Western dragons are generally considered to be evil, fire-breathing beasts. Their reputation as evil may have been influenced by their demonization of the Church and their ability to spit fire.

As promised, his eight easy ways to remember the Western Dragon:

1. Both Chinese dragons and Western dragons usually live in water, especially in oceans and rivers. Apep and Tiamat are two examples of water dwellers. Some are also believed to spew water, such as the French dragon Gargouille and the Devil Dragon from the Book of Revelations.

2. There is a theory that dragons evolved fire-breathing abilities due to a large bladder or internal sac filled with methane. The Dragon had a metal-type “flint” in its throat, and when it belched in self-defense it was able to ignite methane and “breath fire”.

3. Dragons have the ability to fly because their wings are huge and capable of soaring. Their frames are not made of solid bone, but are hollow and cartilaginous; light, like plastic.

4. Like Eastern or Chinese dragons, Western dragons also have a reputation for being wise. Ancient Greek stories tell us that fortune tellers learned from dragons.

5. The common theme of a western dragon’s diet is animals such as sheep and goats, and also young maidens (virgins). Perseus and Andromeda include this in their Greek mythologies, and Hercules saved a maiden from a dragon. Saint George (of Europe) also speaks of sacrifices of maidens from Europe.

6. Dragons are great guardians. Ladon guarded the golden apples in the Hesperides, and the Dragon of Tiamat guarded the sacred tablets. It was a dragon that guarded Jason’s Golden Fleece, and the Golden Apples of the Hesperides were guarded by Ladon. So your dragon figures perched on a castle or your dragon holding a ball are probably western dragons.

7. Dragons were not only considered guardians, but true greedy hoarders. There are mythical stories of greedy men who turned into western dragons.

8. In appearance, Western dragons have a long neck and tail, horned heads, scale-like body armor, forked tongues, and varied colors. Their feet have claws.

The following are various categories of Western Dragon:

Amphithere:

Dragons with feathers, or feathers. Examples include the Egyptian dragon, Buto, and the South American dragon, Quetzlcoatl.

Duck:

An old English term for a dragon. A fire-breathing dragon was called a fire dragon.

wurm:

A snake has four legs, two wings.

Linden Worm:

A dragon with two legs and no wings.

Wyrm:

a dragon that has no legs or wings, like a snake. As an aside, this is the French name for a Guivre.

Wyvern:

It represents pestilence and war. It has two wings and two legs. Common dragons will have two wings and four legs.

There are many great dragon stories; Are dragons real? The funny thing is that almost anyone can tell what they think a dragon is, even if it only exists in mythology. But many people can’t describe mitochondria… and we all have them!