Mythological Creatures

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In case of Eastern Asia and its Chinese cultural group consisting of the three Far-Eastern states of China-Korea-Japan, the notion of a mythological reptilian creature predates hlstory, so like in the West, it is not certain just where this idea came from.

Oldest records of dragons in the East, therefore, usually come from the oldest records of history that can be found in the first place, so these records/relics usually date back to the Shang Dynasty(ca.1600 BC ~ ca.1000 BC), presumably the notion of dragons as a protector/totem of royal families have already begun during these years.

Curiously enough, the ancient form of the dragon in the East, show distinctly mammalian traits rather than reptilian, quite different from the elongated, serpentine form we are familiar with.


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As seen in the stone carvings from the Han Dynasty period above, celestial "dragon riders" are mounted upon dragons which are much shorter with mammalian limbs, torsos, posture resembling carnivorian mammals.

Already from the Shang Dynasty period, dragons were thought to be affiliated with water, storm/tempest, and rain, so the notion of a heavenly, sky-faring creature that controls the weather and gives rain fall to the lands, helping with rich harvest of crops, is a very, very old one, which is probably the single most different element between the the respective 'dragon worshi[/mythology' of the West and the East. It would be safe to say that in the East, dragons were always sacred animals, not beasts or demons to be hunted or fought against.

As seen in the above picture, the ancient form of the dragon was retained at least until the Han Dynasty period, so some time between the 3rd and the 6th century, over the course of around 300~400 years the imagery changed to the form we are more familiar with, as seen in the painting from a burial chambers of the Koguryo Kingdom(ca. 4th Century AD ~ 668 AD) below:

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Most scholars presume that this change in form, was a result of arrival of Indian Buddhism to the far East, which, with it also came the mythological influences and concepts of the Indian religion as well. It is said the Hindi mythological serpentine creature 'naga', influenced the concept of the Eastern dragon and soon the two creatures were fused together, and the concept of the "dragon kings of the sea" were born. The ancient worship of great dragon kings who ruled the seas, became very common since then.

...

At this point, records of the discovery of fossilized dinosaur bones that are referred as 'dragon bones' ACTUALLY DO (!!) appear in history (bless the Asians and their obssession over recording everything down in history!).

In the Tang era, in the Taoist book called the <Ganying Jing (感應經)>, it states;

"...In every mountain top and hills where the cloud gathers and rains, dragon bones can be found at the surface of the earthm or sometimes deep inside. Teeth, horns, tails, feet can be seen. The big ones are sometimes many meters long, small ones are 30~60cms in length and 10~12cms in girth. The shape of the body can be made out. I have also excavated such bones in the past..."

Hence, it is at least clear that around this point people have actually seen dinosaur bones and associaed them with dragons, although the same can be controversial in the more ancient eras of prehistory.


 
Hengwulf said:
That Griffin artifact is just spectacular. You've got a full source???


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It's a pectoral of Scythian gold. It happens to be one of my favorite artifacts from the Ancient era. Simply stunning.
 
That's a field that always fascinated me. So, here are some cryptids:
images

Aswang, that's a pretty obsene cryptid, I'm not going to post screenshots, mainly because they're so frightening.  :smile:

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Yeti

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The list of the actual kryptids, confirmed or uncorfimed is huge, though.
 
The Krakens
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Colossal squid  :arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossal_squid

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Giant Squid   :arrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid

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Bernard Heuvelmans' Sea Serpent Classification
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Possible Sea Serpent Suspects...

Main Sightings: Oarfish

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Other Reports: Whales & Turtles

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Globsters: sharks

latest

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Note: Real Plesiosaurs lack the stereotypical swan neck often shown in Loch Ness Monster depictions.
Rather, they probably held their heads lower to snatch prey from the ocean floor.
Plesiosaur necks are more stiff than serpentine.

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matmohair1 said:
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Cadmus and the Dragon. According to Herodotus, the battle between Cadmus and the
dragon occurred several generations before the fall of Troy. This artwork depicts Cadmus in
this time period, using weapons and armour appropriate to a warrior of the Aegean Bronze
Age.

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Sigurd slaying Fáfnir. While most modern depictions of Sigurd/Sigfried show the hero
wearing primitive skins, this artwork presents him in the dress and armour appropriate to a
Germanic warrior of the sixth century.

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Beowulf and the Fire Drake. The Beowulf dragon is the first example in European mythology
of a fire-breathing dragon. Previously, most dragons had poisonous breath. This might be an
early indication of Christianity creeping into the tale, using fire to connect the dragon to
Satan, or, just as likely, it highlights the danger of fire at a time when nearly everything was
constructed of wood.

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The Historical St. George. This artwork is an attempt to depict a ‘historical’ encounter
between St. George and the dragon. St. George is shown fighting in a manner appropriate to a
Roman cavalryman of the 3rd or 4th century. The ‘dragon’ is a very large crocodile.

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The Redcrosse Knight. In 1590 the English poet, Edmund Spenser, released the first part of
his epic poem, The Faerie Queene. The hero of book one is The Redcrosse Knight, who is
later revealed to be St. George. In the poem, St. George kills a dragon after an epic battle.
This artwork illustrates this battle, one of the last major fights between a hero and a dragon in
English literature before the works of J. R. R. Tolkien.

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The Lambton Worm. By the medieval period, most European dragons were depicted as
having four limbs; however, in most English folktales, dragons continued to appear as giant
serpents.

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Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych. In most Russian tales, and indeed most Slavic
folklore, dragons are multi-headed creatures. While Eastern Europe contains a wealth of
dragonslayer stories, they are only slowly being made available in English.

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Gorramn these are amazing  :party:. Mind you, especially Zmey Gorynych has silly limbs.

mcwiggum said:
I guess it could be a case of the odd dinosaur surviving....  :neutral:
It really, really-weally-weally  couldn't. At all. Ever.
 
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