Legend has it that the dragon is a metamorphosis of Griffin gryphon, a mythical beast that is half lion and half eagle in ancient Greek mythology. According to legend, Griffin lives in the Skitai steppe extending from Ukraine to Central Asia, guarding the treasure and tearing up all malicious strangers.
Of all the known documents, Herodotus first recorded the story of Skeeter's words that there was a one-eyed man and the monster Griffin competing for gold east of Skeeter in his book History. Griffin and the one-eyed man did indeed come from the myth of the Steckeys, but the story of their struggle may be a historical invention of the Greeks.
Modern scholars believe that the one-eyed man in the Skeptic language Arimaspi is a mistranslation of the lonely watchman in the Tohoku language Armaspasa, which is a nomadic people in the Altai Mountains rich in gold, and Altai Altai means gold.
Because the Steiches were keen on casting Griffin-style ornaments with gold, the Greeks linked the gold treasure with Griffin. There may be a story that the one-eyed man and the Steiches competed for gold in history, so the one-eyed man was rumored by the Greeks to steal Griffin's gold and clashed with Griffin.
So Griffin is synonymous with treasure keeper because of this myth. Then, in the development of heraldry in the Middle Ages, Griffin and other mythical creatures were transformed into dragon, and then there was a story that dragons liked to collect shiny treasures.
Like the legend of Amazons, the legend of "one-eyed man" and the monster Griffin fighting for gold is also a very popular myth among ancient Greeks. It is generally believed that they are just legendary characters, but legends are not all illusory? Things.
Take the "one-eyed man" as an example. No one will really believe that any nation was born with one eye, but it is strange that not only Sketai people said that there was such a nation, but ancient China people also believed it. Many scholars have noticed that a "one-eye country" was also mentioned in our ancient book Shan Hai Jing before Qin Dynasty.
There are too many strange nationalities and animals recorded in Shan Hai Jing, which can't be an objective record. However, as a collection of folklore, the record of "one-eyed country" tells us that the so-called "one-eyed man" is not just the imagination of the Skeletons, and there may really be a nation misunderstood by the Skeletons in the West and us in the East. According to Herodotus, the name of "one-eyed man" (Arimaspi) comes from Skeeter, arima means "one" and spou means "eye" (4: 27).
In this regard, some scholars who study Tohoku pointed out that this was a mistranslation by Skettians or Greeks. Because arima is equivalent to arma ("lonely") in Tohoku, spou is equivalent to spasa ("look, look") in Tohoku.
In this way, the original meaning of Arimaspi is not "one-eyed man" or "one-eyed country", but "lonely watchman". This nation is actually very normal, not born with one eye. So what is a "lonely watchman"?
Chinese scholars' explanations are as follows:
There are a large number of stone figures set up by nomadic people in northern Xinjiang and western Mongolia;
The role of these stone figures is to guard the royal tombs (later, the "Stone Weng Zhong" in front of the tomb of China probably learned this custom);
And their appearance can be traced back to before the 8th century BC, so "Lonely Watchers" may refer to the nation that established these stone figures.
it is still unknown who this nation really is. However, from the distribution of stone figures and the map of the eastern part of the Eurasian steppe that we drew according to Herodotus' description, we can roughly know the scope of their residence.
in contrast, the monster "Griffin ∕grypos∕gryphon∕griffin", which is half a lion and half an eagle, has a much better fate in later western cultures, and it has received a lot of long-term performances. We can always see the image of Griffin in Greek and Roman myths, in medieval church buildings and in the arms of nobles. The main story related to them is the myth that they fought against the "one-eyed man" to defend gold.
since the "one-eyed man" may not be a myth, what about Griffin? Is there a little factual basis? The answer is yes. Because Griffin is an artistic image created by Skitai people. In the myth of the Skeletons, this animal, which is half lion and half eagle, is a kind of god beast, and its image often appears in the decorations of the Skeletons unearthed. What this magical animal means to the Scythians is beyond examination, but what is certain is that in the mythical world of the Scythians, Griffin is just a fierce monster who likes to prey on animals (especially horses), but he has never fought with people, so the story of them fighting with the "one-eyed man" for gold should be created by the Greeks.
It may be because the Skeptics like to cast small ornaments with the image of Griffin in gold, which led the Greeks to associate Griffin with gold and treasure, thus leading to the legend that they are gold keepers. Since there are guards, they need to be guarded against, so the "one-eyed man" is said to be a man who tries to rob gold.
If there is any historical basis in this myth, it is that the Altai Mountains, that is, the mountainous area where the "one-eyed man/lonely watchman" lived in history, are indeed rich in gold. The original meaning of Altai Mountain is "Golden" Mountain. So in history, it may really happen that "one-eyed man/lonely watchman" and Skeeter compete for gold mine? So the Greeks created this myth. ?
However, through this myth, the image of Griffin has become synonymous with "keeper of treasure" and "brave fighter" in western civilization. As mentioned earlier, some nobles have Griffin in their heraldry, and the rule at that time was that only those who showed special courage on the battlefield could use its pattern in their heraldry. ?
In addition, there was no image of "dragon" in the western cultural tradition, and the dragons that appeared in the Middle Ages were mostly Griffin's metamorphosis (of course, mixed with other mythical animals). Only by understanding this can you understand why dragons in western literature all have wings and always guard what treasures.