We all know the value of a map. Because of advances in transportation, Apple, Google, and other vendors make it not only convenient but invaluable to use maps today when we drive to unfamiliar places. A thousand years ago, maps were even more important than they are in our lifetime. Early explorers would have been foolish to cross the ocean without a map if there was one for the waters they wished to travel through. Some ancient cartographers included the Latin phrase “Hic sunt dracones,” meaning “Here be dragons,” on a map whenever an area was uncharted. This was a warning to all who approached this area to expect the worst. The term “Hic sunt dracones” implied that deadly creatures, which defied the imagination, or possibly unknown supernatural hazards might be found there.
There were similar Latin terms used by mapmakers. For example, Mare incognitum which meant “Unknown Sea” or Terra incognita (terra ignota) which referred unknown lands. When Roman cartographers drew maps of Africa, they might include caveats such as Hic sunt leones (“Here be Lions”). Some ancient maps actually have the notation “Places where elephants are born (Locis elephanti nascuntur).
Perils of a restless planet
At some point in the distant past, the geography of the oceans was different. You don’t have to go back 200 million years ago to Pangea see that. Over the last 11,000 or less years, the seas have risen an estimated 125 feet! That is quite a depth! We know there are at least two continent-sized areas of land that have sunk because of volcanic action or rising seas. One is Zealandia in the area of New Zealand and the other is Adria which was thought to connect Italy with North Africa in the past. Then, there are lands that have been rumored to exist such as Atlantis but for which existence there is less scientific or archeological certainty. In Asia around The Philippines there are even today what are called “vanishing islands.” These are islands that are plain to see at low tide, but they are submerged completely when the tide come in. We are in the early stages of a warming period on Earth and the seas are predicted to rise even more as the polar caps recede. At the moment, countries such as Russia are exploring new passages that have not existed in millennia. From July to October, surface ships can travel along the northern Russian coast from the area of Finland to the Bering Strait. It might take an icebreaker to do so, but it can now be done. Canada is likewise expecting the long sought Northwest Passage of their own, which will link the North Atlantic with the Pacific. So the thrill of discovery continues even today.
Rime of an ancient mariner (and monk)
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) was a monk in Ireland and one of the so-called Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He sailed with sixteen other monks looking for the Garden of Eden. His exploits are rcvalled in his own words in The Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot. Just for the sake of acquainting you with the prose of the era, I’ve included several passages from his journal.
“At the end of forty days, when all their provisions were spent, there appeared towards the north, an island very rocky and steep. When they drew near it, they saw its cliffs upright like a wall, and many streams of water rushing down into the sea from the summit of the island; but they could not discover a landing-place for the boat. Being sorely distressed with hunger and thirst, the brethren got some vessels in which to catch the water as it fell; but St Brendan cautioned them: ‘Brothers! do not a foolish thing; while God wills not to show us a landing-place, you would take this without His permission; but after three days the Lord Jesus Christ will show His servants a secure harbour and resting-place, where you ‘may refresh your wearied bodies.’
“When they drew nigh to the nearest island, the boat stopped ere they reached a landing-–place; and the saint ordered the brethren to get out into the sea, and make the vessel fast, stem and stern, until they came to some harbour; there was no grass on the island, very little wood, and no sand on the shore. While the brethren spent the night in prayer outside the vessel, the saint remained in it, for he knew well what manner of island was this; but he wished not to tell the brethren, lest they might be too much afraid. When morning dawned, he bade the priests to celebrate Mass, and after they had done so, and he himself had said Mass in the boat, the brethren took out some un–cooked meat and fish they had brought from the other island, and put a cauldron on a fire to cook them, After they had placed more fuel on the fire, and the cauldron began to boil, the island moved about like a wave; whereupon they all rushed towards the boat, and implored the protection of their father, who, taking each one by the hand, drew them all into the vessel; then relinquishing what they had removed to the island, they cast their boat loose, to sail away, when the island at once sunk into the ocean. Afterwards they could see the fire they had kindled still burning more than two miles off, and then Brendan explained the occurrence: ‘Brethren, you wonder at what has happened to this island, ’ ‘Yes, father,’ said they: ‘we wondered, and were seized with a great fear. ’ ‘Fear not, my children,’ said the saint, ‘for God has last night revealed to me the mystery of all this; it was not an island you were upon, but a fish, the largest of all that swim in the ocean, which is ever trying to make its head and tail meet, but cannot succeed, because of its great length. Its name is Lasconius.’”
Lasconius was otherwise known as Fastitocolon, a whale-sized creature large enough to be mistaken for an island. Many a crew was said to have camped overnight on its back, only to be dragged down into the deep, never to be seen again (more on this monster in the Exeter book.)
Even the Bible lists perilous times at sea when speaking about Jonah and again about the Apostle Paul who with his company was about to be shipwrecked on their way to Rome.
Superstitions
Mariners in any era were and are superstitious. One of the worst breeches of behavior was to whistle on board. Back then seamen had heard the trope about “whistling up a storm.” News of sailing on a Friday would turn the ship against the captain before the ship even slipped its moors. Women were also forbidden onboard for obvious reasons, but some disaffected seaman nine hundred years ago might convince an anxious crew that the woman that stowed away onboard was actually a witch sent to scuttle the ship. Changing the name of a ship was also thought to bring bad luck unless the whole Christianing ceremony was repeated. Personal hygeine was also frowned on as well. Occsionally, a single seaman or passenger earned the scorn of the crew. If the ship encountered calamities, the crew might designate him as a “Jonah” and in that case throw him overboard just as the real Jonah was tossed.
Fast forward
But the subject of dragons is interesting, because they were present in the literature penned by the Western Celts in Ireland. And the Norse. And the people of China on the other side of the world who were aware of them as well. Dragons even appear in the Bible. There was some variation from culture-to-culture concerning dragons. For example, some dragons had wings, others did not. But where did they come from, and where are they now?
There is no scientific evidence that they ever existed. However, a genuine, intact fossilized skeleton of a dragon would go a long way to authenticate their existence. A number of reputable researchers such asscience historian Adrienne Mayor note that the belief in dragons among the ancients was based on their interpretation of dinosaur bones that they would occasionally uncover. Others today differ, believing instead that the clues to dragons do not lie under the earth but rather beneath the conscious mind.
Dragons as archetypes
Carl Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss psychiatrist, for example wrote on the topic of archetypes. Archetypes are universal symbols present in the collective unconscious of humanity. Examples might be “the Mother” archetype or “the Sage” or “the Hero.” People are mysteriously attracted to or identify with one or more of these according to Jung. It might be the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Yoda from Star Wars or Gandalf who appears in Tolkien’s writings are sagacious characters. Or, perhaps a child finds a hero in Spider-man or the Black Panther? The dragon can be seen as such an archetype, representing chaos, danger, and the unknown, because it is unpredictable and lethal. You cannot easily train or house-break a dragon for a pet. Furthermore, while Jung had no specific archetype in mind to assign to such a serpent, a dragon does include the characters of several other archetypes, include Jung’s sinister Shadow, his Sage and his Hero (cf. Beowulf and the dragon in the book of Beowulf.)
Dragons as warnings
Like Ultima-Thule itself with its “now you see me, now you don’t” essence, dragons are likewise elusive creatures.
“In ancient times, the distinction between myth and reality was often fluid. Natural disasters, mysterious deaths, and unexplainable phenomena were frequently attributed to supernatural creatures like dragons. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and even strange weather patterns could have been interpreted as the actions of dragons, reinforcing their presence in mythology .”
Dragons, today are used metaphorically by people from many different walks of life, but for basically the same reason as the early mapmakers used them . . . to warn people of danger or to signal that there are hazards ahead. Consider software designers. When writing the code for HipHop for PHP, an open-source effort to convert PHP into C++ for the sake of easier compilation, one contributor added his comments to the code by noting: “// Here be dragons. Thou art forewarned.” This was thought to indicate the programmer’s confusion or concern about what came next. Perhaps a subroutine needed to be debugged? Perhaps a dragon defanged?
“Here be dragons” warnings can also be found in business and industry, film art and environmental sciences to name just a few other fields other disciplines:
“The myth of dragons serves as a potent warning system—ecologically, by urging respect for nature’s balance and highlighting the risks of environmental neglect; and geopolitically, by marking the boundaries of the known world and symbolizing the dangers of unchecked ambition or power. Whether as guardians, destroyers, or symbols of the unknown, dragons continue to remind humanity of the perils that lie in ignoring the limits of both nature and society.”
A short monstrum marinum bestiary
Cetus was the beast sent to devour Andromeda, daughter of Cassiopia as punishment for the queen’s arrogance. Chained to a rock on the edge of the sea, Perseus arrived just in time to slay the monster. Cetacean comes from the word cetus and it is used to designate whales, not to be confused with leviathan.
Scylla, a giant beast with six dog heads lived near rocky shoals, and worked in league with Charybdis who was thought to be able to create ship swallowing whirlpools. One beast would force a hapless ship towards the other beast until it was wrecked.
Leviathan: “Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah was swallowed by a great fish” which is understood to mean a leviathn or whale, though the Hebrew term used (dag gadol) means great fish).
Photo left represents a Kraken, popular in many different mythologies in the ancient world. Krakens were described as having many heads and claws. Pliny described the Polypus that wrapped tentacles around ships and dragged them down.
The giant octopus in this photo is a crowd pleaser, popularized in movies based on Jules Verne’s books featuring Captain Nemo. The largest known octopus found was 600 pounts with a 30 foot arm span, still much too small.
The photo left is that of your generic, off-the-shelf, corn-fed sea serpent, most likely to be identified as a sea dragon. Except for its size, of course, it vaguely resembles an oarfish. But it was said to have attacked many different ships around the world.
Occasionally, Poseidon, himself, might appear if sailors were disoriented enough. Usually he was in a bad mood intent on death and destruction. There was no telling when or where he might pop-up, but he could be a good guy if he wanted to.
Natural phenomena were also feared, because they would be supercharged. The Lofoten Maelstrom located in northern Norway, at GPS coordinates: 68°20′N 14°40′E / 68.333°N 14.667°E. There are accounts of numerous ships being sucked into the funnel, never to be seen again.
