40000 BC
The dragon's closely-linked counterpart, the serpent, appears in Australian Aboriginal culture and legend. The Rainbow Serpent was beneficial and revered; in the Dreamtime, this serpent shaped the plains, hills and rivers, and also created man and beasts.
The legend of the Rainbow Serpent first came to surface at around 40 000 BC, although estimates range from 65 000 BC- 35 000 BC.
Other Australian "dragons" include the related Bunyip, who was viewed with caution but, for the most part, was a reserved creature who rarely had contact with people.

4000 BC
The dragon's form, like the Rainbow Serpent, is still serpentine in shape- no doubt, this is a blatant copy of the snakes found within Africa. The Egyptian culture was neither black or white, but rather, had varying shades of grey between- it is somewhere, in the midst of that spectrum, that the serpent-dragon Apep fits.
Apep himself, though he tried to create chaos by swallowing the sun nightly, was seen as a dualistic entity who kept the balance between good and evil. It was this balance which ensured the world retained its inherent order of life.

2962 BC
Fu Hsi of China meets a dragon on the banks of China's Yellow River (this same river is renowned for its links to dragon kind). During their encounter, the dragon tutors Fu Hsi in the art of writing and music. Along with these skills, Fu Hsi is taught the secrets of civilisation, including how to use a compass and set-square to take accurate measurements, how to fish and how to domesticate animals (Steer, 2003).

1450 BC
The Babylonian myth Enuma elish, "When on high", tells how god-hero Merodach (Marduk) slays the creator-dragon Tiamat, who raised an army consisting of dragons, demons and monsters (Macdonald, 2001). With this force Tiamat plotted the demise of the younger gods, as revenge for the slaying of her male counterpart, Apsu. From her body, Merodach created the earth, sea and sky.

700 BC
Due to their fiery temper, dragons are quickly described as the forces behind natural sea hazards in Greek mythology (Macdonald, 2001). Dangerous rocks that would cut a ship to pieces are Scylla (a dragon or serpent with huge teeth), and a whirlpool is Charybdis (a swallowing monster).

221 BC
The start of the Qin era (221 BC- 207 BC) of Ancient China saw dragons become royal symbols (Littleton, 2002). The first emperor of China, Shi Huangdi, adopts the dragon as an emblem of his power. The five-toed Imperial dragon (a purely royal symbol) is limited to the emperor alone; anyone else bearing the Imperial dragon faces swift and harsh punishment, usually death.

130 BC
The Biblical recount of Daniel in the Lion's Den is first recorded (Macdonald, 2001). The story tells how Daniel poisoned a dragon that was worshipped as a god, and later, as punishment for praying to God, he was cast down into a pit of lions. However, thanks to his strong faith he survived (Macdonald, 2001).

480 AD
The Greek Neo-Platonic treatise (a thorough or formal book on a particular subject) Difficulties and Solutions of First Principles by Damascius is written; it is a story closely resembling the Enuma elish in its theme, where a dragon battle (in some sense) ensues (Fishbane, 1998).

565 AD
The Loch Ness Monster makes her first reported appearance. A man had been bitten to death by the serpent, and St Columba, who was passing through, helped to bury the man (Eggleton & Suckling, 1998).

793 AD
During a lightning storm, dragons were seen in the air and lashes of fire were sighted devouring the land and sky. They were described as "shooting to and fro", and were signs of a prolonged famine and a time of death and disease (Whitlock, 1983).

795 AD
Another lightning storm of terrific magnitude took place, and great dragons were seen blazing above the earth. These dragons and the lightning which accompanied them again foretold of a great famine (Whitlock, 1983).

1000 AD
A runestone was found in Sweden depicting Siegfried roasting the dragon, Fafnir's, heart (ugcs.caltech.edu, 2004). Once consumed, the dragon's heart gave Siegfried the ability to understand the language of animals. Dragon body parts were often believed to hold magical and healing properties.

c. 1100 AD
A wood carving on the door posts of a Norwegian church depicts Reign forging the sword with which Sigurd uses to slay the dragon Fafnir.

1170 AD
At St Osythes a dragon of "marvelous bigness" was seen, whose sheer movements caused houses to burn to the ground (Whitlock, 1983).

c. 1200 AD
Throughout Europe (a time more commonly referred to as the Middle Ages or Medieval times), dragons were generally thought of as sinister and evil. Symbolically, dragons were emblems of the devil or Satan, and many stories regarding saints slaying dragons or fiery serpents arose during this time (however, these stories were purely a metaphorical way to describe the triumph over paganism).

1233 AD
Along the British sea coast during the month of June, two large dragons were seen battling one another in the sky, until eventually one was the victor. The defeated dragon retreated into the sea, and the other dragon followed. After this the dragons were not sighted again, however strife arose in the king's court that same year (Whitlock, 1983).

c. 1300 AD
The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl is worshipped by the people of Mexico (or the Mexica), who offer sacrifices to their winged serpent god. Quetzalcoatl (who belonged to the amphitheatre dragon race) plays an important part in Aztec culture, and among these people it is a commonly held belief that their feathered serpent god will again reveal himself and bring about the end of the world (Macdonald, 2001). The Aztec winged serpents were seen as divine, and were exalted to the ranks of deities.

1532 AD
During this year a dragon mating season or gathering took place, as pairs of dragons were seen flying together or in great groups which could number up to four hundred individuals (Whitlock, 1983).

c. 1600 AD
The Fon people (founders of the kingdom of Dahomey), saw the universe as a split calabash or round fruit: the top forms the heavens, while beneath floats the waters and, resting on top of those primordial waters, is the flat earth (Littleton, 2002). In some accounts of this theory, the Fon believed that the serpent Aido-Hwedo (who was so old he was alive before the earth) lies beneath the world to prevent it sinking.
Aido-Hwedo, along with the goddess Mawu, shaped the land, rivers and mountains before man was made (Littleton, 2002).

1855
Religious prints known as the "Catfish pictures" appeared after the last great earthquake in Edo (now Tokyo). These talismanic prints depicted a gigantic catfish or dragon being subdued by a monkey or warrior-hero, using a sword (Girardot, 1983).

1868
On a Sunday, the 15th November, Mr Calvert from south-western NSW (Australia) sighted a bunyip (Barnard, 2001). Mr Calvert tried to scare the bunyip into shallow waters with his horse, however the bunyip managed to slip away. The creature was described as large and dark brown (Barnard, 2001).

1876
The seven tablets of Enuma elish (the Babylonian story of creation which involves the creator-dragon Tiamat) were discovered on a British expedition of Nineveh. Parts of them were translated and published by George Smith (Hooke, 1963).

1930 - 1940
The first photographs claiming to have captured the Loch Ness Monster on film are published. A scientific investigation of the sea serpent is quickly undertaken, and numerous research is carried out, which continues to the present day (Macdonald, 2001).

Today
The dragon is one of the most diverse creatures; it is both god and devil, creator and destroyer, omen of darkness and symbol of royalty. Movies, books, the internet and other media has ensured the dragon has remained as prolific today as it was throughout history.