Dragon Teeth Hunters and the Mindless Destruction of History

World myths present a holographic array of surreal characters and events, but among the most powerful and misunderstood of all mythological concepts, are dragon’s teeth. In Western mythology, when planted, dragons’ teeth became weapons of mass destruction and from them grew armies infused with the spirits of dead warriors. In the East, however, dragons’ teeth were and still are believed to be very real, and this article explains how Chinese alchemists are causing the willful destruction of important paleontological landscapes to support the dragon teeth trade.

An alchemical dragon illustrated in a 1460 edition of the Medieval Liber Floridus. Public Domain.

The Mythological Origins of Dragon’s Teeth

In Greek mythology, dragon’s teeth were ‘planted’ in the stories of Cadmus and Jason and the Argonauts. The former hero was the bringer of literacy and civilization, who collected the teeth after killing a “sacred dragon”. Having been advised by the goddess Athena to sow the teeth, a group of ferocious warriors called the spartoi grew from them. Jason’s legendary quest for the Golden Fleece was also hindered when planted dragons’ teeth grew into fully armed skeletal-zombie-warriors.