Dangerous but wise. Ancient but powerful. These are just some of the adjectives used to describe a certain mythical creature that has long existed in people’s imaginations.

In Malay and Indonesian myths, dragons are often regarded as benevolent creatures who live on sacred mountains or deep in the ocean.

There’s even a Malay myth about the Seri Gunum Dragon that lives in Pahang’s Tasik Chini whose relationship with fellow dragon Seri Kemboja created Pulau Tioman.

But when did dragons first appear in history? And how does the nature of these serpentine creatures differ depending on who’s telling the story?

The Babylonians believed in guardian dragons called mushussu, which had a snake’s head and body, a lion’s paws and a scorpion’s tail.

Jewish tales speak of the prophet Daniel’s encounter with a dragon that he killed by feeding it explosive cakes while Persians have their legendary hero, Rostam, who gained the power of invisibility by slaying a dragon.

The Welsh too have a red dragon called Mabionogion emblazoned on their flag. This dragon is said to have protected Britain from a hostile dragon, and is supposedly still asleep after a bout of drinking.

Neighbouring England has its own national myth about its patron St George slaying a dragon with his lance.

However, in most parts of Asia, dragons are not perceived as wild and savage but wise and benevolent.

Ancient Chinese folklore regard dragons as creatures of water, responsible for bringing rain. Called “long”, the dragon is one of the Four Benevolent Animals in Chinese mythology, and occupies a cosy spot on the Chinese zodiac.

The first depictions of a dragon in China are 10,000 years old, with cave drawings depicting the mythical being. They also look different from their western counterparts, being a mashup of numerous other animals.

These consist of a camel’s head, a bull’s ears, a demon’s eyes, a snake’s neck, a stag’s horns, a carp’s scales, a clam’s belly, a tiger’s paws and an eagle’s claws.

Some scholars suggest that these different parts represent different tribes in China coming together to form a single nation.

Dragons are also said to have exactly 117 scales, the perfect number that represents yin and yang.

Because of the power associated with them, dragons were an imperial symbol and represented the emperor’s strength and authority. These imperial dragons were depicted with five claws representing earth, fire, water, metal and wood.

Only emperors wore clothing emblazoned with these five-clawed dragons as only they had power over the elements.

While neighbouring Korea’s dragons are nearly identical to their Chinese counterparts, Japanese dragons are depicted less positively, typically three-clawed and often regarded as harbingers of destruction.

Vietnamese mythology however states that the first Vietnamese to walk the earth were the offspring of a dragon and a fairy.

India also had its fair share of dragon myths, many of which have influenced nearby cultures like Indonesia and Thailand.

Vritra was a giant serpent who was the archnemesis of Indra the thunder god, who slayed his scaly rival after a fierce battle. The Indian dragon, or “naga” appears in many Hindu myths and stories, and eventually ended up in the Malay lexicon as the word for dragon.

Even the civilisations of the Americas, isolated from the rest of the world, had their own beliefs about serpentine creatures.

The Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, was the creator of mankind and quite tragically, mistook the coming of the Spaniard Hernan Cortez as their god’s return.

Meanwhile, in South America, the Incas depicted the amaru as a double-headed serpent, with wings and feet like a bird, that lived underground or underwater.

With so many dragons from different parts of the world, one must wonder how distant cultures all came up with the same idea.

A good guess is the loose link between dragons and their closest non-fictional relative – the slithering snake.

Snakes often got a bad rap in mythology. The Jews and Christians believe a serpent goaded Adam and Eve into committing their first sin. Coincidentally, the Latin word for snake, “draco” can also refer to dragons.

Giant snakes have also been part of mythology, with ancient Babylonians writing about Tiamat, a primordial being who assumed a serpentine appearance.

In ancient Egypt, the embodiment of chaos was Apep, a giant snake who threatened to devour the sun god Ra on a daily basis.

Perhaps somewhere down the line, these mythical snakes began to shed their skin, so to speak, to assume a form more similar to the dragon as people know it.

Some scientists believe that ancient peoples came across dinosaur fossils and mistook these to be dragons instead.

Ancient Chinese records speak of “dragon” bones being found, with a 300 BC historian writing about one such discovery in fossil-rich Sichuan.

Alternatively, dragons could just be the creation of highly imaginative minds, who combined the most dangerous animals to symbolise the everyday threat to their lives.

Either way, while dragons are purely mythical, people can still have fun with dinosaurs, real-life ancients who continue to intrigue.