Dragons! - Universal History @JonathanPageau

Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

In this episode of Universal History with Richard Rohlin, by popular demand, we finally explored the topic of dragons! We discussed the ubiquitous appearance of dragons across history and different cultures, a dragon’s essential characteristics and mythical nature, their connection to snakes, birds, and angels, and the dragon as a hybrid and guardian of paradise. We also discussed the treatment of dragons in Eastern traditions and various languages, as well as in Christianity and even in medical symbolism. Enjoy!

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OTHER LINKS:
The Dragons that Almost Exist, by Jonathan Pageau: orthodoxartsjournal.org/dragons-almost-exist
Discussion with Fr. Joseph Lucas: youtu.be/0FuO88QVlN0?si=d66NKZ2JkyqWdNV7

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Start
00:15 - Intro music
00:40 - Introducing dragons
08:09 - Dragon Characteristics
12:21 - Why does everyone have a dragon?
15:15 - Evolution: dragons and snakes
18:41 - Not just a snake
21:13 - A guardian of paradise
26:54 - The friendly dragon
27:23 - The dragon's enemy
29:45 - Examples in Indo-European languages
35:06 - Dragon slaying myths
38:54 - But what about Christianity?
43:30 - Christianity's treatment of the dragon
50:58 - Hybrid resilience
54:05 - Medicine
57:50 - Asian dragons
01:05:44 - In Christian iconography
01:08:19 - 3 Parts of the story
01:09:01 - The winged dragon

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My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson.

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