Dragon

Dragon of the Floods

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Tradition: Welsh mythology
Alternative Names: Dragon-like Monster of the Lake
Category: Dragon

The Myth

The creature was a monstrous, dragon-like being that lived hidden beneath a lake in Britain. From its watery lair it caused disastrous floods, sending the waters across the land and bringing destruction to the people who lived there.

When Hu gained dominion over Britain, he did not conquer the island through war or bloodshed. Instead, he established his rule through justice and peace and taught his people agriculture, organized them into federated tribes, and laid the foundations of literature and history through the tradition of bardism.

But the land remained threatened by the floods caused by the monster in the lake. Hu went to the water and dragged the dragon-like creature from its hiding place. Once the monster had been removed, the floodwaters finally subsided and the danger was brought to an end.

With the waters gone, Hu became the first to draw a furrow through the soil of Britain with a plough. For this reason he was remembered as one of the Three National Pillars of the Isle of Britain, the great figures who established and shaped the country.

Sources

Squire, Charles. The Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland. London: A. Constable, 1906.

Dragon of Odainsaker

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Tradition: Norse Mythology
Alternative Names: Dragon of Odainsaker
Category: Dragon

The Myth

A great dragon lay stretched across the stone bridge leading toward the mysterious land of Odainsaker. It rested there with its jaws opened wide, blocking the only apparent path across the river and guarding the way into the wondrous country beyond.

Erik, a Norwegian prince who had sworn to seek out Odainsaker, eventually reached the bridge after travelling with his Danish companion through distant lands. They had passed through Syria and India and then entered a strange, dark country where the stars could be seen even during the day. At last they came to a river crossed by a vaulted stone bridge. Beyond it lay a beautiful plain filled with sweet fragrance, and Erik believed the river to be the Pison, said to rise in Paradise.

The dragon lying upon the bridge terrified Erik’s Danish companion, who urged him to turn back. He believed that no man could overcome such a beast or pass the bridge. Erik, however, refused to abandon his quest. He seized a weapon and confronted the dragon, determined to reach the land beyond.

The dragon swallowed Erik and his companion whole. Inside the monster they expected to find death, but instead they discovered themselves surrounded by smoke. The smoke soon cleared, and astonishingly they were unharmed. They had somehow passed through the dragon and emerged upon the magnificent plain beyond the bridge.

The land before them was unlike anything they had known. It was bathed in perpetual sunlight, covered with flowers, and crossed by rivers of honey. The air was still except for gentle breezes carrying the fragrance of the flowers, and nothing cast a shadow. The two travellers continued onward until they discovered a strange tower suspended in the air, with no foundation or pillars to support it. There they rested before eventually learning that they had reached Odainsaker, the wondrous land where sickness and old age could not touch those who entered.

Sources

Rydberg, Viktor. Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland. Edited and translated by Rasmus Björn Anderson, with James W. Buel. London, New York, etc.: Norrœna Society, 1906.

Fire Dragon of Maltschül

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Maltschül Fire Dragon, Buchs Dragon
Category: Dragon

The Myth

Beneath the Red Plate on the Maltschül Alp lives a fiery dragon. The creature is said to appear only before a flood.

In 1762 and again in 1764, a fiery man was seen riding through the Buchserbach gorge upon the dragon. Soon afterward, the waters rose violently, sweeping away houses and barns and devastating fields and meadows.

Another tradition tells that the dragon lived on the Alp of Buchs, where it breathed fire and smoke and lured cattle toward a rocky plate. The animals would then slip from the rock and fall into the dragon’s reach, becoming its prey.

Whenever the dragon appeared, the stream was said to burst its banks and bring destructive floods. According to later tradition, the dragon is now dead and lies buried beneath the rock where it once dwelled.

Sources

“Der feurige Drache.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz (Kanton St. Gallen). Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/st_gallen/feurige_drache.html

Rohai

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Robai, Lojay
Category: Dragon

The Myth

Rohai is a dragon depicted on the traditional Japanese card game Unsun Karuta. The creature appears as a dragon entwined around or holding a symbol, sometimes with wing-like forms or flames rising from its body like wings. It is a distinctly dragon-like figure, separate from the numbered cards and from the other human and divine figures represented in the deck.

Unsun Karuta developed from Portuguese playing cards introduced to Japan during the late 16th century. The Portuguese cards originally had four suits, but the Japanese game developed five suits and a much larger collection of cards, including figures such as Daikoku, Daruma, Hotei, Ebisu, Fukurokuju, a Chinese man, a queen, a king, and a mounted warrior. Rohai represented the dragon among these figures.

Rohai was also called an insect, and was described as being like a flying dragon. Its origins are connected to the dragon cards found in early Portuguese playing cards, where dragons were traditionally used for the aces of the suits. As the cards spread through Portuguese trading ports and settlements, dragon imagery travelled with them and eventually became part of the Japanese card tradition.

In Unsun Karuta, however, Rohai was not simply the ace card. It became its own distinct dragon figure. Some surviving depictions preserve the appearance of a Western dragon, particularly through the wing-like shapes and flames rising from the creature’s body.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “鷺龍 [ろうりゅう] (Rōryū).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). October 21, 2024. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1083031467.html

Dragon of Zirl

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Tradition: Austrian Mythology
Alternative Names: Lindworm of Zirl
Category: Dragon

The Myth

The Dragon of Zirl was a gigantic lindworm, a thick and enormously long serpent with the head of a dragon. It had two large ears and hideous, fiery eyes, and its enormous body was said to be capable of writhing among the rocks even when the creature was nearly dead. It lived for centuries inside a cavern called the Hundstall, near the bridge of Zirl on the road to Inzing.

The monster was feared throughout the surrounding country, for it killed and devoured every living creature that came near its territory. During summer, a small stream flowed through the cavern, though in winter it was almost completely dry. The dragon remained hidden in the Hundstall for generations until a sudden spring thaw changed everything.

When the warm weather arrived and the snow began to melt, the little stream became a tremendous torrent. The rushing water undermined the rocky cavern, tearing enormous pieces of rock from the mountain and sweeping the dragon out with them. The torrent burst into the meadow below, carrying the monster and the shattered rocks with it and flooding the surrounding ground. From then on, the place became known as the Dragon Meadow, and the great breach torn into the mountain by the flood could still be seen.

The dragon was found half dead among the rocks, but it was still writhing and struggling with its enormous body. Nobody dared approach the beast. Instead, the people kept their distance and fired cannons at it until it was finally killed.

Even in its dying state, the lindworm was terrifying. It gasped so violently that those watching from afar were frightened simply by the sound, and there was fear that it might still spit venom. Nothing green was said to grow upon the meadow where the dragon died, leaving the place as a lasting reminder of the creature that had once lurked inside the Hundstall.

Sources

Von Günther, Amalia. Tales and Legends of the Tyrol. London: Chapman and Hall, 1874.

Swamp Dragon

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Sumpfdrache of Waltensburg
Category: Dragon

The Myth

On a mountain near Waltensburg lies a seemingly bottomless swamp. Deep within it dwells an enormous dragon.

The creature is said to remain hidden in the swamp until one day it rises from the depths and descends toward the village. When the dragon finally emerges, it will cause a great flood, sending the waters down the mountain and bringing devastation to Waltensburg.

Sources

“Der Sumpfdrache.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz (Graubünden). Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/graubuenden/dersumpfdrache.html

Okami

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Ōkami, Kuraokami-no-kami, Takaokami-no-kami, Okagami
Category: Dragon

The Myth

Okami is a powerful dragon god associated with water. It is imagined as a great supernatural dragon dwelling in mountain valleys, deep ravines, hills, and springs. Different traditions distinguish between forms of Okami, with Takaokami associated with the mountains and Kuraokami with the dark valleys.

Okami controls rain and snow and has power over springs and other waters. Because of this, people prayed to the deity for rain during droughts and for protection from destructive floods.

In the Kojiki, Kuraokami-no-kami was born from the blood of Kagutsuchi, the fire god, after Izanagi killed him with his sword. The Nihon Shoki gives different accounts of the birth of Kuraokami and other water-related gods, including a tradition in which Kuraokami, Kurayamatsumi, and Kuramitsuha emerged from Kagutsuchi’s blood.

Okami was worshipped at shrines throughout Japan. At Kifune Shrine in Kyoto, Takaokami is revered as the principal deity. Other shrines dedicated to Okami were established beside rivers and in agricultural areas, reflecting the dragon god’s power over water.

One legend tells of Horyo Myojin, a practitioner of Shugendo who sacrificed himself to save people suffering from drought. After his death, he became a dragon and brought rain to the people.

Okami could also appear in the form of a serpent. The Bungo Province Fudoki tells of a spring inhabited by a snake deity. When Emperor Keikō visited the area, the deity prevented the people from safely drawing water from the spring.

Okagami is also invoked as a deity capable of controlling snowfall. A poem in the Man’yōshū describes snow that had been requested from Okagami on a mountain, showing the dragon god’s power over the falling snow as well as rain.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “龗 [おかみ] (Okami).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). January 27, 2024. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1083024550.html

Dragon of Drachenried

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Lindworm of Wyl, Dragon of Ödwyl
Category: Dragon

The Myth

In ancient times, a terrible Lindworm lived in a cave above the village of Wyl in Unterwalden, beside Lake Lucerne. Its body was covered in scales and it possessed razor-sharp claws. When it shot through the air from its cave, it looked like an enormous flying crocodile, while flames poured from its jaws.

The dragon devastated the beautiful countryside around Wyl and filled the inhabitants with terror. It devoured livestock as well as shepherds, and even children tending their animals were not safe. A shepherd boy carrying a full milk pail could be quietly making his way through the hedges and woods when the Lindworm would suddenly swoop down and carry him away. Once, two poor girls gathering berries in the pasture were attacked by the beast and only escaped by hiding among the ferns. Because neither people nor animals were safe, Wyl eventually became known as Ödwyl, the deserted Wyl.

At last, a knight named Struthan Winkelried, of the family of Winkelried, offered to fight the monster. He had previously been banished from his homeland because of an unintentional killing, and demanded that he be allowed to return if he succeeded in destroying the Lindworm. The people of Unterwalden agreed.

Struthan returned to the land and went to Ödwyl, where the dragon lived. He wore a coat of armor and wrapped his lance in a thorn bush.

Suddenly, the Lindworm burst from its cave breathing fire and charged directly at the knight. The people watching from the surrounding woods believed that Struthan was doomed. Instead, he held the thorn-covered lance before him. Blinded by its fury, the dragon charged straight into the weapon. After a short but violent struggle, the Lindworm became entangled and suffocated upon the thorn-covered lance.

The people rushed forward cheering when they saw the monster dead. But as Struthan, exhausted and covered in sweat, pulled his lance from the dragon’s body, some of the creature’s blood splashed onto his bare arm. Although he immediately washed it away, the dragon’s blood was deadly, and Struthan soon died as well.

The people mourned the man who had saved them from the Lindworm. At the place where he had slain the dragon, they built a chapel in his memory.

Sources

“Drachenried.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz. Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/allgemein/drachenried.html

Graoully

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Tradition: French Mythology
Alternative Names: Graouli, Graouilly, Graouille, Graully
Category: Dragon

The Myth

Graoully was a terrifying dragon that lived among the ruins of the Roman amphitheater at Metz. The beast was accompanied by large numbers of smaller serpents, which swarmed through the ancient ruins. Their poisonous breath contaminated the surrounding area, while the creatures themselves spread fear throughout the city.

Saint Clément, the first bishop of Metz, was sent to preach the Gospel to the inhabitants. He promised to help them against the monsters if they abandoned their pagan gods.

The saint went into the serpents’ lair and confronted Graoully. Holding up his cross, he captured the dragon with his stole, the long band of cloth worn around his shoulders. He then led Graoully away from the city and brought the dragon and the other serpents to the banks of the Seille, where he made them disappear. The defeat of the monsters and the saint’s preaching led the people of Metz to abandon their pagan beliefs and convert to Christianity.

Other versions of the legend tell that Saint Clément killed Graoully instead, piercing the dragon with a polearm.

Sources

“Graoully.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 3, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graoully

Corcoaia

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Tradition: Romanian Mythology
Alternative Names: Corcoaia, the Dragon of Corcoaia
Category: Dragon

The Myth

Corcoaia is a legendary dragon associated with the Cerna Valley between Banat and Mehedinți. In the versions where Corcoaia is the monster itself, it takes the form of a great balaur that confronts the hero Heracle.

Heracle encounters the dragon in the Cerna Valley and battles the beast. Their struggle is said to have transformed the landscape itself, with the violence of the confrontation shaping the course of the Cerna River and producing the dramatic gorge known as the Cheile Corcoaiei.

Other versions of the legend give Corcoaia a very different role: rather than being the dragon, she is an old woman who guides Heracle during his journey. The dragon remains the creature with which the hero must contend, while Corcoaia helps him overcome the danger.

Local tradition later associated the story with Iovan Iorgovan, a Romanian legendary hero whose figure was superimposed onto that of Heracle. The story has consequently been compared by Romanian ethnologists with the ancient Greek myth of Heracle’s battle against the Hydra of Lerna.

Sources

“Corcoaia.” Wikipedia, enciclopedia liberă (Romanian Wikipedia). Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 3, 2026.
https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corcoaia