In history, and in legends, dragons were used to represent ideas.
Western dragons were a symbol of evil, or the devil. Scandinavian dragons symbolised greed or pride. But in China the dragon was a symbol of good luck, protection and fertility. Because of this, Chinese emperors used the dragon as their symbol.
Western dragons were not only used to represent evil. Dragon images were also used by kings and their armies on their war standards. They used the image of a dragon to represent power and strength.
In medieval Europe the images of dragons as representing good and bad existed at the same time. Churches had images of saints killing dragons to show good triumphing over evil. But they also had dragon gargoyles. These were stone water drains in dragon shapes, on the outside of buildings, to guard against evil spirits.
If you enjoyed this post and want to read more, you can find out more about dragons in The Dragon Companion: An Encyclopedia by Carole Wilkinson. This is an adult book, but it is okay for kids to read too. All the facts in this post were taken from this book.
Books written for kids about dragons that you might like to read are:
The Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The Indigo King by James A. Owen