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LaughingHyena said:
Do you mean how they originated? The stories of dragons we know today were originally inspired by many ancient myths from around the world involving giant monstrous or godly serpents, which were common in most cultures' mythologies, such as the World Serpent in Norse myth, the Rainbow Serpent in Aborigine legend, the Ourosboros of Celtic myth etc. As cultures developed the idea of the giant serpent changed accordingly; in Asian countries such as China they were given staglike horns and trailing feelers in artwork to symbolize royalty and the Emperor, and were believed to be able to have godly powers to guard and help worthy humans. In Western countries the idea of the serpent was linked with the drakon of Greek lore (another serpent), and eventually with Satan, thus depicting the dragon with fire, horns and bat wings (although the Celtic dragon-serpents also had horns, causing Christianity to link the dragon as a symbol of paganism). Since then, the image of the dragon has changed very little, although modern contemporary artwork may depict alternative features.
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