Dragonslayers Read online

  Many would probably state that his slaying of the Lernaean Hydra earns him the title of dragonslayer. Certainly the beast had many dragon-like qualities: a mass of snake-like heads, poison breath and it lived near water. However, others have argued that a hydra is a distinct type of creature, similar, but separate to dragons. The fact that it is called the Lernaean Hydra, lends evidence to the argument.

  Hercules Killing the Dragon of the Garden of the Hesperides by Juan Bautista Martinz de Mazo. (Master Pics / Alamy)

  Even if the hydra is discounted from the argument, Hercules also slew Ladon, who is more obviously a dragon. Or did he? Probably the most famous ‘biography’ of Hercules, the one contained in Apollodorus’ Library, states that Hercules never even saw the dragon, but convinced the Titan Atlas to fetch the apples for him. The only other complete life of Hercules that has been handed down from the Ancient world, that found in Diodorus Siculus’ Library of History, states absolutely that Hercules did kill the guardian of the golden apples, but adds that the ‘dragon’ might have been a shepherd named ‘Dracon’, which is rather less than heroic.

  Still, there are other writings that argue more in his favour. The first century Roman writer, Gaius Julius Hyginus, states unequivocally in his Fabulae that Hercules killed the huge dragon Ladon. Interestingly, the best evidence, and the most complete account of the encounter between Hercules and Ladon, is found in Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica. In this book, Jason and the Argonauts come across the still-twitching body of Ladon, the day after the dragon was killed by their former shipmate, Hercules.

  So, while many of the myths and legends surrounding Hercules are confusing or contradictory, there is probably more evidence to support his claim to the title of dragonslayer than there is for many other heroes, and to leave him out of such a discussion would leave a gaping hole in the record.

  As a final piece of evidence, let us look at one more story that is relatively consistent amongst the chroniclers. When Hercules was eight months old, a pair of large serpents crawled into his bed, intent on murder. Instead of showing fear, the babe leapt up, grabbed a serpent in either hand and strangled them both. Surely there is no greater foreshadowing for the life of a dragonslayer...

  MARCUS ATILIUS REGULUS

  In the first half of the third century BC, Marcus Atilius Regulus led a Roman expedition against Carthage. In a story told by the Roman historians Livy and Cassius Dio (as related by John of Damascus), as the Roman Army was fighting against the Carthaginians, a great dragon attacked them from the River Bagradas. The dragon caused havoc, tearing soldiers apart with its mouth and crushing others with its tail. When the Romans realized that their javelins couldn’t penetrate the dragon’s hide, they brought up catapults and battered the dragon to death with a barrage of heavy stones.

  Marcus Atilius Regulus ordered his soldiers to skin the dragon and sent its hide back to Rome as proof of their victory. The skin was 120 feet long.

  Daniel of the Lion’s Den

  By the time Cyrus the Great became king in Babylon, Daniel was nearly one hundred years old. His body had bent with age and his eyes were failing him, but his mind was as sharp as ever. The people still held him in great respect for his wisdom, and often repeated the story of his long survival in the lion’s den. The new king, however, paid him little attention.

  That is until, one day, the king was walking outside the temple of Bel, a god worshipped by many in Babylon. He saw Daniel standing outside the temple, and asked him why he did not go in. Daniel responded, ‘Because I do not revere idols made with human hands.’

  The king furrowed his brow and said, ‘You do not think Bel is a living god? Have you seen how much food he eats and how much wine he drinks every night?’

  Daniel laughed. ‘Do not be deceived, my king. It is only bronze on the outside and clay on the inside. It has never eaten a morsel or drunk a drop.’

  At this response Cyrus grew angry. ‘Then say who deceives me, and I will have them killed, but if you cannot, then I shall have you killed instead.’

  ‘Let it be as you say,’ agreed Daniel, and together they entered the temple. The great idol of Bel sat in the midst of the temple, cold and lifeless, while a great feast was spread out in offering before him.

  ‘See this food?’ said the king. ‘See this wine? If it is not Bel who eats it, then who can it be?’

  ‘Send away the priests,’ said Daniel softly. Once the priests had left, Daniel had a servant fetch a bowl of ashes, and the two of them spread the ashes around the floor. Then, with the king, they locked the temple doors.

  In the morning, King Cyrus and Daniel met at the doors to the temple. The king showed Daniel that they were still locked shut and no one could have got inside. Daniel just nodded as the doors were unlocked and thrown open.

  Daniel Killing the Dragon of Baal by Jacob Willemsz de Wett. (The Art Gallery Collection / Alamy)

  The food had been eaten. The wine had been drunk. Only bones and scraps remained of the great feast that had been set before Bel.

  ‘See,’ cried Cyrus, ‘Bel has feasted!’

  ‘Look at the floor, my good king,’ said Daniel.

  The king gazed at the floor and saw dozens of footprints in the ashes. He followed the tracks backwards and discovered a secret door, concealed within the altar.

  ‘Every night,’ Daniel explained, ‘the priests come through this door and consume the food that has been left for Bel.’ The king, angered at this deception, immediately ordered the priests rounded up and executed.

  Afterwards, the king summoned Daniel. ‘You are wise, Daniel, as the people say. Bel was a false idol indeed. But what of the dragon that so many of the people of Babylon worship? Surely it is a worthy god? I have seen it eat and drink with my own eyes.’

  ‘Indeed it is a mighty beast,’ admitted Daniel, ‘but it is no immortal god. Give me permission, and I will slay this creature without sword or club.’

  At this the king laughed. ‘You have my permission.’

  Then Daniel went off and gathered together pitch, fat, and hair, all of which he baked together and made into cakes. These he took with him, when he met the king in front of the temple that the Babylonians had built for their dragon god. King Cyrus and Daniel entered together, and saw the fearsome beast chained within. It saw them too, roaring and snapping at the two men as they drew closer.

  Another depiction of Daniel killing the Babylonian dragon. (Mary Evans Picture Library / Alamy)

  ‘Without sword or club,’ reminded the king.

  Daniel smiled and pulled out his cakes. These he tossed up and watched as the dragon greedily snatched them from the air. For a second, nothing happened. Then the dragon’s stomach began to swell as the fire in its belly got hold of the cakes. The king and Daniel backed away as the dragon screamed its agony, until its stomach burst in a bright shower of flames and flesh. Then the dragon crashed to the ground, dead.

  ‘Surely this creature was no god, nor was Bel,’ said the king. ‘Your eyes may be old, friend Daniel, but they see more than mine. I will keep you beside me always and listen to your counsel.’

  CÚ CHULAINN

  The son of the Celtic god Lugh and a mortal mother, Cú Chulainn remains the greatest of all Irish mythical heroes. Although the story of his life is scattered through Irish, Scottish and Manx folklore, his list of deeds and battles rivals even the great Hercules. Cú Chulainn was a warrior of the highest order, who wielded the magical spear Gáe Bulg, and often flew into an unstoppable berserker rage in battle.

  In one ancient tale called Fled Bricrenn (Bricriu’s Feast), part of the group of stories known as the Ulster Cycle, Cú Chulainn is drawn into a competition to see who should receive the ‘Champions Portion’ of the feast. During the test to determine the champion, a gigantic serpent attacks Cú Chulainn. Undaunted, Cú Chulainn leaps upon the beast and rips its heart out with his bare hands. So great were the deeds of this hero, that the mere slaying of a dragon while unarmed is only mentioned briefl
y.

  Cú Chulainn does have one other dubious, if highly relevant distinction. He is perhaps the only dragonslayer to have killed another dragonslayer. During his greatest adventure, the Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley), Cú Chulainn single-handedly defies an army by continuously challenging its champions to one-onone combat at the ford of a river. Amongst the numerous warriors and heroes that he kills is a young demi-god named Fráech.

  The son of the Celtic goddess Bébinn and a mortal man, Fráech battled a giant serpent while trying to win the hand of the beautiful Findabair. Although he slew the dragon, he was so badly wounded in the fight that it took a hundred and fifty maidens of the Sidhe to heal him. Fráech eventually married Findabair and lived many happy years before meeting Cú Chulainn in the river ford.

  The story of Bel and the dragon is found in book 14 of Daniel in both Catholic and Orthodox bibles. It is not, however, found in the Hebrew Torah, nor in most Protestant bibles. The story comes from a group of ancient writings that are collectively known as either the Apocrypha (to Anglicans) or the Deuterocanonical books (to Catholics). Because these books are part of the Old Testament, but do not appear in the Torah, they have been the source of great debate among Christians since the very earliest days of the Bible’s existence.

  Regardless of its theological importance, the story is also interesting for historical and literary reasons. Historically, it argues that Daniel was still alive in 559 BC, when Cyrus became king of the Persians. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Cyrus the Great, as he became known, proved to be a liberal and tolerant ruler, especially when it came to religion. His thirty-year rule saw the founding of the Achaemenid Empire, which would famously go to war with Greece a hundred years or so later. In the world of literature, the story of Bel is often cited as the first ‘locked room’ mystery, a theme that is now ubiquitous in mystery writing.

  Although Daniel’s encounter with the dragon is recounted in just six lines in the Bible, it is a story that has had a far-reaching effect in the history of the dragonslayer legend. The idea of killing a dragon by feeding it something deadly and explosive reoccurs numerous times in myth and legend. Most famously it is employed by Skuba, the Polish boy who kills the Wawel Dragon in Krakow and by the young Scottish cinder boy, Assipattle, who uses the strategy to kill the Mester Stoor Worm.

  NORSE DRAGONSLAYERS

  Although the word ‘dragon’ derives from the Ancient Greek, the modern European conception of the nature of a dragon owes more to the shared heroic mythology of the Ancient Norse, Germans and Anglo-Saxons. In these legends, set in the tumultuous period known as the Dark Ages, dragons, or wyrms as they are usually called, are still most often depicted as giant serpents. However, in the two most important tales, those of Sigurd and Beowulf, the dragons take on much more recognizable forms. Sigurd battles a dragon that drags its ponderous bulk around on four legs, while Beowulf’s foe can fly and breathe fire. Merged into one, these two wyrms combine to create the definitive winged, four-legged, fire-breathing beast that most modern readers would recognize as the form of a dragon.

  Also from the Norse legends comes the idea of dragons as guardians of treasure hoards. In a couple of tales, the treasure is a princess, but in most it is a pile of gold, jewels, and weaponry. Dragons had become the living embodiments of greed and miserliness. While in today’s society these sins are viewed as just two of many, to the ancient Norse they were the greatest of all failings. Norse society was based around the warband and functioned only through a warlord generously sharing his treasure with his followers. A man who hoarded his wealth threatened to undermine the structure and power of his clan. Thus dragons were more than just dangerous beasts; they were forces of chaos and destruction, who threatened to bring all society to ruin.

  Only the greatest heroes could stand before a dragon. Presented here are the stories of the two most famous Norse heroes, Sigurd the Völsung and Beowulf.

  Sigurd the Völsung

  Sigurd was born into a blood feud; for while he was still in the womb, King Lyngvi and his brothers fought against Sigurd’s father, Sigmund. During the battle, the god Odin shattered Sigmund’s blade and killed him. Sigurd’s mother, Hjördis, recovered the broken blade and fled to the court of King Hjalprek in Denmark. In this safe haven, she gave birth to Sigurd, the last of the great family of Völsungs.

  Siegfried (or Sigurd) slaying Fáfnir. The depiction of Siegfried dressed in skins owes more to the later idea of the ‘noble barbarian’ than to the original stories.

  As a young man, Sigurd excelled in all Viking pursuits: sports, chess, the reading of runes, and, of course, feats of arms. In order to further Sigurd’s education, the king assigned a smithy named Reginn to serve as his tutor and foster-father. While Reginn taught the young Sigurd many lessons, the smith held a dark family secret that drove him toward wickedness.

  One day, when Sigurd was just coming into the strength of manhood, Reginn taunted him about his lack of wealth. Sigurd’s father, Sigmund, had possessed riches fit for a king, but all he had left for his son was a broken sword. Then Reginn said he knew a place where Sigurd could acquire a vast treasure, wealth that would earn him the respect of everyone. When Sigurd asked him how he knew of such a treasure, Reginn told him the story of his family, and the birth of the dragon, Fáfnir.

  Reginn was the youngest of three sons. His oldest brother, Fáfnir, was a rough and greedy man, while his second brother, Ötr, was a gentle soul. Ötr had the ability to transform himself into an otter, and spent his days fishing in the local river. Once, while fishing, the gods Odin, Hœnir, and Loki walked by the river. They saw Ötr fishing in his otter form, and Loki killed him with a rock. The gods then skinned the otter and continued on their way. When they came to the house of Reginn’s father, the gods discovered their mistake. Reginn’s father demanded that the gods pay a blood-price, enough treasure to completely cover the poor otter’s skin and stuff its body. So Odin sent Loki to get the treasure. Loki, the trickster god, took the treasure from a dwarf named Andvari, but not before the dwarf placed a curse over all of the gold, and, in particular, on a golden ring. The mischievous Loki brought the treasure back to Odin, but told no one about the curse. Odin covered the otter’s skin with the gold, but missed a single whisker. When the whisker was pointed out, Odin covered it with the cursed golden ring. Then the gods went on their way.

  Thus, in a single night, Reginn’s family became one of the richest in the land, but the curse of the gold struck quickly. Fáfnir, ever greedy, murdered his father and fled with the treasure. He built himself a great lair, sunk into the earth and protected with an iron door. In this dungeon, he would sleep on top of his pile of gold. Slowly, through the evil in his own heart and the obsession with the power to protect his hoard, Fáfnir transformed into a monstrous wyrm, a creature of greed and venomous poison.

  When Reginn told this tale to Sigurd, the young Völsung declared that he would kill the dragon, but first he must have a proper sword. Reginn made him a sword, but when Sigurd struck it against the anvil, it shattered. Reginn made him a second sword, but this too shattered on the anvil. After this had happened several times, Sigurd went to his mother and asked for the pieces of his father’s sword, which she gladly gave to him. He took the pieces to Reginn, who re-forged them into a new sword. Fire danced from the blade as Sigurd swung this new sword for the first time. Then he tested it against the anvil and split the solid block of metal in half. Sigurd named the sword Gram.

  Sigurd slaying Fáfnir. While most modern depictions of Sigurd/Sigfried show the hero wearing primitive skins, this artwork presents him in the dress and armour appropriate to a Germanic warrior of the sixth century.

  In order to win the hand of the beautiful Brynhildr, potential suitors were required to ride through a ring of fire. Although Sigurd accomplished the feat in the guise of his brother-in-law, Gunnar, he is clearly identified in this image by his dragon helm.

  Sigurd declared that with this sword, he could kill t
he mighty wyrm, but, first, he had his own debt to settle. With the aid of King Hjalprek, Sigurd assembled an army of warriors. Then he sailed across the sea to attack his father’s killers. In a series of bloody battles, Sigurd struck down all of his foes and won great renown. He returned to Denmark a true Viking warrior.

  Soon after Sigurd returned, Reginn found him and reminded him of his promise to kill Fáfnir. The next day, the two men rode out together in search of the wyrm. For several days, Reginn led them through empty lands, and then up into the lonely heath. There they spied a track of dead plants and worn earth that led down to a stagnant pool of water. Seeing the size of the path, and the breadth of the destruction around it, Sigurd wondered at the size of the beast, but Reginn told him not to fear. He suggested that Sigurd dig a pit in the ground, where he could hide until the dragon passed over. Then he could attack the monster from beneath.

  Having proposed the plan, Reginn rode off to hide, while Sigurd dug the ditch. As Sigurd was digging, Odin came walking down the road in the disguise of an old man with a long beard. Seeing Sigurd’s plan, he suggested the young warrior dig a series of ditches, so that the wyrm’s blood could flow freely and not drown Sigurd in his ditch. Sigurd saw wisdom in this and did as was suggested, but when he went to thank the old man, Odin had vanished.

  Eventually, Sigurd finished his digging and crouched down in his ditch. For a while he waited on the empty heath, with just the rustle of the wind in the scrub to keep him company. Then he heard a distant pounding and felt a tremor in the earth. Steadily the noise grew, as did the shaking of the ground. Fáfnir approached; crawling low on four heavy legs, the mighty wyrm spewed a cloud of poison before him, withering the plants down to their roots. As the great creature’s bulk passed over the ditch, Sigurd drove Gram up under his left shoulder, stabbing the blade up to its hilt in the wyrm’s flesh. Blood poured down on Sigurd, soaking his clothes, but enough ran off into the other ditches to keep him from drowning in the vile fluid.