Were Dragons Real?

Jun 29, 2024 | posted by Julie Hall

Dragons have influenced our world in practically every way, from dragon folklore, books and movies to dragon sculptures, paintings and dragon jewelry.

With such gripping impact on our society, it would seem reasonable to believe they once might have actually existed. As Hodge Starkweather, from The Mortal Instruments series, said: “Everything you’ve heard about monsters, about nightmares, legends whispered around campfires. All the stories are true.”

Draconic creatures are first described in the mythologies of the ancient world through art and literature. Stories about storm-gods slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all Eastern and Indo-European mythologies.

The earliest dragon depictions date from the Xinglongwa culture between 6200 – 5400 BC, while the Hongshan culture may have introduced the Chinese character for ‘dragon’ between 4700 – 2900 BC.

In the Bible, Revelation 12:3 reads, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads.” Although many speculate that the word ‘dragon’ was loosely used to describe evil or an event to come, the creature is mentioned none-the-less.

The fiery flying serpent was also mentioned several times in the book of Isiah in the Tanakh, as well as Deuteronomy and Numbers.

Countless articles have been published about scientists who have claimed to uncover what appears to be a dragon fossil; one claiming to have uncovered a complete fossil of an aquatic reptile that resembles a Chinese dragon.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence on the theory of dragons, however, comes from the accounts of the Romans who would go on hunts for winged serpents. According to them, the serpent would attack their townspeople and its bite would burn like poison. This could be the reason why dragons were also called fire drakes, because their bites were venomous.

Since these flying serpents were such a nuisance, it was said that the King would offer a great reward to those brave enough to go out and slay them. We can only speculate this act was what inspired well-known fairytales, such as Sleeping Beauty. We can also speculate that the alleged dragon hunters were probably the cause of their extinction…if they had existed at all.