Episode Details

Strap on your breastplate, pray to your chosen sky god, and bring your sharpest lance, for in this truly epic Bonus Episode we're going on a rip-roaring quest through the twisted history of dragons!

Part of the "Three Ravens Bestiary" series, Martin and Eleanor start by chatting through modern ideas of dragons (and Wyverns, Wyrms, and Basilisks) before leaping back in time to discuss the first dragons ever written about, Mušḫuššu and Apep, along with the tales and customs associated with them as found in the earliest cradles of human civilization.

From there, the scope of the adventure broadens, including trips to China, Japan, India, Ancient Greece and Rome, along the Silk Road, and into Norse mythology.

Nowhere is safe, be it the deepest, darkest parts of Biblical and Middle Eastern mythology or the brightest lights in French, German and English art and literature.

Yet, as they cut and thrust their way through Beowulf and The Faerie Queene, tales of Lindworms and questing knights, the works of Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, video games and much more, they wrestle with the questions that really matter.

Like, what does the mongoose have to do with the history of dragons? And what sort of length should a dragon really be? And what do dragons actually represent when we encounter them in folklore?

Try not to look the foul beasts in the eye, and ready your shield, for the time has come to tame the most infamous mythical creature of all...

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if you’re interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen in…

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