Were Dinosaurs Dragons?

Some versions of the Bible include numerous mentions of “dragons” (although other versions use different words), and most cultures have legends of dragon encounters. But could those dragons have been dinosaurs?

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Some dragons flew, and others lived in the water. So, not all dragons could be called dinosaurs, but all dinosaurs could have been dragons. Dinosaurs are land-dwelling animals that have legs directly under their bodies.

Some reptiles are mistakenly called dinosaurs. For example, the dimetrodon, which had legs out to its side, is not a dinosaur. Plesiosaurs, which are marine reptiles, and pterosaurs, which are flying reptiles, are also not dinosaurs. But all of these animals could be referred to as dragons!

Dragon Legends: Fact or Fiction?

Legends of an ancient flood exist in hundreds of cultures around the world. A large number of these traditions share common elements with the biblical flood described in Genesis. For example, many of these stories assert that man’s wickedness brought divine judgment upon the whole world and that eight people and some animals survived aboard a large boat.

The Bible provides the historical account of the worldwide flood. By carefully comparing these legends with God’s Word, we see that many of these traditions have distorted, embellished, or lost information about the actual events.

Similarly, cultures from all over the globe also have dragon legends. Epic battles between gallant knights and fierce dragons are rather common, and descriptions of these beasts are often very similar to those of dinosaurs.

Of course, ancient people would not have called them “dinosaurs” since that word was coined in 1841. Carvings and cave paintings of these monsters have been discovered. Some of these dragon legends contain mythical elements, while others likely lost all the true details and retain nothing more than tall tales. But in many cases, the dragons were viewed as real animals. Do some of these dragon legends actually speak of dinosaurs?

In the Bible, God told Job about two creatures that could be considered dragons: the Behemoth and the Leviathan. Some Christians suggest that these are mythical monsters, but the mention of Behemoth and Leviathan in the book of Job follows the descriptions of about a dozen real animals. Furthermore, why would God tell Job to consider two beasts that did not even exist?

Get answers to these questions and more when you visit the Creation Museum. Start planning your trip today!