# Are dragons evil



## Aldarion (Jan 3, 2021)

OK, I had a discussion with a relative (who is quite religious) on whether dragons are evil. And in Tolkien, whose work is distinctly Christian, dragons _are _portrayed as being unrepentently evil, being fallen Maiar and all. But that got me interested in, what does mythology say? And the answer is: it is complicated.

At any rate, the first post of the series was just published:








Are Dragons Evil, Part 1 – Introduction and Bible


Introduction “Are dragons evil” is a question which is important for many religious people, but may also interest those who are not religious as well. And since mythology is the basis o…




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_Summa summarum_: as I said, complicated. But as can be seen from above, even the Bible - the Old Testament, especially - does not support the idea that all dragons are somehow inherently evil. Dangerous, independent and violent, yes, those are all true - though even the "violent" part is not actually true for all dragons. But evil, no - or at least no more than any other living beings.


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## Aldarion (Jan 10, 2021)

Second part of the series:








Are Dragons Evil, Part 2 – Ancient Mediterranean and Middle East


Greek Mythology Dragons in Greek mythology are ambivalent. They are very often antagonists, but are much less often outright evil. Greek Dracones usually guarded a sacred spring, grove or golden tr…




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## Aldarion (Jan 25, 2021)

Third and fourth parts:








Are Dragons Evil, Part 3 – Slavic


In Slavic languages, dragon is called “zmaj” (Croatian, pronounced as “zmay”) or variations thereof – zmej (Russian), zmij (Ukrainian), smok (Belarussian, Polish), though va…




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Are Dragons Evil, Part 4 – Germanic and West European


Germanic and Norse Mythology In German and Norse mythology dragons typically appear as monstrouous serpents, sometimes with wings and legs but more often as just giant snakes. These dragons (lindwo…




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## Barliman (Jan 26, 2021)

I've always considered them to be more or less like any reptile, neither evil nor good, they just are and follow their nature, which might include eating people.
How they are portrayed by various writers and legends says more about the writers.
Many people consider snakes to be evil.


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## Aldarion (Jan 31, 2021)

Are Dragons Evil, Part 5 – Chinese


Chinese dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs. Dragon is yang, and complements a yin fenghuang (phoenix). Dragons traditionally symbolize potent and a…




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## Aldarion (Feb 7, 2021)

Are Dragons Evil, Part 6 – Japanese


Much of Japanese dragon mythology is an amalgamation of native legends with those from China, Korea and India. The style of dragon was heavily influenced by the Chinese dragon. Japanese dragon, kno…




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## Alcuin (Feb 7, 2021)

It’s outside _The Lord of the Rings_, but _Farmer Giles of Ham_ is a Tolkien tale, and “canon” in the sense that it was published (in several venues) during his lifetime. I’ve been reading it these past several days: it’s short, funny, and full of puns and literary jests of all sorts. In _Farmer Giles of Ham_, Tolkien writes of Chrysophylax, the dragon in the tale,
He had a wicked heart (as dragons all have), but not a very bold one (as is not unusual).​Near the end of the tale, in the “Envoy” (in the sense of the end of a poem or prose work, the “send off”, rather than the usual meaning of “messenger”), he wrote again of Chrysophylax, 
In his bad heart of hearts the dragon felt as kindly disposed towards Giles as a dragon can feel towards anyone.​Dragons do indeed have a great many cultural and symbolic meanings in various civilizations and cultures. Jordan Peterson, the Canadian evolutionary psychologist, says that the category “predator” is identical to the category “dragon”, that dragons are an amalgam of the creatures that preyed upon the evolutionary ancestors of _Homo sapiens_: large birds (raptors), snakes, big cats (e.g., lions), and large reptiles (such as crocodiles). 

In the main line of Western literature, from Tiamat the Mesopotamian goddess of chaos and the salt sea (first rediscovered in the nineteenth century from the Babylonian epic _Enuma Elish_) to Beowulf to the _Nibelungenlied_ to Smaug, dragons are evil in the sense that they destroy humankind and spread chaos. Tolkien’s work is in this main line: whatever the Chinese or Indians or Mesoamericans may make of “dragons” is of course useful as comparative literature, but not, I think, in direct relation to Tolkien’s corpus of work. 

This casts no shadow or negative reflection upon your excellent work, Aldarion, but surely it is _comparative_ rather than incisive.


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## Aldarion (Feb 8, 2021)

Alcuin said:


> It’s outside _The Lord of the Rings_, but _Farmer Giles of Ham_ is a Tolkien tale, and “canon” in the sense that it was published (in several venues) during his lifetime. I’ve been reading it these past several days: it’s short, funny, and full of puns and literary jests of all sorts. In _Farmer Giles of Ham_, Tolkien writes of Chrysophylax, the dragon in the tale,
> ​He had a wicked heart (as dragons all have), but not a very bold one (as is not unusual).​​Near the end of the tale, in the “Envoy” (in the sense of the end of a poem or prose work, the “send off”, rather than the usual meaning of “messenger”), he wrote again of Chrysophylax,
> ​In his bad heart of hearts the dragon felt as kindly disposed towards Giles as a dragon can feel towards anyone.​​Dragons do indeed have a great many cultural and symbolic meanings in various civilizations and cultures. Jordan Peterson, the Canadian evolutionary psychologist, says that the category “predator” is identical to the category “dragon”, that dragons are an amalgam of the creatures that preyed upon the evolutionary ancestors of _Homo sapiens_: large birds (raptors), snakes, big cats (e.g., lions), and large reptiles (such as crocodiles).
> 
> ...


My series actually started as a result of my discussion with a cousin, who is a Christian theolog, on whether dragons are evil or not. In the end, I managed to convince him that - even within the constraints of the Judeo-Christian mythology - not all dragons are inherently evil. And part of my argument was, aside from the examples I provided here, the very theological problem Tolkien had with orcs: can a living being be inherently evil? I argued that they cannot, for nothing created by God can be evil in its nature - corruption must happen post-fact. If all dragons are evil, then they must be a corrupted form of something else - say Maiar. Because if they are living beings, then at least some must be good by their nature. And that in itself also has implications for Tolkien's work: are dragons living beings or fallen Maiar? Former would automatically presuppose that there must be some good dragons. Latter however would allow for all dragons to be evil, because they would be merely corrupted or trapped forms of another being - though even that conclusion may be problematic (Tolkien after all struggled with question of whether orcs are inherently evil despite them being corrupted elves).
Of course, things snowballed from there to the result you see. But it might provide a basis for a future Tolkien-exclusive article about dragons.


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## Alcuin (Feb 8, 2021)

Aldarion, I read all your dragon essays last night, and I think they’re superb! You did excellent work! 

In the strict sense that no creature was _created_ evil, I concur, in our world and also in Tolkien’s sub-creation. Elrond at his Council said, “Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.” Nor Melkor, we might add, though his rebellion came early. 

In the case of Carcharoth the Werewolf, for instance, the wolf began as a large, naturally aggressive whelp, a wolf pup, that Morgoth fed “living flesh” by hand, and into which some Umaia or Houseless Elf entered: “a devouring spirit, tormented, terrible, and strong,” says _Silmarillion_. 

It is not said from what kind of creature Morgoth developed the dragons. There were cold-drakes (no fiery breath, I suppose) and fire-drakes, called _Urulóki_, of which Glaurung was the first. Clearly Glaurung and his descendents were developed from the cold-drakes; moreover, Glaurung had the ability to use “magic”, especially to enchant and cause forgetfulness, which happened to both Túrin and Niënor. The cold-drakes might be only large lizards, but large lizards do not naturally occur in cold regions: they prefer warmer climes. But this is fantasy literature, too. Nor did Glaurung fly: he apparently had no wings. The winged dragons followed afterwards, not appearing until the battles with the Host of the West, a surprise Morgoth sprang upon the Valinórean army of Eönwë. They were some crossed creature with a bat, I suppose, or those flying creatures Sauron bred as mounts for the Nazgûl: “A creature of an older world … lingering in forgotten mountains … apt to evil.” 

This phrase “apt to evil” is of interest. All of us are _apt to evil_ in the sense that we can (and sometimes do) commit evil acts; but “apt to evil” carries with it the connotation that these creatures _naturally tended_ toward evil, that the step to wickedness was somehow short for them. 

The initial creatures involved here seem to me to be Maiar in many cases, or Maiar-like creatures. Their descendents in Middle-earth retain many of their forebear’s characteristics, but are not as powerful. Consider four examples of which we’re told. 
Lúthien daughter of Melian the Maia. Lúthien retained many powers of her mother: the ability to interact with spells and magic on a spectacular level, including shapeshifting (taking the form of a bat and flying), shapeshifting others (Beren in the wolf-hame of Draugluin), undoing the spell that upheld the tower on Tol Sirion (and in such a way that none of the captives were killed when it collapsed), enchanting Morgoth’s court – and even Morgoth himself! Her descendants also inherited strange powers – the healing power exhibited by Aragorn using athelas, 49 generations removed from Lúthien, was a result of his descent from her: “Would that Elrond were here, for he is the eldest of all our race,” he said before awakening Faramir. What race? The descendants of Lúthien.
Shelob, “last child of Ungoliant”. Perhaps this is meant only figuratively, but I think the implication is that Shelob is a direct descendant, literally the first generation offspring of Ungoliant from Ered Gorgoroth in Beleriand. She was longevial, certainly: comparable to Elrond, perhaps even a few centuries older. Her offspring in Mirkwood, though, seem to have been mortal.
Gwaihir the Windlord and his kin, descendants of Thorondor. Thorondor seems to have been a Maia sent by Manwë to monitor events in Middle-earth and intercede when necessary. It seems he returned to Valinor at the end of the First Age, but his descendants remained, the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains. At the end of the Third Age, Gwaihir was their chieftain, along with Landroval his brother; “Meneldor the swift” is also named.
Shadowfax, chief of the _Mearas_, and Nahar the horse of Oromë the Vala. This one is a little less clear: some versions of the tale have the _Mearas_ as descendants of other horses of Valinor, while other versions (_Treason of Isengard_) have them descended from the horses of the Númenóreans. But _Return of the King_ (Appendix A, “The House of Eorl”) says “that Béma (whom the Eldar call Oromë) must have brought their sire from West over Sea.” That sire must be none other than Nahar. Felaróf, the horse of Eorl the Young, “proved as long lived as Men, and so were his descendants.”
In every case, the descendants carried with them some heritage of their illustrious lineage, but they were mortal (though sometimes immensely longevial, as with Shelob), bound to Middle-earth (with the exception of Shadowfax, whom Gandalf took into the Uttermost West), and of less potency. Also in this list, perhaps, we should include some of the Orcs chieftains and Boldog or Orcobal, both of whom were (apparently) Umaiar in Orkish form in service to Morgoth during the First Age. 

*I think this must also be true of the dragons, particularly the flying fire-drakes.* The greatest of these creatures was Ancalagon the Black. There is no mention of his being inhabited by a spirit but I argue that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: It stands to reason that some wicked spirit inhabited this creature, for that was Morgoth’s method: distort some variation of the natural (Morgoth: “Look! I have made Orc-kind!” Rest of the Valar: “You’ve ruined a perfectly good Elf! Look! he’s eating the others!”), then house some wicked spirit within the physical form to empower it. Since the underlying physical creature is a natural being, it can reproduce; if it does, its progeny will resemble some or much of its empowered nature, but not all of it, and will be weaker than its forebear.


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## Aldarion (Feb 14, 2021)

Final part of the series:








Are Dragons Evil, Part 7 – Korean and Vietnamese


This is the final part of my series on dragons. Korean Mythology Korean dragon or yong has many similarities to the Chinese dragon. They are generally benevolent beings related to water and agricul…




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