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Greek Mythology >> Bestiary >> Legendary Creatures >> Ethiopian Dragon (Drakon Aithiopikos)

DRAKON AITHIOPIKOS

Greek Name

Δρακων Αιθιοπικος
Δρακονες Αιθιοπικοι

Transliteration

Drakôn Aithiopikos
Drakones Aithiopikoi

Latin Spelling

Draco Aethiopicus
Dracones Aethiopici

Translation

Serpent of Ethiopia
Serpents of Ethiopia

THE DRAKON AITHIOPIKOS (Ethiopian Dragon) was a breed of giant serpent native to the lands of Aithiopia (sub-Saharan Africa).

CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES

Aelian, On Animals 2. 21 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"The land of Aithiopia (Ethiopia)--the place where the gods bathe, celebrated by Homer under the name of Okeanos (Oceanus), is an excellent and desirable neighbour--this land, I say, is the mother of the very largest Drakones (Dragon-Serpents). For, you must know, they attain to a length of one hundred and eighty feet, and they are not called by the name of any species, but people say that they kill elephants, and these Drakones rival the longest-lived animals. Thus far the accounts from Aithiopia."

SOURCES

GREEK

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.