fact which went among the Greeks by the name of λαίλαψ, bringing injury to the agriculturist and peril to the voyager.
Ἐκ δὲ Τυφωέος ἔστ᾿ ἀνέμων μένος ὑγρὸν ἄεπτων,
νόσφι Νότου Βορέω τε, καὶ ἀργέστεω Ζεφύρου τε·
οἵ γε μὲν ἐν θεόφιν γενεὴ, θνητοῖς μέγ᾿ ὂνειαρ.
αἱ δ᾿ ἄλλαι μαψαῦραι ἐπιπνείουσι θαλασσαν.
αἱ δ᾿ ἤτοι πίπτουσαι ἐς ηεροειδεά πόντον,
πῆμα μέγα θνητοῖσι, κακῇ θύουσιν ἀέλλῃ.
ἄλλοτε δ᾿ ἄλλαι ἀείσι, διασκιδνᾶσι τε νῆας,
ναύτας τε φθείρουσι· κακοῦ δ᾿ οὐ γίγνεται ἀλκὴ
ἀνδράσιν, οἵ κείνῃσι σινάντωνται κατὰ πόντον·
αἱ δ᾿ αὕ καὶ κατὰ γαῖαν ἀπείριτον, ἀνθεμόεσσαν
ἔργ᾿ ἐρατὰ φθείρουσι χαμαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων,
πιμπλεῦσαι κόνιός τε καὶ ἀργαλέου κολοσυρτοῦ
In both modern Greek and Lithuanian household mythology the dragon or drake has become an ogre, a gigantic man with few of the dracontine attributes remaining. Von Hahn, in his Griechische und Albanesische Märchen, tells many tales of drakes, and in all, the old characteristics have been lost, and the drake is simply a gigantic man with magical and superhuman powers.
It is the same among the Lithuanian peasantry. A dragon walks on two legs, talks, flirts with a lady, and marries her. He retains his evil disposition, but has sloughed off his scales and wings.
