Home | Categories | Folk-Lore & Mythology

The Evolution of the Dragon

G. Elliot Smith

Format: Global Grey free PDF, epub, Kindle ebook
Pages (PDF): 290
Publication Date: 1919

Download Links (below donate buttons):

Last week, out of 31,000 people who got books from the site - 8 people gave donations. These books can take me from 2 to 10 hours to create. I want to keep them free, but need some support to be able to do so. If you can, please make a small donation (the average is £2.50). If you prefer to donate using bitcoin, go here.

PayPal:

Stripe:

PDF ePub Kindle

Don't want to donate? You can also support the site by buying a collection, such as the Folk-Lore and Mythology one, with 150 ebooks for only £10.00

Summary:

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, depending on one's attention span, it is also a browser's delight. We learn about the origin of clothing, the water of immortality which Gilgamesh sought, and the symbolism, folklore and biology of the octopus, mandrake, pearls, cowry shells, etc. In particular, students of comparative mythology will enjoy this book.