List of dragons in mythology and folklore


This is a list of dragons in mythology and folklore.

Asian dragons

European dragons

This is a list of European dragons.
Albanian dragonsBollaIn the Albanian mythology Bolla, is a type of serpentic dragon with a long, coiled, serpentine body, four legs and small wings in ancient Albanian folklore. This dragon sleeps throughout the whole year, only to wake on Saint George's Day, where its faceted silver eyes peer into the world. The Bolla does this until it sees a human. It devours the person, then closes its eyes and sleeps again. Bolla was worshiped as the deity Boa by the ancestors of Albanians, Illyrians. Bolla appears in the coat of arms of the House of Bua Shpata.
Albanian dragonsKulshedraIn its twelfth year, the bolla evolves by growing nine tongues, horns, spines and larger wings. At this time it will learn how to use its formerly hidden fire-breathing abilities, and is now called a kulshedra or kuçedra. The kuçedra causes droughts and lives off human sacrifices. Kulshedras are killed by Drangue, Albanian winged warriors with supernatural powers. Thunderstorms are conceived as battles between the drangues and the kulshedras.
Albanian dragonsDreqDreq is the dragon proper. It was demonized by Christianity and now is one of the Albanian names of the devil.
Catalan dragonsDracCatalan dragons are serpent-like creatures with two legs and, sometimes, a pair of wings. Their faces can resemble that of other animals, like lions or cattle. They have a burning breath. Their breath is also poisonous, the reason by which dracs are able to rot everything with their stench. A víbria is a female dragon.
Chuvash dragonsVěri ŞělenChuvash dragons are winged fire-breathing and shape shifting dragons and represent the pre-Islamic mythology, they originate with the ancestral Chuvash people.
English dragonsWyvernWyverns are common in medieval heraldry. Their usual blazon is statant. Wyverns are normally shown as dragons with two legs and two wings.
  • Bignor Hill dragon, there is a brief mention of a Dragon on Bignor Hill south of the village of Bignor near the famous Roman Villa, apparently "A Large dragon had its den on Bignor Hill, and marks of its folds were to be seen on the hill". Similar legends have been told of ridges around other hills, such as at Wormhill in Derbyshire.
  • Bisterne Dragon, the New Forest folktale states that the dragon lived in Burley, Hampshire, and terrorised the village of Bisterne. It was finally killed in Lyndhurst, Hampshire by Sir Maurice de Berkeley and its body turned into a hill called Boltons Bench. Though the knight survived, the trauma of the battle drove him mad, and soon after he returned to the hill to die, his corpse becoming a yew tree.
  • Blue Ben of Kilve, in West Somerset is said to have once been home to a dragon called Blue Ben which the devil used as a steed. The skull of a fossilised Ichthyosaur on display in the local museum is sometimes pointed out as belonging to Blue Ben.
  • Green Dragon of Mordiford, of Herefordshire folklore
  • Dragon of Loschy Hill, of Yorkshire folklore
  • unnamed dragon defeated by Beowulf and Wiglaf in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf.
English dragonsWyrm or wormAnother term for a sea serpent in Old English, these do not have limbs.
  • Lambton Worm, of Northumbrian legend, says that it curled around Worm Hill near Fatfield in northeast England, would eat livestock and children, and was killed during the time of the Crusades by a Sir John Lambton.
  • Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, of Northumbrian legend.
  • Whitby Wyrm, of Yorkshire folklore.
  • Python, from Greek Mythology slain by Apollo.
  • Worm of Linton
  • English dragonsFeydragonA unnatural dragon from the story of Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland.
  • Jabberwock, from the story Jabberwocky in Alice in the Looking Glass.
  • English dragonsLongwitton dragonOf Northumbrian legend.
    English dragonsWorm hill dragon700 AD the Anglo-Saxons settled and called it "Wruenele" this translates as "Wruen" worm, reptile or dragon and "ele" hill. According to local folklore the hill at Knotlow was the lair of a dragon and the terraces around it were made by the coils of its tail. Knotlow is an ancient volcanic vent and this may explain the myth.
    English dragonsKnuckerA kind of water dragon, living in knuckerholes in Sussex, England.
    English dragonsSt. Leonard's Forest dragonsOf Sussex folklore.
    French dragonsDragonAuthors tend often to present the dragon legends as symbol of Christianity's victory over paganism, represented by a harmful dragon. The French representation of dragons spans much of European history, and has even given its name to the dragoons, a type of cavalry.
    French dragonsTarasqueA fearsome legendary dragon-like mythological hybrid from Provence, tamed by Saint Martha.
    Germanic, Icelandic, & Scandinavian dragonsLindworm Lindworms are serpent-like dragons with either two or no legs. In Nordic and Germanic heraldry, the lindworm looks the same as a wyvern.
  • Fafnir
  • Jörmungandr, a sea serpent or dragon in Norse mythology.
  • Lagarfljótsormurinn, a lake monster or dragon living in the Lagarfljót, near Egilsstaðir, Iceland.
  • Níðhöggr from Norse mythology — not always worm-like.
  • Greek dragonsDrákōnδράκων Cadmus fighting the Ismenian dragon is a legendary story from the Greek lore dating to before ca. 560–550 B.C. Greek dragons commonly had a role of protecting important objects or places. For example, the Colchian dragon watched the Golden Fleece and the Nemean dragon guarded the sacred groves of Zeus. The name comes from the Greek "drakeîn" meaning "to see clearly".
  • Hydra, also called the Lernaean Hydra, from Greek Mythology is described as a dragon-like animal
  • Ladon from Greek mythology
  • Python, from Greek mythology, the snake killed by Apollo
  • Typhon from Greek mythology is often thought of as a dragon
  • Hungarian dragonsSárkányA dragon in human form. Most are giants with more than one head, in which their strength resides. They become weaker as they lose them. In the contemporary Hungarian language, sárkány is used to mean any kind of dragon.
    Hungarian dragonsZomokA giant winged snake. It often serves as flying mount of the garabonciás. The sárkánykígyó rules over storms and bad weather.
    Leonese and Asturian dragonsCuélebreIn Asturian and Leonese mythology the Cuélebres are giant winged serpents, which live in caves where they guard treasures and kidnapped xanas. They can live for centuries and, when they grow really old, they use their wings to fly. Their breath is poisonous and they often kill cattle to eat. The Leonese term Cuelebre comes from Latin colŭbra, i.e., snake.
    • It is also a name for a maiden cursed into a Dragon in the story of the same name.
    Lithuanian DragonsSlibinasThis dragon is more of a hydra with multiple heads, though sometimes it does appear with one head.
    Polish dragonsWawel Dragon Also known as Smok Wawelski, from Polish folklore, a dragon that lived in a cave on Wawel Hill on the bank of Vistula River in Kraków and was killed by a clever shoemaker's apprentice.
    Portuguese dragonsCocaIn Portuguese mythology coca is a female dragon that fights with Saint George. She loses her strength when Saint George cuts off one of her ears.
    Romanian dragonsBalaur, ZburatorBalaur are very similar to the Slavic zmey: very large, with fins and multiple heads.
    Siberian dragonYilbegänRelated to European Turkic and Slavic dragons, multi-headed man-eating monster in the mythology of Turkic peoples of Siberia, as well as Siberian Tatars.
    Slavic dragonsZmey, zmiy, żmij, змей, or zmaj, or drak, or smok Similar to the conventional European dragon, but multi-headed. They breathe fire and/or leave fiery wakes as they fly. In Slavic and related tradition, dragons symbolize evil. Specific dragons are often given Turkic names, symbolizing the long-standing conflict between the Slavs and Turks. However, in Serbian and Bulgarian folklore, dragons are defenders of the crops in their home regions, fighting against a destructive demon Ala, whom they shoot with lightning.
  • Zirnitra, dragon-god in Wendish mythology. It was later used in the Royal Danish heraldry as a representation of Wendland
  • Zmey Gorynych – The dragon of the Slavic mythology. Its name is translated as "Snake son-of-mountain", it has three heads, wings, and it spits fire.
  • Tatar dragonsZilant Similar to a wyvern or cockatrice, the Zilant is the symbol of the city of Kazan. Zilant itself is a Russian rendering of Tatar yılan, i.e., snake. By the Tataro-Bulgarian mythology lived in present-day Kazan and is represented on the city's coat of arms.
    Welsh DragonsY Ddraig Goch In Welsh mythology, after a long battle a red dragon defeats a white dragon; Merlin explains to Vortigern that the red dragon symbolizes the Welsh, and the white dragon symbolizes the Saxons – thus foretelling the ultimate defeat of the English by the Welsh. The ddraig goch appears on the Welsh national flag.
    BheithirIn Celtic Mythology Ben Vair in Scotland takes its name from the dragon that used to live in a great hollow in the face of a mountain known as Corrie Lia. The dragon was tricked into walking along a pontoon bridge with hidden spikes.

    North American dragons

    Indigenous American dragonsPiasa BirdA Native American dragon of Illini people. Piasa Bird is a Native American dragon depicted in one of two murals painted by Native Americans on bluffs above the Mississippi River.
    Indigenous American dragonsHorned SerpentOne of the most common form of native american dragons, a recurring figure among many indigenous tribes of the Southeast Woodlands and other tribal groups.
    Indigenous American dragonsMi-ni-wa-tuA dragon-like horned serpent of the Lakota peoples' mythology.
    Indigenous American dragonsUnhcegilaA horned serpent also of Lakota mythology.
    Indigenous American dragonsGaasyendiethaA lake dragon or serpent of the Great Lakes, found in Iroquois and Seneca mythology.
    European-American DragonsThevetatAmerican esoteric cosmology and Theosophy of the 19th century.
    European-American DragonsSnallygasterA tentacled dragon of appalachian Maryland, often said to be cycloptic and a hunter of black slaves.
    Aztec dragonsQuetzalcoatlFrom Aztec mythology, has a dragon-like aspect.
    Aztec dragonsXiuhcoatla serpent from Aztec mythology
    Mayan dragonsKukulkanA Mayan mythological serpent,
    Mayan dragonsQ'uq'umatzFrom Mayan K'iche' mythology.

    South American dragons

    Brazilian dragonsBoitatáBoitatá, Brazilian, the name comes from the Old Tupi language and means "fiery serpent". Its great fiery eyes leave it almost blind by day, but by night, it can see everything. According to legend, Boi-tatá one was a big serpent which survived a great deluge.
    ParaguayTeju JaguaTeju Jagua from Guaraní mythology is described was a huge lizard with seven dog-like heads, entitled to a "fiery gaze", and being associated as the god of fruits, caves and as the protector of hidden treasures.
    Inca dragonsAmaruDragon or of Inca Mythology. It had a llama's head, fox's mouth, condor wings, snake's body, fish's tail and dragon scales
    Mapuche dragonsTen Ten-ViluThe serpent god of earth and fertility in traditional Mapuche religion. Part of the myth of the Legend of Trentren Vilu and Caicai Vilu.
    Mapuche dragonsCoi Coi-ViluThe serpent god of water, and the ruler of the sea in traditional Mapuche religion. Created by the god Ngenechen from his sons after a fight he had with them.

    African dragons

    Benin dragonsAido WedoThe Rainbow Serpent of Dahomey mythology.
    Egyptian dragonsApep or ApophisThe giant Snake or Serpent of Chaos from Egyptian mythology.
    Egyptian dragonsOuroborosThe "tail-eater" snake or serpent.
    Nyanga dragonsKirimuA dragon from the Mwindo Epic. It is described as a large animal with black hide, teeth like a dog, a huge belly, the tail of an eagle and seven horned heads. In the Mwindo Epic, it made a blood pact with Nkuba, the Nyanga lightning god.

    Common dragons with unknown origin