Dragons & Their Guarded Treasure The history and knowledge of dragons is very interesting when we trace it back into genuine history and grab the precise descriptions. Writing in the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, (Book III) Philostratus says the following concerning dragons: “The whole of India is girt with dragons of enormous size, for not only are the marshes full of them but the mountains as well, and there is not a single ridge without one. Now the marsh kind are sluggish in their habits and they are thirty cubits long and have no crest standing upon their heads, but in this respect resemble the she-dragons. Their backs, however, are very black, with fewer scales upon them than the other kinds; and Homer has described them with deeper insight than most poets….” Further on, Philostratus continues: “… Now the dragons of the mountains have scales of a golden color, and in length excel those of the plain, and they have bushy beards, which are also of a golden hue; and their eyebrows are more prominent than those of the plain, and their eye is sunk deep under the eyebrow, and emits a terrible and ruthless glance. And they give off a noise like the clashing of brass whenever they are burrowing under the earth, and from their crests, which are all fiery red, there flashes a fire brighter than a torch…..” To catch them, the Indians, “embroider golden runes on a scarlet cloak which they lay in front of the animal’s burrow after charming them to sleep with the runes, for this is the only way to overcome the eyes of the dragon, which are otherwise inflexible, and much mysterious lore is sung by them to overcome him. These runes induce the dragon to stick his neck out of his burrow and fall asleep over them: then the Indians fall upon him as he lies there, and dispatch him with blows of their axes, and having cut off the head they despoil it of its gems. And they say that in the heads of the mountain dragons there are stored away stones of flowery color, which flash out all kinds of hues, and possess a mystical power if set in a ring…” And finally, “…one could understand the language and meaning of animals from feeding on either the hearts or livers of the dragon.” The acts of the Indians in “capturing the dragons and decapitating them” is very akin to the Peyote rituals of the Northern American Indians, which I get into in a forthcoming chapter. I will briefly mention here that the natives shoot arrows into the ground, all around the Peyote buttons, and actually “capture” them and slay them. I think this may confirm my suspicions about the “liver of Prometheus” being eaten by the eagle, and the “hearts being plucked by Mayans and eaten,” and we may be closer to deducing that these are both in fact, secret metaphors for the consumption of the mushroom, thereby increasing the suspicion about the possibility that human sacrifice may not have occurred exactly like the historians have led us to believe, if at all. |
Marco Polo writes on the “Dragons” in his adventures: “In this country gold-dust is found in great quantities; that is to say in the rivers and lakes, whilst in the mountains, gold is also found in pieces of larger size. Gold is indeed so abundant that they give one saggio of gold for only six of the same weight in silver. And for small change they use porcelain shells as I mentioned before. These are not found in the country, however, but are brought from India. “In this province are found snakes and great serpents of such vast size as to strike fear into those who see them, and so hideous that the very account of them must excite the wonder of those to hear it. I will tell you how long and big they are. “You may be assured that some of them are ten paces in length; some are more and some less. And in bulk they are equal to a great cask, for the bigger ones are about ten palms in girth. They have two forelegs near the head, but for foot nothing but a claw like the claw of a hawk or that of a lion. The head is very big, and the eyes are bigger than a great loaf of bread. The mouth is large enough to swallow a man whole and is garnished with great [pointed] teeth. And in short, they are so fierce-looking and so hideously ugly, that every man and beast must stand in fear and trembling of them. There are also smaller ones, such as of eight paces long, and of five, and of one pace only. “The way in which they are caught is this. You must know that by day they live underground because of the great heat, and in the night, they go out to feed, and devour every animal they can catch. They go also to drink at the rivers and lakes and springs. And their weight is so great that when they travel in search of food or drink, as they do by night, the tail makes a great furrow in the soil as if a full ton of liquor had been dragged along. Now the huntsmen who go after them … plant a stake deep in the ground and fix on the head of this a sharp blade of steel made like a razor or a lance-point, and then they cover the whole with sand so that the serpent cannot see it. … On coming to the spot the beast strikes against the iron blade with such force that it enters his breast and rives him up to the navel, so that he dies on the spot. “This then is the way these beasts are taken. Those who take them proceed to extract the gall from the inside, and this sells at a great price; for you must know it furnishes the material for a most precious medicine. Thus, if a person is bitten by a mad dog, and they give him but a small pennyweight of this medicine to drink, he is cured in a moment. Again, if a woman is hard in labour they give her just such another dose and she is delivered at once. Yet again if one has any disease like the itch, or it may be worse, and applies a small quantity of this gall he shall speedily be cured. So, you see why it sells at such a high price.” “They also sell the flesh of this serpent, for it is excellent eating, and the people are very fond of it.” (283) (283) Marco Polo on Dragons, Chapter XLIX. Concerning a Further Part of the Province of Carajan |