#myth stuff

Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (170 – 245)

-India is so girt with dragons that there's one on every ridge, one for every marsh -Those of the marshes lack crests, being like draikana [so the crests are found on males! Reminder: draikana is the feminine form of drakon] -30 cubits long [43.7 feet? Roman cubit is approx. 444 mm, 44.4 cm, or 17.48 inches] -Sluggish in their habits, black backs with fewer scales than other drakons -Drakons from the foothills and mountain crests are active pursuit hunters, chasing prey even down to the plains below -Reach extreme lengths and can move as fast as rivers -No prey can escape them -Have magnificent crests that grow with them as they age and turn red -As adults they have serrated backs -Have beards -Lift their necks up high, like cobras, allowing their scales to glitter like silver -Behind their red eyes are fiery stones, which have hidden properties -When they hunt elephants they are crushed by the pachyderm's weight -Teeth are sharp and indestructible like those of the largest fish -Resemble swine in most respects but are slimmer and more flexible -The dragons of the mountains are even longer than those of the plains -Bushy, golden beards and prominent eyebrows -Eyes are sunk deep and have a terrible glance -Their hissing shakes the mountains -Have crests that flash a fire brighter than a torch at night -Dig through the earth like worms, making a sound that can be heard from the surface like clashing brass -Do not sleep, having "inflexible eyes" [without eyelids?] -Similar serpents are found in a neighborhood of mountains around the Red Sea -Impossible for humans to guess how many years they can live -Indians hunt them by leaving a scarlet cloak emblazoned with gold letters over the entrance of its burrow, after they charm it to sleep -The letters, upon being read by the dragon, entice it to extend its neck and rest peacefully -The Indians then kill it. It is not a sure thing, however, as the drakon may wake up and feast upon its would-be slayers -Within the head of the serpent is a stone of flowery color which can be set in a ring to give the wearer mystical power -In India, under the mountains there is a city called Parax, in whose center there is a great collection of dragon heads, as the citizens of this city are trained to hunt them from boyhood -These hunters also feast on the heart of livers of their quarry, giving them knowledge of the language and ideas of animals

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77) -Cites Ctesias -Æthiopia and India have dragons, but those of Æthiopia are smaller, only 20 cubits (30 ft, 9.14 m) -Others mistakenly claim they have crests [perhaps only true of Indian dragons?] -Indian dragons are the main predators of elephants -They wrap around the elephant, enveloping it -However, as the elephant's legs buckle and it falls, the dragon is crushed under the weight -A man called Thoas, who lived in Arcadia, raised a small dragon as a child. His father was frightened at its size and monstrous nature, so he took it to the desert [sailed across the ocean? There aren't deserts in Greece, unless he's talking about garigue/phrygana] and left it there. Thoas later traveled the desert and was attacked by robbers. The dragon recognized his voice and saved him.

On Animals by Aelian (2nd century)

A jaculus token I made for a future Tomb of Annihilation game. The design is applicable to the legendary variety as well, so I'll also use it for that. Trying to turn the face into a piercing weapon presented a little challenge. I knew I wanted to make it into a spear-like shape, but figured that horns or ear-like flaps on the skull seemed counterintuitive. After all, the jaculus doesn't want to get stuck in its prey. After some sketching I noticed the similarity between older spearheads and the pattern of scales on snake heads.

ＡＬ－ʻＵＺＺĀ  →

Supreme goddess of the Nabataean pantheon, and one of the three main goddesses of Semitic Arabia before the rise of Islam. Under Hellenization, she became synonymous with Isis, Aphrodite, and Athena. Her name translates to “The Most Mighty”.

Aside from being the head figure for agriculture and fertility, she was also identified with war and the protection of seafaring traders who were part of Nabataea’s economic and political growth during the first century BC/AD. She took the form of a lioness in war for soldiers, and a dolphin in the sea for traders.

Scandinavian Folk-Lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples by William A. Craigie (1896)

-Live in waste-places [wastelands? Like places where people don't or can't live] -May wrap themselves around churches and not budge -Start out life small, indistinguishable from normal snakes -One had brindled scales -Grow very quickly by drinking milk. Will spare the person who gave them milk as a youngling when they're an adult -Eat cattle and horses and people -Dig up corpses from churchyards to eat -In addition to their usual fare, they may eat all sorts of plant material: young shoots, grass, wooden crosses, etc. [this one instance was done by a lindorm wrapped around a church, so perhaps it couldn't/wouldn't go out to hunt?] -Do not like tobacco -Strong enough to strike a stone with its tail and leave a furrow -Burrow underneath the ground, sometimes under churches [semi-fossorial, like most snakes] -Not immune to heavy ordnance or a mad, three-year old bull -Blood is poisonous and liable to kill their slayer if it's spilled heavily

Folktales of Norway by Reidar Thoralf Christiansen (1964)

Indica by Ctesias (5th Century BC)

Name literally means dog heads. Supposedly Indians call them Kalystrii

Live in the mountains of India

Can live to be 170, sometimes 200 years old

Look like men with the heads of dogs. Their teeth is larger than that of other dogs, their nails are round and long like other animals. Their skin is swarthy

Above their hips is a tail like a dog's, but longer and hairier [like a wolf's then?]

Understand the speech of humans but cannot replicate it. They communicate via barking and hand signs

Very just, like other Indians

Number around 120,000 at the time of writing [4th century BC]

Hunter pastoralists. Cook animals by leaving them to roast in the sun. Farm sheep (for wool and milk, which they love), goats, and asses

Also eat Siptakhora fruit for its sweetness. Love it so much that they also eat it dried

Trade the fruit for bread, flour, and cotton with the Indians, whom they also buy swords for hunting wild beasts, bows, and arrows

Skilled with bows and hurling spears. Once an animal is wounded they can overtake it, being very fleet of foot

Live in caves rather than houses. Wear skins of animals, tanned and de-furred to look very fine. The richest wear linen, but there are very few of them

Bathe rarely. Women do so only once a month, men only wash their hands. Sometimes (3 times every month) they anoint themselves with oil made from milk and wash themselves with skins

The richest is determined by he who has the most sheep

Have no beds. Sleep on leaves or grass

Every year they send a tribute to the Indian king via rafting on the rivers to his lands: Siptakhora fruit, purple flowers, purple dye, and 1260 talents of amber