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A
dragon
is a large,
serpent
-like
legendary creature
that appears in the
folklore
of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by region, but
dragons in western cultures
since the
High Middle Ages
have often been depicted as winged, horned,
four-legged
, and capable of
breathing fire
.
Dragons in eastern cultures
are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. The earliest attested dragons resemble giant snakes. Dragon-like creatures are first described in the mythologies of the
ancient Near East
and appear in
ancient Mesopotamian art
and literature. Stories about
storm-gods
slaying giant serpents occur throughout nearly all
Indo-European
and Near Eastern mythologies. Famous prototypical dragons include the
mušḫuššu
of
ancient Mesopotamia
,
Apep
in
Egyptian mythology
,
Vṛtra
in the
Rigveda
, the
Leviathan
in the
Hebrew Bible
,
Python
,
Ladon
,
Wyvern
, and the
Lernaean Hydra
in
Greek mythology
,
Jörmungandr
,
Níðhöggr
, and
Fafnir
in
Norse mythology
, and
the dragon
from
Beowulf
.
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