Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds

Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek & Roman Worlds is an academic work covering the role and origin of dragons and serpents in classical mythology and culture by classicist Daniel Ogden. The book was published by Oxford University Press on May 8, 2013. A companion book, Dragons, Serpents, and Slayers, also written by Ogden, was published on May 30, 2013.

Overview

The book is what Ogden calls and designated it as a "descriptive handbook", having a more encyclopedic focus then tracking on any new ground in classical academia. Throughout the book, Ogden uses the term drakon to describe the creatures he covers, the term seeming to reflect a conceptual system created by the academic to categorize each creature rather than full-on accuracy to the source material. The first three chapters cover dragon-fights in Classical Greek and Latin literature, focusing first on "pure" dragons before then going over aquiform entities (creatures or humanoids that have draconic features such as a human with the lower half of a snake, essentially hybrids). Three chapters are also dedicated to what Ogden classifies as the core attributes of the dragons featured such as treasure hoarding, fire breath, and similar physical features such as crests and beards. A couple chapters also describe the presence of cults present in classical antiquity that held venerations for serpents. Other chapters are dedicated to the ketos, dragons in early and medieval Christian literature, and other historical events, groups, or individuals associated with dragons or snakes.

Reception

The reception of the book was overall positive. Later books that aim to cover dragons as a historical or anthropological subject frequently cite Drakon, such as Scott G. Bruce's Penguin Book of Dragons and Robert M. Sarwark's The Dragon in World Mythology and Culture.