Dragons Never Existed. So Why Are They Found in Absolutely Every Ancient Folklore?

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2020

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You don't have to read the ancient folklore of China, Sumeria, or anywhere else long before you encounter a dragon. Sometimes they guard treasure. Sometimes they kidnap local maidens. Sometimes they are the primary antagonist for a hero to conquer. Mostly they perform all three roles. But the problem is they never existed. Outside of a handful of cryptozoologists, nobody argues that they are real. So why do cultures that had no contact with each other produce remarkably similar myths?

This episode looks into the theories of the spread of dragon myths. Perhaps there was an Ur-myth in Egypt or Mesopotamia that slowly spread across the world. Or it's an anthropological reaction to the fear that most humans have of lizards. More exotic theories claim dragons are the genetic memory of dinosaurs. Even more exotic theories claim they are the embodiment of rainbows (we'll explain that last one in more detail).

Transcript

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0:00.0	They might have been your best mates since you were babies.
0:03.2	They might be the only one that knows about that thing you did.
0:06.8	They might be your boo.
0:07.8	Your uncle.
0:08.5	Your machacho.
0:09.5	But you've just got six deliciously crisp chicken McNuggets.
0:12.9	So you have to ask yourself, are they not nugget worthy?
0:17.9	Served after 11 a.m.
0:19.0	subject to availability.
0:22.4	Welcome to the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:25.3	The unscripted show that celebrates unsung heroes.
0:28.9	Mythbusts historical lies and rediscoveres the forgotten stories
0:33.5	that changed our world.
0:35.3	I'm your host, Scott Rank.
0:41.0	Dragons don't exist.
0:42.8	And I hate to say it, but they've never existed.
0:46.7	So if they've never existed, why are they in the folklore of almost every culture on earth?
0:52.0	Cultures that are separated by continents and oceans,
0:55.5	and these dragons share a lot of similarities with one another.
0:59.1	Dragon myths can be found in Europe, the Near East,
1:01.6	India, the Far East, Mesoamerica, North America,
1:05.3	at times when these cultures had no contact with one another.
	...

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