Skip to content

Art Quote by August Westman

“It is interesting to note that, as historians and archeologists discover art and writings from ancient civilizations, there are certain patterns that show up in each civilization’s mythology. For example: Chinese, Europeans, and ancient central and south Americans all have art depicting large…” quote by August Westman
Download Open image
““It is interesting to note that, as historians and archeologists discover art and writings from ancient civilizations, there are certain patterns that show up in each civilization’s mythology. For example: Chinese, Europeans, and ancient central and south Americans all have art depicting large, winged lizards, most of which could breathe fire. While it is possible that the idea of these creatures were shared between the Chinese and Europeans, there is no historical evidence suggesting that they had done so. Besides that, it is near impossible that they could have shared this idea with, say, the Aztecs, as exploration into the new world didn’t happen until centuries after the first carvings of the Quetzalcoatl. Each culture portrayed these beings differently, ranging in size, shape, and purpose, but the defining physical traits are still, undeniably and bizarrely, too similar to be a coincidence. While there are some modern theories for this phenomenon, and no physical evidence suggesting that they existed, it still raises the question: is it possible that dragons were real? Another example: every civilization in the Common Era has at one point in their history sustained superstitions that, either through ritual or through improper burial, a corpse can rise from the dead and take the life force of living humans to gain great power. Each culture had their own name for these monsters, but as time has progressed society has been satisfied to call them the same thing. Vampires.””

August Westman

About This Quote

Source Essay: Online Article, 2023

The author notes striking similarities in dragon myths across distant cultures, questioning whether these parallels are coincidence, diffusion, or evidence of a shared ancient memory.

In simple terms: Similar dragon myths appear worldwide, puzzling scholars.

Key Takeaway

Cross‑cultural dragon myths intrigue.

Themes

Explore mythic patterns critically.

Mood

curious analytical

Type

scholarly inquisitive

When to use this quote

  • cognitive archetypes
  • collective imagination
  • diffusionism

Key Concepts

mythology culture patterns comparative studies

Practical Applications

  • academic research
  • museum curation
  • storytelling
  • education

Questions to Reflect On

  • Why do humans create fire‑breathing creatures?
  • What other motifs recur globally?
A Different Perspective

The argument may overstate similarity without accounting for universal human symbolism.

4.3 out of 5 (8 ratings)

More by August Westman

Explore all 10 August Westman quotes

More Art quotes

Browse all 48,652 Art quotes