| Greek Name |
Transliteration |
Latin Spelling |
Translation |
Δρακονες
Αιθιοπικοι |
Drakones
Aithiopikoi |
Dracones
Aethiopicum |
Serpents of
Ethiopia |
THE DRAKONES AITHIOPES were a breed of gigantic dragon-serpents native to the lands of Aithiopia (sub-Saharan Africa).
Aelian, On Animals 2. 21 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"The land of Aithiopia (Ethiopia)--the place where the gods bathe, celebrated by Homer under the name of Okeanos (Oceanus), is an excellent and desirable neighbour--this land, I say, is the mother of the very largest Drakones (Dragons, Serpents). For, you must know, they attain to a length of one hundred and eighty feet, and they are not called by the name of any species, but people say that they kill elephants, and these Drakones rival the longest-lived animals. Thus far the accounts from Aithiopia."
Sources:
- Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - C3rd AD
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