Dragons are the most widespread ancient and powerful of all monsters. Almost every country’s mythology includes its own dragon.

The dragon is the beast that has its teeth and claws firmly embedded in the psyche of mankind and shows no signs of relinquishing its grip. Usually, the dragon guards something and is considered undefeatable until a hero suddenly comes along and, with help of some clever tricks or powers, beats the monster in battle.

Amazingly dragon sightings are still reported to this day. Dragons fill legends, folklore, literature and art however they feature only on national flags of three countries. One is yellow dragon on the flag of Bhutan, the other is Y Draig Goch, red dragon that bestrides the flag of Wales, and inside the cross on Maltese Flag is a design of Saint George and the dragon.

There have been many theories proffered to explain the dragon phenomena, however nobody knows for certain when or why dragons entered into the popular culture, although tales of dragons existed in ancient mythology.

Let us take a gander at few mythical dragon entities from cultures across the planet that you might not have known about.

1 – Kukulkan or Quetzalcoatl

Also known as Quetzalcoatl, Kukulkan was worshiped as the great ‘feathered serpent’ god in the pantheon of Aztecs, Toltecs and the Mayans.

Head of Feathered Serpent called Quetzalcoatl

The major deity (often taking the form of a mythical dragon-like entity) seems to have played a multifaceted role while practicing his ‘godly’ business. To that end, Kukulkan was the god of creation, the sire of both the Morning and Evening Star, the protector the craftsmen, the rain-maker, the wind-blower and also the fire-bringer. Interestingly, both the Mayans and the Aztecs were not too keen on solar eclipses (given the sacredness of the sun), as such their mythic traditions used to depict such rare scenarios with the Earth Serpent swallowing the great Quetzalcoatl. Furthermore, as opposed to their cultural penchant for human sacrifices, Kukulkan was supposedly not fond of such bloodthirsty practices.

The ritual of worshiping Quetzalcoatl is still practiced by the indigenous peoples of Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador as a way to connect with their ancient god.

2 – Hundred Headed Dragon – Typhon

Typhoeus or Typhon was considered the mightiest and deadliest monster in Greek mythology. He was the last son of Gaea and Tartarus, created as a last attempt to repel the Olympian gods from defeating the Titans during the Titanomachy.

Hundred Head Dragon, artist impression © Garouza via Devian art ( Image Source

Known as the “father of all monsters”, Typhon was a fire-breathing dragon who had one hundred heads that never slept. After the Titanomachy, Gaea wanted to punish Zeus for imprisoning her Titan children in Tartarus; thus, Typhon was born. Typhon confronted Zeus and in their first battle, managed to repel almost all of the Olympian gods and tear out Zeus’ tendons. Hermes managed to get the tendons back and give them to Zeus, who eventually threw his lightning bolts against Typhon and overwhelmed him. He finally trapped him underneath Mount Etna.

Typhon was married to Echidna, who was considered as the “mother of all monsters“. The two of them had a number of children later one.

3 – Three Headed Dragon – Zmey Gorynych

The snake of the mountains , a three-headed Slavic dragon , is an extremely popular character with dozens of myths and legends surrounding him. There are cartoons about this evil creature and even several monuments scattered throughout Russia. Russian’s version of that dragon is called Zmey Gorynych, which means “Snake of Mountains.” Illustration © Miranishin