The following program features the opinions of the host.

Listeners are encouraged to seek their own understanding.

If you were a kid like me, dragons were a part of your youth.

There were fantasy books to be read like The Hobbit,

games to play like the legend of Zelda,

and cartoons and movies featured dragons.

Were these fantastical creatures a man-made creation

woven into myths and legends of old that continued through the centuries? Or were they real?

Could they still be here? Welcome to the Ghost and You podcast, a podcast about the weird,

the wonderful, and the terrifying in the Bible. I'm Diane Student, your guide and host on this strange journey through the Bible.

This is episode two, Dragons.

Music Dragons are one of the most popular mythological creatures.

Dragon-like creatures first appeared in Mesopotamian art and writings like pictographic script during the Uruk-4 period, and later factored heavily in Near East legends.

Dragons are described as being serpent-, but with special features like wings and horns and legs, and many could breathe fire,

at least according to some regions. Other places like Eastern cultures depict dragons

as wingless, four-legged serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence.

Based on their stories, the ancients thought of the dragon as an enemy. The heroes of their

tales often would be called upon to defeat a dragon. For example, defeating the hundred-headed

serpent, Leiden, was one of Hercules' 12 labors. Layden guarded the golden apples of the Hesperities and tormented the Titan Atlas.

After it was killed, it became the constellation Draco.

As an interesting side note, going back to Leviathan,

Layden means strong flow, which clearly refers to water, the sea.

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