Dragon's teeth (mythology)

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Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, by Maxfield Parrish, 1908

In Greek myth, dragon's teeth (Greek: ὀδόντες (τοῦ) δράκοντος, odontes (tou) drakontos) feature prominently in the legends of the Phoenician prince Cadmus and in Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. In each case, the dragons are present and breathe fire. Their teeth, once planted, would grow into fully armed warriors.

Myths

Cadmus and the Spartoi

Cadmus, the bringer of literacy and civilization, killed the sacred dragon that guarded the spring of

Harmonia, the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares, to be his wife.[1]

However, Hellanicus writes that only five Spartoi sprang up, omitting the battle between them. In his version, Zeus had to intervene to save Cadmus from the anger of Ares, who wished to kill him.[2][3] Echion later married Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, and their son Pentheus succeeded Cadmus as king.

Jason

Similarly, Jason was challenged by King Aeëtes of Colchis to sow dragon's teeth from Athena in order to obtain the Golden Fleece. Medea, Aeëtes' daughter, advised Jason to throw a stone between the warriors that sprang from the earth. The warriors started fighting and killing each other, leaving no survivor but Jason.

Modern references

The classical legends of Cadmus and Jason have given rise to the phrase "to sow dragon's teeth". This is used as a metaphor to refer to doing something that has the effect of fomenting disputes. In Swedish, the myth is the source of the idiom "draksådd" (dragon-seed) with the meaning of spreading corrupting ideas, or in the broader sense, actions with dire consequences.

John Milton references the myth in his Areopagitica:

"For books are not absolutely dead things, but ...do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them. I know they are as lively, and as vigorously productive, as those fabulous Dragon's teeth; and being sown up and down, may chance to spring up armed men"

Gallery

  • Cadmus sowing dragon's teeth; workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, 17th century
    Cadmus sowing dragon's teeth; workshop of Peter Paul Rubens, 17th century
  • Cadmus Sows the Dragon's Teeth Which Turn into Armed Men, by Hendrik Goltzius, 1615
    Cadmus Sows the Dragon's Teeth Which Turn into Armed Men, by Hendrik Goltzius, 1615
  • Jason and the Golden Fleece 11: Jason ploughing the earth and sowing the dragon's teeth Thiry, Leonard (ca. 1500–ca. 1550)
    Jason and the Golden Fleece 11: Jason ploughing the earth and sowing the dragon's teeth Thiry, Leonard (ca. 1500–ca. 1550)

References

  1. ^ "Apollodorus, Library, book 3, chapter 4". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  2. ^ Gantz, p. 468.
  3. ^ Scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.1178.