The Dragon in the West is a more orderly scrutinizing of the development of dragon myths and legends in Europe...This is a truly compendious volume that lays out its argument and evidence clearly, with appendices, tables, and explanatory footnotes. It also usefully provides many sources, which are all translated into English.

Autorentext
Daniel Ogden comes from Manchester and was educated at the University of Oxford. He is currently Professor of Ancient History at the University of Exeter, having previously taught at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY), the University of Oxford, and University College, Swansea. He has published widely on ancient Greek myth, religion, and magic, as well as traditional narratives, reproduction and sexuality, and Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic dynasties.

Klappentext

The Dragon in the West is the first book to offer an in-depth examination of the history of the image and idea of the dragon. A creature popular in contemporary fiction and cinema, Ogden reveals how the dragon was known to the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, and came down to us through early Christianity, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse legends.

Inhalt

• Introduction

• Part One: Heroes

• 1: Drak n: The Classical Dragon

• 2: Draco: The Roman Dragon

• 3: Drakaina: The She-dragon

• 4: From Worm to Wyvern: The Evolution of the Western Dragon

• Part Two: Saints

• 5: Scripture and Shape

• 6: The Etiquette of the Saintly Dragon Fight (i): Its Principal Narrative Course

• 7: The Etiquette of the Saintly Dragon Fight (ii): Some Important Narrative Subroutines

• 8: Close to the Point of Origin: Lucian's Chaldaean Snake-blaster

• 9: Theodore and George: Two Military Saints in Context

• Part Three: Vikings

• 10: Worms (Still) and Wyverns: The Form of the Germanic Dragon

• 11: To the River and Back: The Etiquette of the Germanic Dragon Fight

• Conclusion