The Real St George and the Dragon
7/16/202630 min
He wasn't an English knight, but actually a Roman soldier, and the dragon didn't appear until centuries later in the medieval period. So what is the origin of the Saint George and the Dragon myth? And why do so many countries - from England to Ethiopia - adopt him as their patron?
To sort the fact from the fiction, Dan is joined by Jasmine Elmer, mythologist and author of 'Slay: Ancient legends of female slayers and the hidden mythology of dragons'. They explore the history of dragons from the chaos monsters of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to the serpents of Greek mythology, Christian saints' lives and East Asian folklore, as well as the stories of other little-known dragon slayers through history.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore
We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6
Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast
Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.
You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsDan Snow· Host0:00
Have you been enjoying my podcast and now want even more history? Sign up to History Hit and watch the world's best history documentaries on subjects like how William conquered England, what it was like to live in the Georgian era, and you can even hear the voice of Richard III. We've got hundreds of hours of original documentaries, plus new releases every week, and there's always something more to discover. Sign up to join us in historic locations around the world and explore the past. Just visit historyhit.com/subscribe. [birds chirping] [dragon roaring] The legend went that near the city of Silene in Libya, there lived a terrible dragon in a lake beside the town. Its poisonous breath killed anyone who came near, so people tried to appease it by feeding it sheep, presumably from a distance. [dragon growling] When the sheep ran out, the citizens began sacrificing people instead, chosen by lottery. Eventually, the king's own daughter was selected. Dressed as a bride for this moment of death, she went to the lake weeping. [princess sobbing] But there she encountered a Christian knight that was riding past, Saint George. [horse galloping] When she warned him to flee, George made the sign of the cross and charged the dragon with his lance, wounding it. [dragon roaring] Then comes one of the strangest