The real existence of dragons has already been proven by scientists! The origin of the concept of the dragon in China Did dragons really exist?

There are many spots and secrets in the history of mankind that are of interest to any researcher. We love everything mysterious and inexplicable. Many creatures: mermaids, vampires, werewolves, dragons...

The first three are still rumored to exist. Did dragons really exist?

Myths or reality?

In my youth, being a student of the Faculty of Philology and studying in detail the mythology of the peoples of the world, I noticed that there are characters and images that repeated in almost all nations.

They may have different names and slightly differ from each other in appearance, but the essence is the same. This led me to think that in every fairy tale there is a share of a fairy tale. The rest is veiled reality.

For example, dragons. These creatures are described in different cultures and traditions, in different countries, on all continents.

European knights fought with them, Chinese emperors idolized them, African sorcerers negotiated with them, Aztec priests listened to them ...

A little later, I realized a very important thing, which then helped me a lot in life: people's thinking is mythological. And this is not just a desire to believe in fairy tales and miracles, these are echoes of ancient times.

Dragons attract the attention of people even now. Especially - children. When my son was little, he was literally "sick" of dragons and asked a lot of questions about them.

We bought dragons in the form of toys, pictures, watched cartoons and movies about them, read books. And at some point, I felt that I was also drawn to this information.

Studying encyclopedias and Internet resources, I became more and more sympathetic to these magical creatures and felt more and more connected with them.

Energy conductors

When one day, during a session of holotropic breathing, I saw myself traveling through Hyperborea, I also found a dragon there. At first I saw him in a clearing, among huge trees.

It was huge, dark, scaly, on four legs, with a long tail. The ground shook as he moved. And at the same time I was not afraid, I even wanted to touch him.

But in the next moment it seemed to me that I was this dragon. And then I saw how huge streams of energy pass through his body from somewhere above and flow to the core of the Earth.

Past life as a dragon

When we got to the viewing of non-human incarnations at the Institute of Reincarnation, I expected to see myself as some kind of animal or even a plant.

Immersed in memories, the first thing I noticed was a strange visual perception: I saw the reality around me as if in a thermal imager.

Everything around was dark, and living beings shone in different colors. This vision was so strange that I involuntarily "stuck" in this process, forgetting that I need to understand who I am.

When I paid attention to the sensations in the body, I felt that it was someone big and heavy, even a little clumsy when moving on the ground.

I decided to look outside and realized that i am a dragon. Black, with membranous wings. Large bone scales, like a shell, covered the entire body, except for the wings.

There were huge trees around, I was in a clearing and interacted with people. Only these were not people like we are now, it was a different civilization: very tall, several meters tall.

There was a feeling that I was exchanging some information with them telepathically, and this information was in images, pictures, and not in speech form.

I did not live on Earth, I only flew here, to these people, not to all, but to some specific ones, like priests.

During the course of the study, it became clear that dragons lived on another planet, near the Earth. Then I thought that it might have been a satellite of the Earth - a small planet of irregular epileptoid shape.

Later I read that the Earth, according to scientists, once had 3 satellites, which then either fell to Earth, causing natural disasters, or, on the contrary, retired and disappeared into the depths of space.

The mythology of many nations also tells of the presence of three moons of the Earth. And there are different versions about their origin and disappearance.

In my recollection this the planet was in a parallel dimension, because when flying there at some point I overcame a certain barrier, as if I passed through the plasma, and after that my physical body became just a dense bundle of energy.

It was a very strange feeling when crossing the border of measurements - the head was squeezed, it became hard to breathe, and then a tremendous lightness suddenly set in.

And during the reverse transition, when the body condenses to a physical state, there is a flash of electricity, similar to lightning, and the shell glows and becomes very hot.

It is at this moment that a flame can break out if there are trees nearby. Apparently, this was the source of legends about fire-breathing dragons, burning all life on the way.

Dragon life

There were few dragons, and they were asexual, they multiplied by separating an energy clot from themselves. Communicated telepathically, images.

They lived for a very long time, especially if they rarely flew to Earth, since these movements took a lot of energy. My request for the date of the incarnation came up with a figure of 20 million years BC.

When I looked at the Earth from the height of the flight, I saw 3 continents, and the one I flew to was similar to the current Eurasia, only larger and stretched towards the North Pole, even captured it.

And in this part of the Earth there was no ice and snow. The second mainland was to the south, also large, and another whole large mainland on the other side of the planet.

In that incarnation, I realized that dragons over time just ceased to take physical form, arriving on Earth, since the times of persecution against them have come.

Dragon spirits

However, dragons helped the Earth for a long time, anchoring cosmic energies, served as guides. I managed to see this in one of my incarnations in Hyperborea.

I am a conductor of energy and information between the Hyperborean civilization, dragons and gods. I have long hair - to toe.

During my rituals, I put on a white shirt-dress to the floor, let my hair down, go into a trance and dance strange dances. I hear the rhythm like huge tambourines, but I don't see the instruments.

In this state, I simultaneously feel myself in three spaces and can transmit information in three directions. Dragons broadcast special energy to me and the Earth and suggest how keep the balance of the planet.

Where have the dragons gone?

After my memories of the dragons, I wondered what happened to them now.

Judging by the information that came to my request, they left the Earth long ago and moved to another star system in order to support the recently inhabited planet there as well.

And on Earth, whales and elephants are now as keepers of the balance of energies. In addition, in the depths of the ocean there are huge reserves of energy created by dragons and their followers.

Practically all the peoples that inhabit our world describe dragons in their traditions, myths and legends. At the same time, regardless of the habitat of a particular people, all these legends are very similar to each other. Scientists explain this similarity by the fact that people invented dragons in order to show their fear of snakes, because they are found everywhere, and everywhere people are afraid of them. However, it is impossible to say that such an explanation is plausible, since for the most part the descriptions of dragons are more reminiscent of crocodiles that are covered with scales than snakes. Therefore, scientists have put forward another hypothesis, according to which dragons are descendants of dinosaurs who survived until the moment of the appearance of mankind. I must say that this hypothesis is also supported by the church. But, at the same time, we note that the dating of the fossil remains of dragons does not coincide in time with the "religious" moment of the creation of the world. But after all, something appeared from somewhere on Komodo Island, which outwardly very much resembles a dragon, only it does not spit fire and does not fly. There are also testimonies of sailors and travelers who have repeatedly seen living pangolins in the seas and oceans.

Of course, you might think that all this is fiction. But then the question arises: why do people, and even in large groups, invent such things?

It is known that in ancient mythology, dragons were directly involved in the creation of the world, and then controlled the elements. The Chinese, Japanese, Koreans depict a big dragon as a symbol of big holidays. It is noteworthy that according to European beliefs, the dragon is evil, and according to the eastern ones it is good.

The first reports about dragons appeared a very long time ago, long before the beginning of our era, with the advent of the first written sources. So, Herodotus wrote about the existence of dragons. According to him, a dragon lived on the Crimean coast, the length of which was 20 meters. He had a large body of dark color, a crest was located on top of the head, there was a long tail, clawed paws, red burning eyes, and a terrible mouth with several rows of sharp long teeth. The animal moved very quickly and at the same time made piercing sounds.

In addition, there are many records that indicate that in ancient times, mysterious creatures resembling lizards densely populated our planet, living next to people. They were called differently, but the most famous of these names is the "dragon" given by the Europeans.

Interestingly, for the most part, the descriptions of dragons almost completely coincide with the descriptions of dinosaurs. Therefore, scientists who study dragons tend to think that we are talking about the same creatures. Probably, people found the remains of ancient reptiles and invented legends about scary mysterious monsters. Dragons were very often depicted in rock art, and legends about winged serpents that descended from heaven are present among many peoples. Scientists are sure that dragons existed, because ancient people could only judge what they saw in reality, what they encountered.

Perhaps people would have continued to identify dragons with dinosaurs, if not for one sensational discovery that was made in 1972. Not far from the ancient Aztec settlement, the remains of a creature that closely resembled a dragon were discovered. During further excavations, it was found that the remains belonged to the largest flying animals in the history of the Earth, the wingspan of which was 15 meters. Outwardly, this animal resembled a gigantic bat. After the remains were examined, scientists concluded that they were pterosaurs. Based on these studies, scientists hypothesized that these creatures were the progenitors of dragons. But it remained unclear why the descriptions of dinosaurs almost completely coincided among various peoples who had never intersected in their lives. Therefore, scientists have suggested that people initially took the dinosaurs that lived next to them for dragons.

So who were the dragons and dinosaurs?

In ancient times, they were called Megalania - huge lizards that lived on Earth many thousands of years ago. Their average length was about seven meters, and their weight reached 400 kilograms. They attacked animals, they could even cope with a rhinoceros. However, it is unbelievable, but true - the last giant lizard was killed by a man. According to scientists, this species became extinct almost immediately after the Australian continent was settled by people. Some scientists are sure that Megalania are dragons. As evidence, they cite legends about fire-breathing creatures. Despite the fact that Megalania were not capable of throwing flames, some of them had a strong poison that left wounds similar to burns on the body of the victims. According to scientists, in addition to the lungs and nasal sinuses, dragons had sacs in which hydrocarbon accumulated. During the eruption, it combined with oxygen, resulting in a flame.

There is also evidence of encounters with a sea serpent. So, in 1893, off the coast of Scotland, the London doctor F. Matheson met with the sea devil. According to him, the weather was wonderful that day, when suddenly, right in front of the boat, something incomprehensible grew out of the water: a creature of large sizes, with a long neck, which resembled a large lizard. The creature was brown in color and had a black stripe under its head.

There is a lot of evidence of sea lizards in Russia. So, one of the most famous waterfowl lizards that is found in Russia is a creature that lives in Ladoga. This phenomenon was described by the famous writer and ethnographer Alexei Popov. In his book there is evidence of meetings with an unknown monster: in the summer of 1973 he was fishing on Ladoga. It was a windless sunny day. Suddenly, on the smooth surface of the lake, an object appeared that glittered in the sun. At first, the fishermen thought it was an overturned boat, but later noticed that the object was alive. The creature slowly swam along the shore, gradually approaching the boat. The fishermen hurried to the shore in fear, from where they continued their observation. People saw that the animal has a length of about 10 meters, a massive body, dark gray skin. The head of the animal was large and rested on a long neck. The eyes were wide apart, and the look was angry and ferocious. Then abruptly the animal dived under the water and was no longer shown.

The fact that the Ladoga lizard really exists is evidenced by local traditions and legends that are associated with the Valaam Monastery. In these ancient sources, one can often find references to unknown animals of gigantic size, which repeatedly devastated the traps set by the monks, while never getting caught in them.

There are many legends about the existence of water dragons. So, if you carefully study the myths of different peoples who lived on the shores of the northern seas, you can see that each of these peoples has its own terrible monster that lives in the water. So, for example, in Iceland there are still rumors that a mysterious animal lives in one of the lakes, which the locals called Skrimsl. In the Swedish press, notes repeatedly appeared about the existence of a rhinestone in six reservoirs of mysterious animals, and in Ireland, in 1945, unknown animals were seen simultaneously in four lakes. In Canada, almost everyone has heard of the Ogopogo living in Lake Okanagan at least once in their life. According to eyewitnesses, outwardly it resembles a log, its length reaches six meters, and its thickness is 60 centimeters. The head of the animal resembles the head of a horse. The first mention of the appearance of Ogopogo dates back to 1872.

Another very popular water lizard that mythozoologists have been trying to track down for a long period of time is the well-known Loch Ness monster, or Nessie, as it is affectionately called. According to legend, carry is a sea serpent that lives in Scotland, 40 kilometers from Inverness in Loch Ness (hence, in fact, its name). Despite the fact that scientists are haunted by failures, the local population assures that meetings with Ness have taken place regularly since the middle of the eighteenth century. In addition, biologists "for certain" know that snakes of huge sizes are found in the sea. Previously, it is believed that they lived in the forests, but later they moved to the sea and bays.

Nowadays, almost every lake in Norway has its own legend about a big snake. True, they are seen very, very rarely. But in the Middle Ages they met much more often. So, in Bollarvatn lived a sea serpent, which was not inferior in thickness to a calf. And there was also a case when a huge snake crawled onto a rock, but got stuck between the stones. The animal looked intimidating: its eyes were the size of the bottom of a barrel, and a mane hung from its neck. The snake was killed with several bow shots in the eye, the ground around it was completely saturated with green blood. And the corpse emitted such an unpleasant smell that the local population burned it.

Even in Walter Scott's novel "The Pirate" there is a description of a sea serpent rising from the depths of the sea, stretching out a long neck covered with a mane and leading with large sparkling eyes in search of a victim.

The most detailed description of the monsters that live in the Norwegian sea waters belongs to the pen of Eric Iontopidian. He claims that the so-called dragons live deep under water and only in warm, calm weather rise to the surface. In one of his books, a description of a snake is given: a head that resembles a horse, a black snout, the rest of the body is gray, very large and black eyes, a long white mane. The body is very thick and long.

Oddly enough, dragons also exist in the modern world. Don't believe? Here is the definition given in one of the encyclopedias: a dragon is a genus of reptiles from the order of lizards that reach a length of 30 centimeters, have a long tail, a narrow and flattened body. They have the ability to glide up to 20 meters with the help of skin folds located along the edges of the body. 14 species of dragons are known, all of them have a bright motley color, live on trees, feed on larvae and insects.

If we talk about creatures that are more like ancient dragons, then they exist. True, they are called a little differently. So, on the island of Komodo (which was mentioned above), living dragons were found, that is, monitor lizards up to three meters long. In addition, the researchers found that there used to be monitor lizards of much larger sizes - up to 10 meters. They lived in Australia. And in New Guinea, according to the testimony of the local population, lives a terrible monster of enormous size. However, when we managed to photograph it, it turned out that the "monster" does not reach even three meters in length ...

Thus, the possibility of the existence of an entire civilization of lizards, which are periodically shown to people, cannot be ruled out. It remains only to wait for the right moment to photograph at least one of them and prove that dragons really exist.

Legendary monsters that can fly and incinerate all life with fire, keepers of huge treasures and possessors of a sharp mind - this is how dragons appear in legends and fairy tales. There is not a single people in whose mythology stories about these giant monsters would not be found. Many still believe that dragons still exist or lived before. The description of these creatures is almost the same among peoples living on different continents. And this fact suggests that once our ancestors saw dragons live, and the impressions of these meetings were forever preserved in myths, legends and fairy tales. Did dragons exist on Earth? Let's try to figure it out.

Who are they?

There are difficulties with the exact definition of these creatures. Dragon is the collective name. Each country has individual ideas about this mythical animal. The most widespread image of the dragon was in mythology and folklore, horoscopes and fantasy.

Except for some differences, the appearance of a giant monster looks something like this: the torso of a reptile with parts of the bodies of other animals. Often the dragon is winged, can fly, and belches deadly flames.

dragon and serpent

There is confusion between these two mythical animals. A small part of the researchers believe that the dragon and the serpent are different creatures. The image of a snake is found in Slavic texts from the 9th century, in the Bible and in folklore. By the 19th century, the word "dragon" had become common. Now it is believed that these two concepts denote the same being.

Favorite character of myths and fairy tales

Did dragons exist in the distant past? At the sight of their diversity in the cultures of different peoples, such an idea involuntarily arises.

The dragon is an indispensable element of the mythology of any country. He can be an evil and insidious monster, sowing death and destruction, or appear in the form of a wise being. The myth about the dragon as the keeper of fabulous treasures and the kidnapper of beautiful girls is very common.

Serpent Gorynych is one of the brightest characters in Slavic fairy tales and mythology. Here his image is devoid of even a hint of attractiveness or wisdom. He is the most important evil of Slavic myths.

How it all began

Dragon myths have been around for a very long time. It is believed that for the first time this image appeared among the Sumerians more than five thousand years ago. Then it spread to Egypt, Greece and other countries of Europe and the East. How was this image formed? And did dragons really exist? There is a version that snakes crawling out of the ground in the spring after hibernation led to the appearance among ancient people of the first myth about unusual creatures.

According to another version, these creatures are ancient dinosaurs, the memory of which was preserved in such a fabulous way. Opponents of this theory point out that the first people appeared much later than the time when dinosaurs lived.

There is also an assumption that dragons were once a separate species of animals, but became extinct due to the small number of their population.

Dragon Varieties

Did dragons really exist? Judging by the abundance of their species, described in various myths and folklore of many countries, it seems that sometime in the past, people really encountered these creatures. It is extremely difficult to classify them. In general, everything related to this is extremely confusing. Each country has its own description. In addition, sometimes it is not entirely clear which of the mythical animals can be attributed to dragons. They are conditionally divided into the following types:

1. Lindworm- a winged serpent with two legs and poisonous saliva. This species includes Farfnir, the famous monster from the Scandinavian sagas. He crawled on his belly. There is confusion with this variety of dragons, since in some legends the lindworms are wingless and may have not two, but four paws.

2. Givre. It has no paws and wings. The head is massive, horned.

3. Classical or heraldic dragon. It has four legs and wings.

4. wyvern. It has two legs, wings and a spiked tail. Fire cannot breathe.

5. Amphipter- A winged dragon with vestigial limbs that are not used.

6. Eastern dragons- Chinese, Japanese, Korean.

Conventionally, monsters from ancient Greek mythology can be attributed to dragons - the snake Python and

Who studies them?

From time to time there are reports that mysterious creatures have been seen or even caught in different parts of the planet. The science of cryptozoology is engaged in the search and study of animals that are considered fictional or long extinct. It is not included in the number of academic disciplines, and official zoology considers it a pseudoscience. For cryptozoologists, the answer to the question of whether dragons existed is simple and straightforward. They believe that if not today, then in the past, a person really lived next to dragons, the memory of which has come down to us in fairy tales.

Night fury - fiction or reality?

After the release of the cartoon "How to Train Your Dragon", many became interested in the question of whether the Night Fury dragon really exists? Unfortunately, this character is pure fiction of the filmmakers. It has memorable features: a dark, almost black color, eight shoots on its head that play the role of ears (therefore, these creatures have very delicate hearing), and the ability to exhale not just fire, but a clot of blue flame. The Night Fury is unique among mythical dragons.

Do dragons really exist? And where can you see them?

The question of whether dragons now exist can be answered with full confidence in the affirmative. Of course, in doing so, we will keep in mind modern animals that have received this honorary title. The closest of the modern representatives of the fauna to the mythical dragons is either Komodo. A predator weighing 150 kilograms and a body length of about 3 meters looks very much like the legendary monsters.

Flying dragons are another representatives of the agama lizards that bear this famous name. On the sides they have leather folds, with which they can glide in the air. For this feature, the lizards got their name.

The sea dragon is a species of predatory fish. It has poisonous glands on the spikes, the injection of which can be fatal to humans.

dragons- flying fire-breathing lizards. Dragons in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire are associated with magic. At the beginning of the saga in Westeros and Essos, they are considered extinct - dragons disappeared from Essos along with the Doom of Valyria, and in Westeros they began to degenerate after the Dance of the Dragons. Remaining colossal skeletons and fossilized eggs serve as a reminder of their existence. By the end of The Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen manages to hatch three dragons from the eggs, but in Westeros, until recently, the news of the birth of these creatures is only a rumor.

Dragon Viserion © Chris Burdett

Dragon scales are painted in bright colors, usually with a metallic sheen. Horns, spine, belly, fly bones, membranes and other parts can also be painted in different colors.

The dragon is extremely difficult to kill - in an adult dragon, strong scales cover the entire body, including the belly. The only vulnerable point is the eyes and the brain behind them, and not the belly or throat, as some legends say. "Death comes out of the dragon's mouth," wrote Septon Barth in his Unnatural History, "but death does not enter that way."

Physiology

Many times longer than a man, if, of course, to believe the songs ... - Ser Jorah shrugged. “But in the Seven Kingdoms, the dragons of House Targaryen are best known. They were raised for war, and they died in the war.
The dragon is not easy to kill, but still possible.<…>
- Balerion Black Dread was two hundred years old when he died - this happened in the reign of Jaehaerys the Appeaser. It was so large that it could swallow a bison whole. A dragon never stops growing, Your Majesty, as long as it has food and will.<….>
- Will? Dany asked. Are they kept free?
“Your ancestors built a huge, domed castle in King's Landing for their dragons called the Dragonpit. It still stands on Rhaenys Hill, but now it is only ruins. There the royal dragons lived in the open. Thirty mounted knights could pass through the iron doors of this castle in a row. But with all that, it was noticed that none of these dragons had grown up to their ancestors. The maesters say the walls and ceiling are to blame.

A Storm of Swords, Daenerys I

Dragons eat meat, and only fried. Apparently, they digest food like ordinary animals: in The Vicious Prince, a "heap of dragon excrement" is mentioned. It is not known how common cannibalism is among dragons, but they may attack each other. During the time of the Dance of the Dragons, there lived a dragon called Cannibal, who fed on eggs, cubs and the corpses of deceased relatives. Such behavior appears to have been exceptional, however, after killing Moon Dancer, Sunfire also devoured her remains.

However, dragon breeding appears to be bisexual: during the war between Rhaenyra and Aegon II, Silverwing and Vermitor are known to "intertwine" with each other, and Tessarion and Seasmoke, instead of fighting, performed actions that can be considered a courtship dance.

Dragons live for a very long time - decades and even centuries. The oldest known dragon in Westeros, Balerion, lived for about two hundred years, and during this time he reached a size that "could swallow a whole bison, and maybe a hairy mammoth." Vhagar at the time of his death in an air battle over God's Eye was 181 years old; she almost reached the size of Balerion. The newborn dragons were the size of a skinny cat. Following them, the Targaryens brought the skulls of their former dragons, and the oldest of these skulls was over 3000 years old. The two most recent skulls, about the size of a mastiff, belonged to the last dragons from Dragonstone, who died shortly after birth. On the contrary, the skulls of long-lived dragons, including Balerion, were monstrous in size. Dragons need food and freedom to grow.

dragon eggs

Three eggs of Daenerys in the series "Game of Thrones"

Dragons lay eggs. Compared to the gigantic size of adult dragons, their eggs are surprisingly small, about the size of a human head. However, they are heavy as a rock. The egg shell is covered with many tiny scales, similar in texture to polished metal. The eggs differ in color, tone, and luster, and their coloring matches that of the dragon that is about to hatch from the egg.

One egg was a deep green with golden flecks that came and went depending on how she turned it. The other was pale yellow with red stripes. The last one, black as the midnight sea, looked alive, scarlet curls and waves ran through it. Game of Thrones, Daenerys II

Dragons seem to lay eggs very rarely - only a small number of dragon eggs are known, and after the extinction of dragons, these eggs have become almost priceless rarities. There is no specific time period for which the egg must hatch; eggs can be stored for decades and even centuries before they hatch into a dragon.

Dragon fire is very bright. In A Dance with Dragons, Quentin notes that the flame in Viserion's mouth shone a hundred times brighter than his torch, and eyewitnesses of the battle between Sunfire and Moondancer recalled that at one moment the fire of the dragon of King Aegon II was like a second sun in its brightness. Dragonfire glows in colors that are not typical of ordinary fire. Black, dull white, blue, orange, red, gold, cobalt, black-red, golden-orange, and red-yellow colors of dragonfire appeared in the books.

It is known that rain can put out the fire of a dragon.

Behavior

There are legends that the dragonlords of Valyria controlled their dragons with restraining spells and magic horns, however, there is a case when a word was enough - so Daenerys subdued Drogon. Even feral dragons know their names.

Daenerys Targaryen before riding Drogon © Marc Simonetti

In the Targaryen family, it was believed that only the carriers of the Targaryen blood - whether they were legitimate children or bastards (dragon offspring) - could control dragons, dragons simply would not let other people in. However, it is not known whether this is true: during the Dance of the Dragons, Nettle, a simple peasant girl of unknown origin, who does not have any signs of a Valyrian appearance, became the mistress of the dragon Sheepstealer. Martin, when asked by readers about "three dragon heads", that is, three dragon riders, Daenerys Targaryen answered "the third dragon head does not have to be Targaryen".

I only know about dragons what my brother told me when I was little, and I read a few other things in books. But it was said that Aegon the Conqueror never dared to ride Vhagar or Miraxes, and his sisters never mounted a Balerion of the Black Dread. Dragons live longer than humans, some hundreds of years, so Balerion had other riders after Aegon died... but no rider in history has ever flown two dragons. Dance with Dragons, Daenerys

Dragons and Magic

Story

Origin and settlement

The Valyrians considered dragons to be the product of a chain of volcanoes known as the Fourteen Fires. Some ancient Asshai texts say that dragons came out of the Fade. The same texts tell of the first dragonlords - a very ancient forgotten people who brought dragons from the Fade to Valyria, where they taught their art to the Valyrians.

According to Martin, "once upon a time there were dragons everywhere". Dragon bones have been found as far north as Ib itself, and as far south as the jungles of Sotorios. Dragon remains have also been found in Westeros. There is also other evidence of the existence of dragons in Westeros: many legends have survived, such as the story of Servin Mirrorshield, and dragons are present on the coat of arms of one of the noble houses.

Dragons in Valyria

About five thousand years before the events of the books, the Valyrians - a humble tribe of shepherds who herd their goats in the mountains of the Fourteen Fires - managed to tame dragons. It is not known for certain how they managed to do this, but the Valyrians themselves claimed their kinship with dragons: according to their legends, the Valyrian people descended directly from dragons, unlike all other people, and are blood relatives of these winged creatures. Dragons became the backbone of Valyria's military power, allowing her to crush other empires and states. In big wars, Valyria could put hundreds of dragons on the battlefield at the same time - for example, to fight the Rhoynar army of Garin the Great, Valyria sent three hundred or more dragons to the walls of Volantis

Valyria itself was ruled by forty aristocratic families, each of which owned dragons. However, five hundred years before Z.E. the mainland of Valyria was hit by a cataclysm. Fire and lava during it erupted so intensely and high from the earth that, in addition to the state of the Valyrians, they also destroyed their dragons in the sky. A few dragons remained off the mainland, in the Free Cities, along with their overlords, but were killed in revolts. However, the dragons still continued to exist, thanks to the fact that one of the noble Valyrian families, twelve years before the Rock of Valyria, moved with five of his dragons to an island off the east coast of Westeros. These were the Targaryens.

Targaryen dragons

Balerion and Vhagar in Dorne © Michael Komarck

Thus, House Targaryen became the only family of dragonlords in the world. They called themselves dragons and said that dragon fire was dissolved in their blood. The coat of arms of the Targaryens, taken already in Westeros, depicted a red three-headed dragon on a black field (in reality, many-headed dragons do not exist). Of the five dragons that left Valyria, only one survived to the Conquest of Westeros, Balerion; however, on Dragonstone, new dragons hatched from eggs. Three dragons (Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes) participated in the battles of Aegon's Conquest, after which the Targaryens began to rule in Westeros. In the war with the Dornish, the Targaryens lost Meraxes, and during the confrontation between Maegor and his nephew, the dragon was killed. Under King Maegor, construction began on the Dragonpit, which in the future will become the abode of the dragons located in King's Landing.

At the time of Viserys I's accession to the throne, a total of twenty dragons of different ages and sizes lived in the Dragonpit in King's Landing and on the island of Dragonstone - some had Targaryen riders, some did not, some, like Sheepstealer and Cannibal, did grow wild and did not let people in.

During the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, the warring members of House Targaryen willingly used dragons against each other, so it's not surprising that most dragons died in the war, mostly fighting each other. Several dragons kept in the Dragonpit at the end of 130 were killed by a mob of rebellious townspeople; Cannibal and Sheepstealer disappeared - the first flew off Dragonstone in an unknown direction, the second supposedly settled in the Moon Mountains with his mistress Nettle. Silverwing, the last old dragon, was left without a rider and nestled at the Scarlet Lake - no one could tame her. Thus, by the end of the Dance of Dragons in 131, Aegon III Targaryen had at his disposal only one and only dragon Morning, which belonged to Reyna Targaryen - a cub that hatched from an egg shortly before the war.

True, there were a large number of dragon eggs left on Dragonstone - at least one or two more hatched later. Tyrion Lannister mentioned among the nineteen skulls that were kept in the Red Keep, two the skulls of the last dragons hatched on Dragonstone - "a couple no bigger than mastiff skulls, strange ugly remains". Arlan of Pennytree saw the last dragon - it was "a female, small, green and stunted, with drooping wings"; it is not clear if it was Morning or not. The last dragon died in AC 153, while Aegon III was still on the throne. She managed to lay five eggs, but none of them hatched. King Aegon III received the undeserved and unfair nickname Dragonbane - there were rumors that he harbored a hatred for dragons and poisoned the last of these creatures himself: once before his eyes, Aegon II Targaryen fed Aegon III's mother Rhaenyra to his dragon. However, Maester Marvin hinted that the learned maesters of the Citadel might be involved in the extinction of the dragons:

Who do you think killed all the dragons at one time? Dragonslayers with swords? In the world that the Citadel creates, there is no place for magic, prophecy and glass candles, and even more so for dragons. Feast of Crows, Samwell V

Dragons Daenerys Targaryen

Known dragons

It turns out that dragons - mysterious monsters with the body of a snake, the wings of a bird, with several heads, fiery breath, endowed with reason - still live among us!

Great and terrible

According to one ancient description, dated 600 AD. e., the dragon is “the largest of the snakes and in general the largest of all creatures living on Earth. It has a large muzzle and narrow blowholes through which it breathes and protrudes its tongue."

Dragons were usually depicted as huge snake-like monsters, terrifying people. From their roar, they say, the earth trembled. Moreover, dragons eating human flesh always swallowed beautiful maidens whole, which is why both heroes and knights considered it a matter of honor to slay the monster on the spot.

However, our ancestors were real philosophers. Tired of being afraid of fire-breathing monsters, they simply turned them into a common symbol of water and fire. Historians have gone a little further. According to the hypothesis of scientists A. Leroy-Gouran and V. Ya. Propp, the dragon is a symbol of the unification of the worlds: the upper one (as evidenced by its resemblance to a bird) and the lower one (snake body).

Only these monsters were not so terrible. There are cases when they went in peace to people. So, in ancient Chinese mythology, the winged dragon helped the hero Yu, the founder of the Xia dynasty, lay channels for water supply with his tail. The monster also helped two Slavic blacksmiths. They harnessed the dragon to the plow and with its help dug the channel of the Dnieper. And Nikita Kozhemyaka managed to pacify the Serpent Gorynych and plow the land on it. Moreover, dragons often gave people the treasures they guarded. True, ungrateful people usually killed them out of fear. Only the Flying Serpent Obtained from the Volga sub-ethnos of the Katskari always remained alive, as it brought wealth to those who were not afraid of hard work.

By the way, until now, many of the descendants of the katskars, in order to lure the Serpent of Luck, put a saucer of milk on the windowsill.
Considering that the word is material, and myths always have a real basis, we can safely assume that the images of such monsters were hardly created from scratch. This is confirmed by many scientists! Recently, researchers of the International Union of Cryptozoologists made an unexpected and sensational conclusion: on the coat of arms of Moscow, George the Victorious pierces a real (!) Small winged dragon with a spear, and not a mythical one! In general, ancient Russian icon painting is full of monsters of various colors - blood-red, with clubs of fire flying out of their mouths, and very tiny ones, which are led on a leash, like a domestic dog. Irina Tsareva, head of the scientific environmental program RICAN (Russian Intellectual Corps of Current Scientific Areas), believes that these animals could well live in Russian forests. Let the authors of epics, epics and icons exaggerate the images of their works a little, but they still used real stories as a basis. It is quite possible that in the European part of Russia there were still bloodthirsty monsters tearing travelers to shreds. In any case, such cases were recorded in the documents! So, in one collection of Russian chronicles there is news from Novgorod from 1582: “... In the summer, corcodiles of luthi came out of the river and closed the way, many people ate, and people were terrified and praying to God all over the earth. And packs are hidden, and others are beaten ... ”Since crocodiles have never been found in Russia, scientists have suggested that the chronicler had in mind an ordinary dragon.

However, even today there is a lot of evidence of monsters. So, in 1958, the geologist, paleontologist and writer Ivan Efremov, in his book “The Road of the Winds,” spoke about his trip to Mongolia, where, according to the descriptions of local residents, there is a monstrous yellow worm, Olgoi-Khorkhoi, from whose poison people die. There have always been many scientific expeditions in these parts, but no one has been able to give intelligible answers to the question: “What kind of worm is this?” The French cryptozoologist Michel Raynal once suggested that the olgoi-khorkhoy is a giant reptile that lost its paws during evolution and is capable of spraying poison from a distance ...

Russia is also full of eyewitnesses of encounters with dragons. For example, in the Lipetsk, Novgorod and Leningrad regions, rumors periodically roam about encounters with underwater monsters spewing flames from their mouths. Ukraine is also not far behind. Not the first year, rumors about the Black Sea monster at the foot of Karadag excite the imagination. Dragons and giant snakes seem to be regularly encountered in Africa. The stories of Africans about the ferocious predator "tonpondrano" ("master of sea waters") with a body covered with scales and 25 meters long are impressive. In the Algerian desert, a 20-meter creature was also somehow shot. There are frightening legends about the "master of the forests" of Madagascar - a monster with an elongated body and huge claws. In general, stories about modern monsters can be continued for a very long time, but there is still convincing evidence of their existence!

We say - a dragon, we mean - azhdarchid

For example, in Southeast Asia, on several Indonesian islands, the Komodo dragon lives - the largest lizard on Earth. These huge monitor lizards reach a length of three meters and feed on monkeys and goats. Their ancestors lived on Earth 2 million years ago. Their descendants in the same form live perfectly today, not even suspecting that, according to Darwin, they must have undergone some evolutionary changes.

By the way, other living fossils (phylogenetic relics) have been preserved on the same islands, almost completely corresponding to extinct ones tens or hundreds of millions of years ago. This, for example, tuatara, or tuatara, is the only living representative of the subclass of beak-headed reptiles. Its discovery came as a big surprise to scientists.

Despite the fact that it is customary to consider dragons to be predatory flying reptiles, and modern lizards (lizards, iguanas, agaves, chameleons, and so on) to be their descendants that have become smaller and have forgotten how to fly, this is absolutely not the case. Of course, paleobiology considers lizards to be the most adapted animal species in the planet's biosphere, and not younger, but older than dinosaurs! True, those lizards that lived next to dinosaurs in ancient times never flew. Unlike pterosaurs, who have learned to do it masterfully. Even despite their bulky body (the largest weighed 300 kg, and the wingspan reached 15 m). True, why and how they flew is still a mystery to scientists. Nevertheless, such creatures really reigned in the sky of our planet for almost 200 million years in a row. And while scientists have not fully figured out whether they were reptiles.

By the way, when by the middle of the Cretaceous period (90 million years ago) pterosaurs disappeared from the face of the Earth, the planet was dominated by the family of azhdarchids - the largest flying lizards in the history of the Earth. Giants with a long neck planned at a speed of up to 40 km / h, grabbed gaping game with a powerful mouth and swallowed it whole. It is possible that the legends about dragons came from them. Interestingly, paleobiologists call the last azhdarchids Quetzalcoatl. This is how the Mayan Indians christened their sacred Serpent, with which many mythological plots are also associated. However, according to paleontologists, these mysterious creatures became completely extinct about 65 million years ago. I wonder who the Indians saw, who lived much later than the flying yashers?

Paleontologists have suggested that flying kites were either supplanted by more advanced creatures ideally adapted to flight (birds), or they died out from a global cooling of the climate that happened exactly 65 million years ago. Only, according to scientists, some individuals could still survive, which is why they became the prototype of dragons and flying kites in Indian culture. And flying lizards could descend from heaven to earth and move on to a sedentary lifestyle. Interestingly, later pterosaurs are remarkably similar to modern pelicans, which is why the latter are often even called small pterosaurs.

So, by and large, you should not be surprised if one day, while picking mushrooms in the forest or swimming in the river, a cute dragon jumps out to meet you. Science allows this possibility. “The absence of finds does not mean at all that such animals did not exist and do not exist, but only that it was not possible to find traces of their presence on the planet,” says Alexander Dubrov, Doctor of Biological Sciences (Russia).

In any case, Alexander Gorodnitsky, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, an employee of the Institute of Oceanology. Shirshov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, also admits the possibility that flying lizards really lived in forgotten times, and their relatives could well have survived somewhere: “The monsters described in ancient texts existed and can actually exist.” For example, “the prehistoric lobe-finned coelacanth fish. For a long time it was believed that this species became extinct 200-300 million years ago, but quite by accident in the 1990s the fish was caught off the coast of South Africa. It is amazing that for many millions of years it has not changed much, although it has become smaller. The structure of her skeleton is identical to that of her ancestors who lived 200 million years ago.”

And yet they were!

But Alexei Rozanov, academician, director of the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, breaks down the version of the real existence of dragons to smithereens: “Dragons are mythological creatures (...) they look like lizards and birds at the same time, but this cannot be already because lizards are reptiles, and birds are warm-blooded. Here pterosaurs are another matter. They are “mysterious creatures about which we know very little, but it is clear that their active flight was possible only if they reached a sufficiently high metabolic rate, and this is an argument in favor of their warm-bloodedness. Today, scientists tend to conclude that dinosaurs in general - at least their flying species - were not reptiles. It is quite possible that it was warm-bloodedness that killed the flying lizards. Reptiles, as it turned out, are better adapted to changing conditions of existence (proof - living fossil species - cold-blooded lizards and crocodiles). However, in the cave paintings of the primitive people of Australia, an image of a dragon-like creature is often found. Paleontologists confirm that this is a megalania, a large monitor-like lizard that once lived on the continent. Only cryptozoologists are absolutely sure that this reptile still leads the life of a hermit in the thick of the Australian bushes. Eyewitnesses described megalania as a 4-6 meter monitor lizard with huge claws and a brown spotted body color. Although the dragon scares the Australians, he always behaves not aggressively. Or maybe there are simply no witnesses to his bad temper? But the bones of megalania remain. They are still found in various places. Although paleontologists have not yet discovered a complete skeleton, about 80% of the skeleton of the Australian dragon has already been collected from fragments.

But astrologers sincerely believe that dragons are real and incredibly powerful! Only they live not in the real, but in the astral world! But we are always ready to help in everything! A friendly dragon will always become the protector of the house, allow you to look into the future and allow you to use your inexhaustible energy. That is why people have come up with many rituals to direct the dragon's power in the direction they need.

According to D. J. Conway, an American writer, dragons help a person to gather his inner strength, successfully resist the imposed control, negative psychological programming and get rid of the pressure of people who cause mental pain. By the way, the followers of the Fae tradition, a pagan system of myths based on the lunar Celtic calendar of Beth-Louis-Nion trees, also speak of the existence and power of dragons.

According to their idea, dragons have a body and are everywhere, literally, in every object. Any action can be the result of dragon power. However, it is believed that dragons do not interfere in the affairs of people, considering them to be lower-minded creatures. Only when something terrible threatens a person, only then the dragon will intervene and will definitely help. By the way, some dragons love to communicate with children, especially with those endowed with psychic abilities.

And since living dragons have not yet been recorded either on the ocean floor or in the impenetrable jungle, it can be assumed that they could well hide somewhere ...