For centuries we have been captivated by dragons and their mystical powers. These mythical beasts occur in stories across a range of cultures, all the way from China to Wales. Whether you like the fearsome dragons in European folklore best, or the friendly ones in East Asian stories, these creatures are undeniably fascinating. Here are seven things you may not know about dragons.

1. Not all dragons look the same

In the West, when we think of dragons we usually picture a large reptilian animal with huge wings and fiery breath. Alternatively, we might think of the more snakelike Chinese dragons that dance their way through the streets on Lunar New Year. But in some cultures they took a hybrid form. In Inca culture, for example, dragons called ‘amaru’ had two heads - one of a llama and one of a puma.

2. Dragons symbolise different things

Dragons symbolise a range of different things depending on the culture they’re from. In China they often bring power, luck and prosperity. In Britain they are a symbol of strength but are often also spiteful and malicious. In Inca culture, they were thought to bring regeneration and change, while in Babylon the dragon goddess Tiamat represented chaos and violence.

3. Dinosaur bones sometimes got mistaken for dragon bones

According to the American Museum of Natural History, fossil remains of dinosaurs have sometimes been mistaken for dragon bones, giving new life to old stories. The most dragon-like dinosaur fossil is probably the Dracorex (‘dragon king’). This dinosaur had spikes and frills on its skull, just like a mythical dragon.

4. Some dragons can shapeshift

In some myths, dragons have the ability to shapeshift. The Chuvashians, a Turkic people of Eastern Europe and Russia, had stories about a dragon that could take human form. Similarly, the Aztec dragon god, Quetzalcoatl, was also able to take the form of either a feathered serpent or a human.

5. Dragons are real (sort of)

While they’re not the winged, fire-breathing magical beasts we know and love, there are real animals with ‘dragon’ in their name. The Komoda dragon is a large, venomous lizard that lives on some islands in Indonesia. At the other end of the scale are small reptiles called bearded dragons, which some people keep as pets.

6. Dragons are in the Bible

Dragons are mentioned in the Bible in both the Book of Revelations and the Book of Job. The latter describes a Leviathan which is very reminiscent of a mythical dragon. Christianity associated dragons with the devil, depicting their fiery mouths as a symbol of the mouth of Hell.

7. A tail-biting dragon is called a uroboros

The uroboros is a dragon that is eating its own tail. The depiction of this type of dragon has represented several things, from eternity to the cyclical nature of the year.

If you’d like to see dragons live on stage, don’t miss Dragons and Mythical Beasts Live. This award-nominated family theatre show is a great way to introduce kids to myths, using stunning puppetry to tell an exciting story.