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The name dragon is derived from the Latin word 'draconem' which means 'huge serpent'.
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Western, or European, dragons tend to be very large fire-breathing, serpent-like, scaly creatures with wings.
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Eastern, or Chinese, dragons tend to be smaller creatures, with no wings, horns for ears, and are friends of humans.
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Dragons in literature often have red eyes, and depending on the culture, they possess different powers.
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In Chinese culture there are three dragon species including the lung (sky), kiau (marsh), and li (sea). In Chinese culture dragons are often used as symbols of imperial power.
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In Ancient Greece there were four dragon species including the serpent Dracones, Cetea the sea creature, Dracaenae a female dragon, and Chimera the fire-breathing dragon.
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Icelanders turned Viking ships away whenever they approached with dragons on their ships. Iceland's coat of arms has a dragon depicted on it.
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The Ancient Celtics believed that dragons were capable of prophesizing and they worshipped them. They also believed that dragons waited to greet those who had just died at the gates of the Underworld.
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The Ancient Japanese believed that dragons were looked like serpents and were water gods.
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There are some real dragons in existence including the Komodo dragon, and the thorny devil lizard.
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Originally dragons were more serpent-like, but in the Middle Ages their appearance changed and they started being drawn and described as having legs, more like a lizard.
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In many legends and mythology dragons breathe fire, but they have also been known to breathe ice.
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Some of the most famous dragons in modern literature include the ones written about in The Hobbit, and Silmarillion (written by J.R.R. Tolkien), the Harry Potter novels(written by J.K Rowling), and A Song of Fire and Ice (written by George R. R. Martin).
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Famous movies depicting dragons as main characters include Eragon (Saphira), The Hobbit (Smaug), Dragonheart (Draco), Puff the Magic Dragon (Puff), and Beowulf (unnamed dragon).
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Asian dragons include the Chinese dragon (Lung), Indian dragon (Naga), Indonesian/Malaysian dragon (Naga/Nogo), Japanese dragon (Ryu), Khmer Dragon (Neak), Korean dragon (Yong, Imoogi, or Gyo), Philippine dragon (Bakunawa), and the Vietnamese dragon (Rong, or Long).
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European dragons include the Catalan dragon (drac), French dragon (Dragon), Sardinian dragon (scultone), German/Scandinavian dragon (Lindworm), English dragons (Wyvern, worm hill dragon, Bignor hill dragon, Lambton worm), Welsh dragon (Y Ddraig Goch), Zomok dragon, Slavic dragons (drak, smok, or zmag), Armenian dragon (Vishap), Siberian dragon (Yilbegan), Romanian dragons (Balaur, Zburator), and the Portuguese dragon (Coca).
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