Does anyone know when the first mention of the story of St. George and the Dragon is? I have encountered some who claim the Saint is just copied from Perseus.
What are the similarities with Perseus, because seems to me they are quite different stories. If St George had flying sandals and slew a Medusa you would've had me.
The claim is based on this part of the legend. "On the way back to Seriphos Island, Perseus stopped in the kingdom ofAethiopia. This mythical Ethiopia was ruled by King Cepheus and QueenCassiopeia. Cassiopeia, having boasted her daughter Andromeda equal in beauty to the Nereids, drew down the vengeance of Poseidon, who sent an inundation on the land and a sea serpent, Cetus, which destroyed man and beast. The oracle of Ammonannounced that no relief would be found until the king exposed his daughter Andromeda to the monster, and so she was fastened naked to a rock on the shore. Perseus slew the monster and, setting her free, claimed her in marriage." The claim is the story of Sr. George and the dragon is copied from this. I don't put much stock into this as I noticed the guy making the claim had made some factual errors (saying Marcion founded Gnosticism, or the patron saint of Spain is James The Lord's brother, and his cult was copied from the "the cult of the twins in Spain" by which I think he means Castor and Pollux.) Still, it made me wonder when the legend first sprang up.
If some hero defeating some monster serves as the root then almost any greek myth would serve. I'd hazard a guess that your conversant is fishing for avenues to trample Christianity..z
That is what I thought as well, but it got me thinking and wondering when the story of St. George and the Dragon first appeared. Since dragons don't exist, this legend about him must have developed at some point in time. I figure it had to be before the Great Schism as I have seem Eastern Orthodox icons depicting it. (Sorry to take so long to reply.)
I think that the story is inspired by an actual event where St. George slayed a crocodile...coming fom the swampy part of the south and having personally seen a gator in captivity more than twenty- five feet long...you're a little too hastey when you say that dragons do not exist. perhaps not as they have been mythologized, but at least down here "there be dragons".
From my understanding it goes back really far. Also from the stories I do not think it far fetched. There some really big crocs. A crocodile has to be killed after it eats a human being. Cause if you do not kill it starts thinking slow moving soft meat bags are food and starts to pray on them. I mean a soldier killing a Crocodile is rather believable and could be possible. We put our faith in some crazy claims. So st George sure i believe it.
not to get too far afield on the "dragon" subject, but here's a documentary on giant crocadiles. Not such a farfetched concept after all: http://youtu.be/nQS08CfDp7U
St. George’s story: “St. George, (flourished 3rd century—died, traditionally Lydda, Palestine [now Lod, Israel]; feast day April 23), early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial valour and selflessness. He is the patron saint of England. Nothing of George’s life or deeds can be established, but tradition holds that he was a Roman soldier and was tortured and decapitated under Diocletian’s persecution of Christians in 303. Legends about him as a warrior-saint, dating from the 6th century, became popular and increasingly extravagant. Jacob de Voragine’s Legenda aurea (1265–66; Golden Legend) repeats the story of his rescuing a Libyan king’s daughter from a dragon and then slaying the monster in return for a promise by the king’s subjects to be baptized. George’s slaying of the dragon may be a Christian version of the legend of Perseus, who was said to have rescued Andromeda from a sea monster near Lydda. It is a theme much represented in art, the saint frequently being depicted as a youth wearing knight’s armour with a scarlet cross. George was known in England by at least the 8th century. Returning Crusaders likely popularized his cult (he was said to have been seen helping the Franks at the Battle of Antioch in 1098), but he was probably not recognized as England’s patron saint until after King Edward III (reigned 1327–77) made him the patron of the newly founded Most Noble Order of the Garter. He was also adopted as protector of several other medievalpowers, including Portugal, Genoa, and Venice. With the passing of the chivalric age and finally the Protestant Reformation, the cult of St. George dwindled. His feast is given a lesser status in the calendar of the Church of England; a holy day of obligation for English Roman Catholics until the late 18th century, it is now an optional memorial for local observance.” (St. George, Encyclopedia Britannica)