If phoenix and dragons are fictional, why do the east and the west have the same beliefs and ideas w/ it?

Question

If phoenix and dragons are fictional, why do the east and the west have the same beliefs and ideas about its' characteristics and form?

Answer 1

phoenix and dragons might not be fictional....during the old days, there might be creatures that look like phoenix and dragons wandering around...they could be actually descendant of the prehistorical dinosaurs....they might not be able to survive until today as they are being hunted down by humans as they believe then that phoenix and dragons have magical powers and could be dangerous to them....

Answer 2

Most of these mythical beasts were believed to have been invented to explain fossils. Wolly mammoths and elephants, for example, have a huge hole in the middle of their skulls (for the trunk) and this is where the idea of the cyclops comes from. The eye holes on these skulls are tiny, and about where a pair of ears should be on a human skull.

Dinosaur bones are fossilized, so they are all made of stone, not bone. There's a huge amount of them in the gobi desert, and the mongols who lived there always had a sort of nervous idea that the chinese had the living varieties. The chinese of course, did not, but they got a kick out of the idea that they had some sort of ferocious protectors. Meanwhile, the mongols would tell their stories eastward, and eventually, the english would get stories about ferocious critters with bones of stone that killed anything in their sight.

Alternately, the elephants, which were used for war might have gotten exaggerated for a while, as might the crocodiles in the nile, which would at least explain why the dragons are supposed to be like a giant lizard. Of course, every good exageration eventually gets to the point where the thing can fly, and breathe fire, and eats you alive. My dad catches fish that do those sorts of things all the time.

Answer 3

It is true that every culture (including the Inuit who have no contact with reptiles) have some sort of dragon myths. I believe at one time there might have been such a creature or species of creatures that inspired these myths. Maybe the reason we don't see them is they are simply too smart for us. Or maybe they want us to see them but we have simply become blinded by modern cynicism and technology. Have we simply become too educated for our own good? There was a time that mankind would have been too scared to try and create an atom bomb. Now it seems like every nation in the world wants to get some sort of nuclear weapon. A little superstition isn't a bad thing. After all if religious beliefs are a type of superstition they can be especially good. For instance if a Christian speaks out against the death penalty because he believes that life is sacred then why is his belief wrong? Or if a Buddhist refuses to eat any meat and as a result was able to end slaughter of animals why would his "superstitions" be a bad thing. If a persons "superstitious belief" in a divine being causes him to try to better himself and his enviroment or to restrain his own actions towards others then why is it wrong for him to be superstitious. If our belief in dragons causes us to open our minds to the possiblities of things existing beyond the realm of human thinking and science then why would that be wrong. As long as a persons personal and religious beliefs do not cause physical or emotional harm to others then why not allow them?

Answer 4

Phoenix and dragons may have existed some point in life. Many people say that they were the same things. The Phoenix was a feathered serpent that usually breathed fire upon itself to gt rid of parasites. Which brought forth the theory of phoenixes being reborn from the flames.
I still think that they're different animals, and people destroyed them out of fear that they might harm them.

Answer 5

Maybe East and West were not as separate as you think.

Maybe some of the legends came from the middle-east for example. Or traveled from one side to the other through the Silk Road.

Answer 6

If you look at the eastern dragon, the shape is 99% different all but the head is different, anyhow i meander, if you look at an Eastern dragon (Asian) they have long snake-like bodies and no wings, said to be the source of the elements, the western (European/medieval) dragon had a larger body with large wings many times breathes fire.

Answer 7

remember we all came from one place in the begining.
religious = eden, scientic= pagea africa and when we were people of that era were fear the unknown and a nightmare became stories that were passed down from generation and all borders thus thats why lost of different cultures have dragons. the same reason every country has stories of the living dead and monsters. also the counties with these dragons have become great places for paleontologist to dig up dinosuars.

Answer 8

perhaps they are only "fictional" in the context of waking, consensus, 3D reality. at a deeper, archetypal level, the level that is sometimes accessed in dreams and meditation, for example, they truly have their being as self existent entities, just as real as we are here in our dimension. these alternate dimensions have been for thousands of years, and still are, adeptly navigated by shamans and magicians. these realms are journeyed to in order to visit with such creatures and many benevolent other ones, as well, so as to enlist their help in bringing healing, and other benefits, to the human travellers and their communities. no matter the earth plane location of the shaman, east or west, the "inner worlds" are essentially the same.

Answer 9

they r a bit similar because thy r part of same world i dont know whether phoenix or dragon exist or not but at the same time i cannot judge them as fictional because without a bomb ther will be no explosion so i think they exist

Answer 10

That where you are wrong. East and West dont have the same beliefs. It more a modern theme that you are referring to.