Here Be Dragons
Western dragons are usually portrayed as evil, mean, and bloodthirsty.
Eastern dragons are portrayed as good, kind, and intelligent.
These and other dragons of myth and reality.
Living Dinosaurs
In 1907, Schmidt was travelling along the Solimoes River in Colombia
along with Captain Rudolph Pfleng. Pfleng and Schmidt encountered
some huge tracks along the shores of a small lake.
Loch
Ness Schools workpacks and digital jigsaws
Though this site is designed for local Scottish schoolchildren,
anyone in the world wanting to understand more about the legend
and the research into its origins will enjoy these explorations.
Reptiles
Throughout Mythology
Reptiles vary in size. Some are carnivorous and others are vegetarians.
Some are dangerous and others are harmless. Yet the traits of
reptiles and their habits have been utilized in the creativity
and mythology of humans. By Norman A. Rubin.
Top 10 Beasts and Dragons: How Reality Made Myth
Despite their differences, many of the mythical dragons found throughout the world all began as vague serpentine ideas modeled after real creatures, beginning with a snake or some other fearsome reptile. Over time, they acquired more definite and exotic shapes as they absorbed the hopes and superstitions of the local people and borrowed the traits of local animals.
Champ of Lake Champlain
Champ has been most commonly characterized as a plesiosaur, a
prehistoric reptile which was thought to have been extinct for
60 to 70 million years. Some experts believe more than one plesiosaur-like
creature inhabits Lake Champlain today.
Why
Ireland Has No Snakes
Legend has it that St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland.
Sometime back in the fifth century he stood on a hill, the story
goes, and used a staff to herd the slithering creatures into
the sea, banishing them for eternity.
Following the colossal battle against the Empire's warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
Surpassing its popular prequel Eragon, this second
volume in the Inheritance trilogy shows growing maturity and
skill on the part of its very young author, who was only seventeen
when the first volume was published in 2003. The story is solidly
in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the classic heroic
quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves, and
dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures
of evil.
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he
thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps
it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone
brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon
a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple
life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world
of destiny, magic, and power.
