Mythological Dragon and the Emergence of Irrigation Systems

In the mythical conceptions and beliefs of different peoples of the world, dragon is the embodiment of the chthonic - uncontrollable and disastrous forces of nature. In essence, dragon is an anti-system by its nature and opposes the cosmic order and rule, nevertheless many myths link the origin of irrigation systems to the mythological dragon. The latter is a fictional creature in the form of various animals, which digs the bed of future canals/rivers with its tail, body or horn. Thus, this paper considers the narrowest, very archaic embodiment of the phenomenon of “dragon”, and accordingly, with the help of relevant myths, an attempt is made to restore the common mythologeme, supposedly constituting the base of all of them. The image of the dragon in fairy tales and epics is not considered, because in them we are already dealing with a completely different, transformed and “modernized” image. The mythological dragon is a priori neither a negative nor a positive figure/character; it is an uncontrollable force that can be harnessed and directed along a purposeful path. In the perfect version of the myth, this taming is done by a human or anthropomorphic supernatural being who uses the wild power of the dragon for good. In this case, we are talking about the irrigation systems necessary for developed agriculture, the emergence of which has been likened to the emergence of a natural irrigation systems (rivers, lakes, etc.). Therefore, it is not surprising that the same myth and its main character, the dragon, should be at the “origins” of both.