The Evolution of the Dragon

Fully illustrated. This is a set of three connected essays on the symbolism and development of the concept of the dragon in world mythology. Smith proposes a theory of how the dragon originated as a representation of the Mother Goddess, a symbol of the power and mystery of nature, and later evolved into a symbol of evil, turning into the prototype for the Christian devil. He uses linguistic, ethnographic, and biological data to bolster his theory. While in some respects a difficult book, de...