by DRAGONS make an appearance in the myths and fiction of culture all across the globe though they are thought to be nothing more than that - fiction. One expert, however, believes Biblical text paired with historical Roman accounts can prove dragons once coexisted alongside humans.
From the works of JRR Tolkien to HBO's immensely popular Game of Thrones, dragons are an enduring symbol of the Fantasy genre. Although their origin is unclear, tales of dragons have been told for centuries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and even Ancient Egypt where a serpent-like creature named Apep fought the Sun god Ra. In Norse mythology, the Midgard Serpent, Jormungandr, was born of the trickster god Loki and fought the mighty Thor at Ragnarok, the end of the world.
Here in the UK, England's patron St George is said to have slain a dragon in the Libyan city of Silene, and his day is celebrated each year on April 23.
Dragons even make an appearance in the Holy Bible, with more than 20 mentions of the terrifying beast in the Old Testament alone.
Tom Meyer, a professor in Bible studies at Shasta Bible College and Graduate School in California, US, believes this is no coincidence but rather one of many clues proving dragons once roamed the Earth.
The Bible expert told Express.co.uk the word dragon is an umbrella term describing creatures of all shapes and sizes, much like the word dinosaur describes a multitude of species.
Were dragons real: A Bible expert believes historical Roman accounts can prove dragons were real (Image: GETTY)
Were dragons real: Dragons appear in myths and tales all across the world (Image: GETTY)
Professor Meyer, who has memorised some 20 books from the Bible and is known as The Bible Memory Man, is certain there is historical evidence to back his astonishing theory.
He said: "A reexamination of the chronicles of ancient Roman historians and of the Bible can demonstrate that dragons were actually contemporaneous with mankind.
"In antiquity, various kinds of creatures were all organized under the category of 'dragon,' similar to how today we categorize different kinds of animals as 'dinosaurs'.
"The most famous of the dragon accounts is that of the dragon slayer, St George, whose story took place in the late third century AD.
"Although the story of St. George and the Dragon has had some fictitious additions over the ages, its base story is quite possibly true."
As the story goes, a beleaguered community gave sacrifices of livestock to a dragon to gain access to their only source of water.
From the works of JRR Tolkien to HBO's immensely popular Game of Thrones, dragons are an enduring symbol of the Fantasy genre. Although their origin is unclear, tales of dragons have been told for centuries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and even Ancient Egypt where a serpent-like creature named Apep fought the Sun god Ra. In Norse mythology, the Midgard Serpent, Jormungandr, was born of the trickster god Loki and fought the mighty Thor at Ragnarok, the end of the world.
Here in the UK, England's patron St George is said to have slain a dragon in the Libyan city of Silene, and his day is celebrated each year on April 23.
Dragons even make an appearance in the Holy Bible, with more than 20 mentions of the terrifying beast in the Old Testament alone.
Tom Meyer, a professor in Bible studies at Shasta Bible College and Graduate School in California, US, believes this is no coincidence but rather one of many clues proving dragons once roamed the Earth.
The Bible expert told Express.co.uk the word dragon is an umbrella term describing creatures of all shapes and sizes, much like the word dinosaur describes a multitude of species.
Were dragons real: A Bible expert believes historical Roman accounts can prove dragons were real (Image: GETTY)
Were dragons real: Dragons appear in myths and tales all across the world (Image: GETTY)
Professor Meyer, who has memorised some 20 books from the Bible and is known as The Bible Memory Man, is certain there is historical evidence to back his astonishing theory.
He said: "A reexamination of the chronicles of ancient Roman historians and of the Bible can demonstrate that dragons were actually contemporaneous with mankind.
"In antiquity, various kinds of creatures were all organized under the category of 'dragon,' similar to how today we categorize different kinds of animals as 'dinosaurs'.
"The most famous of the dragon accounts is that of the dragon slayer, St George, whose story took place in the late third century AD.
"Although the story of St. George and the Dragon has had some fictitious additions over the ages, its base story is quite possibly true."
As the story goes, a beleaguered community gave sacrifices of livestock to a dragon to gain access to their only source of water.
