Dragons

by Peter Hogarth, Val Clery

This liberally illustrated history of the fantastic winged and scaly serpent blends fact and fiction in its study of the mythological creature in art, fairy tales, and folklore

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Reference, Art, Dragons

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 1979

About the author

Dr. Peter John Hogarth is the senior lecturer in biology at University of York, in the United Kingdom. For years, Hogarth has been fascinated by the history of biology and what he calls the "un-natural history" of mythical creatures and belief in them. Hogarth's interest and in-depth study of dragons, in particular, has led him to write a number of books and articles covering the ecological aspects of dragons, the evolution of St. George as a dragon-slaying saint and dragon mythology in general. He has also given frequent talks and occasional broadcast interviews on the biology of dragons, giants and other mythical beasts.
When he is not pondering the mythical biology of dragons and other such creatures, Hogarth's main research interests are tropical marine biology, particularly the ecology and diversity of crustaceans, and the ecology of mangrove habitats. He has worked in Pakistan, China, Malaysia, the Maldives, Yemen, Egypt, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He has also studied the effects of irrigation and related schemes on coastal ecosystems and fisheries in the Indus Delta (Pakistan), and of the impact of a major barrage on the lower Indus.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes all over the place, from the beginning to the end, covering periods like Medieval and the Renaissance, Classical and Ancient, plus the Chinese eras with their dragons, usually more serene, and finally a modern interpretation of it.

I mainly got this book to flip through for the general information. As I suspected, dragons were mostly likely mythical according to this book and never really existed, basically just a figment of the imagination representing rage, anger, and other emotional ranges.

No closer to a piece of the puzzle after reading this. You could basically go down the rabbit hole of wikipedia articles about dragons and the associated topics instead of reading this book and be just as well off. The other reason I got it was to admire the artwork included, which features many of the most popular paintings, drawings, and wood engravings from history.

Another thing I got out of this, is alchemical interpretations of mystical properties of Dragons, particularly, a nifty explanation of why the dragons in Dragon Ball Z "grant wishes" when all the dragon balls are collected. Dragons represented the "One" or prima materia in alchemy, which was represented by a lot of metals, non metals, and the moon. In astronomy the constellation Draco is Ladon who was defeated by Hercules and put there in the heavens which is of great value; when the "head" is in certain positions someone's wishes could be granted. This seems to me to be an additional source of why Shenron and Paroonga in DBZ have the power to grant wishes with the Dragon Balls, so it isn't really just a random thing (obviously it's based off the Chinese myth Journey to the West, a Chinese dragons are considered more "lucky" than the typical frightening, aggressive image of them). In alchemy the dragon also might be borrowed from ancient myth in which it's the symbol "Uroboros", the snake or lizard biting its own tail and eating it, representing all the cycles and processes that it does. Draco is just located in between the big and little dippers (Ursa Major & Ursa Minor, respectively), which are supposed to be bears if you connect the dots. The "big dipper" part is just one section of the entire constellation, which is one of the biggest in the sky. In North America the dippers are also known as ploughs or plows and Ursa Minor is known for containing Polaris, the "North Star", the point of light indicating the true north direction towards the pole of Earth's tilt, which has a value of about 23 degrees, approximately. It's the current North Star because the Earth's axes rotate every 26,000 years, known as precession of the equinoxes, so it actually fluctuates between 21-24 degrees throughout the whole time on a 180 (or 0) degree plane. There is no real direction in space. There is but it's a more "universal" direction, most of our numerical values or quantities are mostly man made and arbitrary, although there's logic enough why they're used.

[Brightdreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A "coffee table" exploration of dragons, this one's strong suit is the many images of dragons and kin, drawn from multiple time periods and cultures. The text itself is decent, though the writers sometimes get too clever with the commentary, making it a little difficult to pick out where researched legends and "facts" leave off and author commentary begins. If you're a dragon lover, and find it at a decent price (I got mine half-off), it's worth a spot in the collection.