Middle Eastern Dragons Quick Facts

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Hittite seal from 2500 B.C showing a dragon-slayer

1. Many were sea creatures that embodied the threat of chaos.

2. Tiamat and Apsu were closely regarded as being both sea serpents and oceans.

3. The slaying of Tiamat created the world we know today.

4. Ra, the sun god, had to voyage through the underworld every night. Apep would be waiting to attack.

5. One of the most famous Egyptian dragons could be Uraeus, found on the royal headdresses and crowns.

6. The Hittites recite the Illuyankas myth every New Year's Day.

7. The Serpent in the Garden of Eden is frequently portrayed with the face of Lilith.

8. Dragons made appropriate emblems for the stars mapped by Arabic astronomers.

9. The Ouroboros dragon perpetually has its tail in its mouth.

10. Marduk started off as a god of fertility, but eventually became the chief god of Babylon.