the draco of the dragon-loving Romans, and a look at the ancient world's female dragons. It brings the story forwards though Christian writings, medieval illustrated manuscripts, and the lives of dragon-duelling saints, before concluding with a study of dragons found in the medieval Germanic world, including those of the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and the Norse sagas.
How did the dragon get its wings? Everyone in the modern West has a clear idea of what a dragon looks like and of the sorts of stories it inhabits, not least devotees of the fantasies of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and George R. R. Martin. A cross between a snake and some fearsome mammal, often sporting colossal wings, they live in caves, lie on treasure, maraud, and breathe fire. They are extraordinarily powerful, but even so, ultimately defeated in their battles with humans. What is the origin of this creature?
The Dragon in the West is the first serious and substantial account in any language of the evolution of the modern dragon from its ancient forebears. Daniel Ogden's detailed exploration begins with the drakōn of Greek myth and the draco of the dragon-loving Romans, and a look at the ancient world's female dragons. It brings the story forwards though Christian writings, medieval illustrated manuscripts, and the lives of dragon-duelling saints, before concluding with a study of dragons found in the medieval Germanic world, including those of the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf and the Norse sagas.
478 pages, Hardcover
First published November 9, 2021
17 people are currently reading
241 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Ogden
25 books50 followersProfessor of Ancient History; Honorary Research Fellow, UNISA
Principal research areas:
(1) traditional narratives in antiquity;
(2) Greek religion;
(3) Macedonian and Hellenistic Dynasties.
Principal research areas:
(1) traditional narratives in antiquity;
(2) Greek religion;
(3) Macedonian and Hellenistic Dynasties.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 8, 2022
This is an overview of Western dragon legends, starting with Greece and Rome and moving through Christian dragon-slaying narratives and ending up with Germanic and Norse stuff, with interesting discussion about how dragons developed wings and also the various shared narrative elements of dragon stories.
The author is clearly a classicist and to be honest if I had known that he had dragon books that were just Greece and Rome -- which he does -- I probably would have read those instead. Not that the rest of the book wasn't good, but the chapters about the classical world sounded much more confident and more of the evidence there was situated in relation to culture and history, and this made it a nicer read than the other chapters. The author admits that he is not a medievalist and is writing this book because he'd rather somebody write this book than nobody and there isn't a medieval history book of this type, and I get that -- but at the same time, I was kind of getting the sense for most of this book that he'd only read exactly the books he'd cited in his bibliography, as opposed to the Greek and Roman stuff where he clearly knew what he was talking about to a much greater degree.
Still, if you'd like a book about the Western history of depictions of dragons, you should read this one because this is... probably it.
The author is clearly a classicist and to be honest if I had known that he had dragon books that were just Greece and Rome -- which he does -- I probably would have read those instead. Not that the rest of the book wasn't good, but the chapters about the classical world sounded much more confident and more of the evidence there was situated in relation to culture and history, and this made it a nicer read than the other chapters. The author admits that he is not a medievalist and is writing this book because he'd rather somebody write this book than nobody and there isn't a medieval history book of this type, and I get that -- but at the same time, I was kind of getting the sense for most of this book that he'd only read exactly the books he'd cited in his bibliography, as opposed to the Greek and Roman stuff where he clearly knew what he was talking about to a much greater degree.
Still, if you'd like a book about the Western history of depictions of dragons, you should read this one because this is... probably it.
May 26, 2024
I was intrigued by this book after reading recently the differences between dragons in the West vs. the East. Western dragons often breathe fire, are associated with evil/destruction, and are more like dinosaurs whereas Eastern dragons tend to be associated with wealth and prosperity, look more like serpents and tends to spray water. Obviously this is a highly generalized summary, but all the same this got me interested in learning more. This book is obviously about dragons in the West but still thought it'd be a good book.
Author Ogden basically does what it says in the book: he looks at the myths and legends of dragons, discussing the stories about them, the sources, the characteristics, their roles in their societies, etc. You might be familiar with dragons such as in Beowulf but they also appear in Greek myth, too. So if you were at all curious about the stories of dragons through the ages then you'll be interested to see how common they appear (which also makes me wonder how this myth spread, etc.)
That's basically it. It's a myth, a breakdown of the story/sources/commentary and then a conclusion before Ogden moves onto the next one. It's pretty cut and paste in terms of format and I'll admit: I was bored and disappointed. As an academic text as a resource there's a lot to work with: so if you're looking to write a story or something involving dragons this is probably a really great book to have handy.
But if you're just someone who was simply curious, this was too much and a real slog to get through. It should not surprise you that the author is a professor, and that style of writing clearly comes through. But again, if you're interested in dragons in the West, I would not be surprised if people point you to this book. Just be prepared to find it hard to read through and may be better suited to have as a reference to pull down whenever you need it.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
Author Ogden basically does what it says in the book: he looks at the myths and legends of dragons, discussing the stories about them, the sources, the characteristics, their roles in their societies, etc. You might be familiar with dragons such as in Beowulf but they also appear in Greek myth, too. So if you were at all curious about the stories of dragons through the ages then you'll be interested to see how common they appear (which also makes me wonder how this myth spread, etc.)
That's basically it. It's a myth, a breakdown of the story/sources/commentary and then a conclusion before Ogden moves onto the next one. It's pretty cut and paste in terms of format and I'll admit: I was bored and disappointed. As an academic text as a resource there's a lot to work with: so if you're looking to write a story or something involving dragons this is probably a really great book to have handy.
But if you're just someone who was simply curious, this was too much and a real slog to get through. It should not surprise you that the author is a professor, and that style of writing clearly comes through. But again, if you're interested in dragons in the West, I would not be surprised if people point you to this book. Just be prepared to find it hard to read through and may be better suited to have as a reference to pull down whenever you need it.
Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.
August 15, 2024
Tenuto conto del fatto che l'autore è un classicista, ho esitato un po' prima di comprare questo volume temendo che mi sarei trovata di fronte a un testo sproporzionato, con un'attenzione eccessiva al drago del mondo greco-romano a discapito di quello del Medioevo cristiano (che era poi quello che interessava a me). Ecco, no, paure infondate: e se certamente si nota che Odgen è maggiormente a suo agio nel parlare del drago del mondo classico, la sua esposizione scivola verso il Medioevo con naturalezza e senza scossoni. Un testo imperdibile, secondo me, per un tema su cui - come giustamente dice l'autore - non è che esista poi questa gran produzione accademica.
September 7, 2021
"In their stories [dragons] live in caves, lie on treasure, maraud, and burn; they are extraordinarily powerful, but even so ultimately worsted in their battles with humans. Despite the inestimable success of this physical form and of this broad story-type, there is nothing obvious, inevitable, or natural about them. Rather, both are complex and artificial constructs. Where do they come from?"
Embarking on the expansive task of tracing the origins and motifs of the dragon in western literature and folklore, Ogden's The Dragon in the West builds upon the work of his previous publications on the subject. Boasting an impressive analysis of over 200 narratives, organized thematically, the monograph offers an exceptionally thorough insight into nearly every facet of ancient and medieval dragons.
Ogden accomplishes this by dividing the material into three parts, each with multiple chapters. The first part concerns the classical material, highlighting the diverse range of associations that the Greco-Roman world granted to the ancient drakōn beyond the well-known role as a monster to be slain. One particularly notable chapter is the collection of material related to the drakaina, the classical female dragons, which have been habitually overlooked. The final chapter here crucially traces the evolution of the ancient drakōn's physical form from a purely serpentine figure to its acquisition of a stouter body and legs from the kētos and wings from demons until it ultimately emerges with its popular form as a winged four-legged creature.
The second part is devoted more directly to the Christian hagiographic reflex of dragons. This draws out the various references from the Old and New Testaments references to serpents such as the serpent of Eden and the Lukan exhortation to trample upon serpents. A fair amount of attention is given to the encounters of female saints, such as Perpetua and Margaret, with serpents/dragons. Another chapter highlights an interesting reading of the episode of the Chaldaean snake-blaster in the Philopseudes, whereby many of the motifs of the later hagiographic trend can already be evinced in this second century text. While most saints' confrontations with dragons are decidedly non-physical, being instead reminiscent of hagiographic episodes concerning the banishment of demons, the final chapter turns to the so-called military saints, the most renowned being Saint George, whose battles are more hands-on and typically emphasizing the death of the dragon itself. This part is, then, brilliantly concluded with an idealized tale of the typical hagiographic narratives, threading together to the central motifs and details.
The third and final part delves into the dragons of the Germanic and Norse traditions. The most well-known of these being Beowulf's battle with the firedrake. More motifs familiar to modern popular culture are covered here such as the dragon's penchant for guarding treasure, as well as more unfamiliar motifs like the notion of the corpse dragon. Aside the usual combat with dragons alone, there is also the interesting subset of tales that feature a hero saving a lion from a draconic predator The Germanic tradition of dragons is perhaps most notable for its impact upon their modern reflexes in the fantasy genre, as seen in Tolkien. As with the previous part, the contours of the Germanic tradition are brought together with an idealized version of the main narrative type.
Overall, the monograph is a substantial contribution to folkloric and mythological studies. Yet, while it is ostensibly focused upon dragons and their history, its engagement with a diverse amount of material from the classical sources, to Christian conceptions to ancient and medieval iconography to medieval Germanic literature, proves its utility for scholars of multiple fields. Simultaneously, an eye is faithfully kept on the modern popular conceptions of dragons, making it an accessible and lively read for non-academics as well, something truly remarkable given the conventionally impenetrable and dispassionate style that blights the lion's share of modern scholarly works.
Embarking on the expansive task of tracing the origins and motifs of the dragon in western literature and folklore, Ogden's The Dragon in the West builds upon the work of his previous publications on the subject. Boasting an impressive analysis of over 200 narratives, organized thematically, the monograph offers an exceptionally thorough insight into nearly every facet of ancient and medieval dragons.
Ogden accomplishes this by dividing the material into three parts, each with multiple chapters. The first part concerns the classical material, highlighting the diverse range of associations that the Greco-Roman world granted to the ancient drakōn beyond the well-known role as a monster to be slain. One particularly notable chapter is the collection of material related to the drakaina, the classical female dragons, which have been habitually overlooked. The final chapter here crucially traces the evolution of the ancient drakōn's physical form from a purely serpentine figure to its acquisition of a stouter body and legs from the kētos and wings from demons until it ultimately emerges with its popular form as a winged four-legged creature.
The second part is devoted more directly to the Christian hagiographic reflex of dragons. This draws out the various references from the Old and New Testaments references to serpents such as the serpent of Eden and the Lukan exhortation to trample upon serpents. A fair amount of attention is given to the encounters of female saints, such as Perpetua and Margaret, with serpents/dragons. Another chapter highlights an interesting reading of the episode of the Chaldaean snake-blaster in the Philopseudes, whereby many of the motifs of the later hagiographic trend can already be evinced in this second century text. While most saints' confrontations with dragons are decidedly non-physical, being instead reminiscent of hagiographic episodes concerning the banishment of demons, the final chapter turns to the so-called military saints, the most renowned being Saint George, whose battles are more hands-on and typically emphasizing the death of the dragon itself. This part is, then, brilliantly concluded with an idealized tale of the typical hagiographic narratives, threading together to the central motifs and details.
The third and final part delves into the dragons of the Germanic and Norse traditions. The most well-known of these being Beowulf's battle with the firedrake. More motifs familiar to modern popular culture are covered here such as the dragon's penchant for guarding treasure, as well as more unfamiliar motifs like the notion of the corpse dragon. Aside the usual combat with dragons alone, there is also the interesting subset of tales that feature a hero saving a lion from a draconic predator The Germanic tradition of dragons is perhaps most notable for its impact upon their modern reflexes in the fantasy genre, as seen in Tolkien. As with the previous part, the contours of the Germanic tradition are brought together with an idealized version of the main narrative type.
Overall, the monograph is a substantial contribution to folkloric and mythological studies. Yet, while it is ostensibly focused upon dragons and their history, its engagement with a diverse amount of material from the classical sources, to Christian conceptions to ancient and medieval iconography to medieval Germanic literature, proves its utility for scholars of multiple fields. Simultaneously, an eye is faithfully kept on the modern popular conceptions of dragons, making it an accessible and lively read for non-academics as well, something truly remarkable given the conventionally impenetrable and dispassionate style that blights the lion's share of modern scholarly works.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews