There are two types or styles of dragons, the Western and Eastern. Both types are great dragons full of history and magic. I am talking about Western Dragons today.
There are many types or variations of Western Dragons. However most people think of a large lizard type creature with two or four legs, with large wings, jewel like eyes and can breath fire. The skin can be smooth or scaly, one colour or multiple colours. Pretty much once you have the basic form of a Western dragon; any thing goes as far as the way a dragon looks. There are ice dragons, water dragons, fire dragons, wind dragons, and fairy dragons. Most people think of large dragons, but there are stories of small dragons that can sit on your hand, or hid in a flower.
Dragons’ personalities are just as varied as human personalities. They can be good and helpful dragons, wise or knowledgeable dragons we go to for advice, warring dragons, dragons that steal from humans, and ones that eat us. So you can have good or bad dragons, some times both in the same story. In a lot of the early stories dragons would live in a cave with a hoard of gold and jewels. Some one was always attacking them, either to stop them from eating up their animal stock, or people or would be going after the dragons hoard or the dragons’ blood or scales for some magical use. It is kind of understandable why dragons would try to kill these people. It was just defending its home and its life.
In more modern stories and movies the dragon has been portrayed as the antagonizer, the hero, evil, the victim, the helpful sidekick, or companion, or guarding an important gem, jewel or sword so that only the right person can get it. If you can think of a type of character, dragons have been it.
What is important is what western dragons symbolize now. We see them as being strong, long-lived, wise, magical, wealthy, and some times helpful. We have more positive association with dragons now then what people thought around and before the Middle Ages. They saw dragons as magical creatures that would eat your herd animals, and people, destroy homes and towns, some thing to be destroyed.
