Ignatius states that there was in the library of Constantinople the intestine of a dragon one hundred and…
- Date of account
- Published 1886
- Source
- Mythical Monsters
- Reference
- Mythical Monsters · selected passage 62
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-24
Record summary
Ignatius states that there was in the library of Constantinople the intestine of a dragon one hundred and twenty feet long, on which were written the Iliad and Odyssey in letters of gold
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyIgnatius states that there was in the library of Constantinople the intestine of a dragon one hundred and twenty feet long, on which were written the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ in letters of gold. There is no ambiguity in Lucan's[204] description of the Æthiopian dragon: "You also, the dragon, shining with golden brightness, who crawl in all (other) lands as innoxious divinities, scorching Africa render deadly with wings; you move the air on high, and following whole herds, you burst asunder vast bulls, embracing them with your folds. Nor is the elephant safe through his size; everything you devote to death, and no need have you of venom for a deadly fate." Whereas the dragon referred to by Pliny (_vide ante_, p.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis is a historical compilation of unusual-animal reports and argument. Witness testimony, repetition between publications and the author's zoological assumptions all affect independence and reliability.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice compares morphology, behaviour and setting while keeping misidentification, folklore, exaggeration, error and known animals available as alternatives.
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