G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Fairytales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
The great writer is not referring just to the dragons of fairytales and myths — the quote here has a much deeper meaning than that. However, we shall talk about dragons mentioned in legends and also look into some of the very interesting tales of heroism and courage that helped people get rid of these mighty and violent creatures.
We shall start with the story of a man called George who was in the town of Silene, in Libya, when he heard about a fierce dragon living in a pond. The creature had even managed to approach the gates of the town where it gave out such poisonous clouds of gas from its mouth that anyone who inhaled it died.
The people of Silene were really scared of the creature and offered two sheep everyday as food to please the dragon’s hunger.
After some time they realised that soon they would have no sheep left. So they started sacrificing one person and one sheep.
Now the person to be fed to the dragon was selected by picking a name from a pile of names, and whoever’s name came out from the lot would be selected.
According to the story, one day the name of the daughter of the king was picked from the lot and this made the king very upset.
Not knowing what to do, he asked the townspeople to give him eight days. The eight days soon passed and the king had no choice but to send his only daughter to the dragon. She was dressed in wedding clothes, as he would never see her getting married. As she was walking towards the dragon’s path, St. George happened to pass by. He asked her what the reason was for her weeping and walking alone dressed like that. She said, “Good youth, quickly mount your horse and fly less you perish with me.”
According to the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, the girl was still explaining her plight when the dragon raised its head from above the pond nearby. He immediately told the king’s daughter to step aside and took out his sword and fought fiercely with the dragon. The beast was badly beaten and lay helpless to the ground. He then tied up the dragon and dragged him back to the town. When people saw the mighty dragon, they all got scared, but he told them not to fear. He said that he was sent by the Lord to rid them of the evil creature. He later became a Saint and a knight of England.
We now have a tale from Persian mythology from the Shahnameh, which is the Persian book of kings. It is told that King Bahram of Persia wanted to end the ongoing battles between his nation and that of India whose ruler was called Shangal. King Bahram decided to disguise himself and go to see what Shangal’s kingdom was like. He dressed as an ambassador from his country and met Shangal who was most impressed with his skill as a warrior. He thought that if such a great soldier went back to Persia, his army would have to fight such a great man.
Shangal came up with the idea to get rid of Bahram in a very cunning way. He asked him to go and slay a dragon that had been causing a lot of terror amongst his people. Shangal thought that the mighty dragon would surely kill Bahram and he would get rid of his enemy and no one would blame him. So he called Bahram, whom he thought was a Persian knight and told him where to find the dragon. He promised Bahram many gifts and rewards on his return to Persia. Bahram agreed and asked for a guide to show him where the dragon lived. This dragon was huge and is said to have been seen in water as well as on land. It is written that “its long tail could encompass an elephant and it made great weaves in the lake’s waters”.
Bahram set off with his fellow soldiers. When one of his men saw the beast, he thought that it would not be possible for even the brave Bahram to fight the vicious beast. The soldier warned Bahram, but he replied, “We must leave the outcome to God.”
He took out arrows that had been dipped in poison and milk, and shot many of them towards the mighty dragon. Then while he was on horseback, he came near the dragon and pinned its mouth with his sword. What followed was a horrible sight! The blood that sprung from the dragon was so poisonous that it killed the plants and vegetation nearby.
As more and more blood came out from the dragon’s wounds, it thrashed about spewing out more blood and destroying more and more greenery. Finally, Bahram struck its head and put the sword through his heart. Then he cut off the head of the dragon and took it back to Shangal.
When he came back, all the people cheered for the Persian knight. Little did they know that Bahram was the king himself! There is another legend about another Persian king in the Shahnameh named Sikander, who also killed a mighty and violent dragon and several more legends and folktales from around the world about some famous dragon slayers who fought bravely to kill the evil menace.
But dragons come in many shapes, sizes and forms. They can be referred or compared to any evil or dangerous being or situation in one’s life. And with wisdom, courage and faith any dragon can be destroyed and killed.