In Greek mythology, Python was the serpent, sometimes represented as a medieval-style dragon, living at the center of the Earth, believed by the ancient Greeks to be at Delphi.
Apollo killing Python. A 1581 engraving by Virgil Solis for Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book I
Sculpture by Pietro Francavilla of Apollo's first triumph, when he slew with his bow and arrows the serpent Python, which lies dead at his feet. The Walters Art Museum
Relief of Leto and her children running away from Python, 4th-3rd century BC, Michael C. Carlos Museum.
The Dragon (symbolizes Python, guardian of subterranean waters) in the Parc Güell, Barcelona, Spain
A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian, mammalian, and avian features. Some scholars believe large extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Asian dragon imagery.
Illustration of a winged, fire-breathing dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch from 1806
Qing-era carved imperial Chinese dragons at Nine-Dragon Wall, Beihai Park, Beijing
Dragon-shaped bows on ships in Ystad, Sweden, resembling Viking longships
Several bones purported to belong to the Wawel Dragon hang outside Wawel Cathedral, but actually belong to a Pleistocene mammal.