Due to the generosity of a fellow gogger, I ended up with one, spare codes for The Legend of Kyrandia. And after consulting with them, they said I can gift it on. So I came up with this Giveaway to find good homes for these Gifts.

So here's the Question you need to answer:
Was what today is described as Dinosaurs, the origins of the legends of Dragons?

Probably not... Since dinosaurs lived millions of years before us. And until the 19th century we had no idea about dinosaurs. But legends of dragons are far older than that. The origin of the dragon legends is more likely in snakes in my opinion. The chinese dragon resembles more a snake than it does a dinosaur :).
Btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon#Animals_that_may_have_inspired_dragons - so on the other hand they might have considered some fossils as dragons :)
Cool giveaway. In and thanks.

Yes.
The first folks digging up fossils had no concept of the planet being millions of years old so assumed they must be the remains of more recent creatures which lived along side man, hence dragons.

snakes.
on the 747 Plane!

- Greek word used drákōn/drákontos could also mean "snake".

- accounts of spitting cobras may be the origin of the myths of fire-breathing dragons.

I am out.

Dinosaur is a combination of deinos (terrible) and sauros (lizard) from Greek.

Ancient peoples believed dragons to have existed, and some paleontologists believe there's a connection between dragon myths and the discovery of dinosaur fossils (as tinyE said).

As scientists researched the bones later on in the 19th and 20th centuries they came to realize there never really existed giant lizard creatures known as "dragons", but there was a species that had gone extinct long before humans inhabited the earth.

sources: http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/feature-dragons
http://www.strangescience.net/stdino2.htm

(Not in)

Many have often connected dragons to dinosaurs; for instance, crocodiles are considered cousins to the dinosaur branch. [1] When describing dragons, many dinosaur-like things pop up. Examples include the large teeth, reptilian appearance, living areas (depending on both dragon and dinosaur), size, and shape.

There is a good deal of evidence that one could argue about dragons being dinosaurs. Some seven hundred species have been found as of yet, and more are being discovered. [2] These creatures vary in shape, size, eating habits, habitats, and personality, much like dragons. As a matter of fact, dinosaurs are lumped into one category in the same way that dragons are, namely for the purpose of study.

There are many arguments over dinosaurs. Were the warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Have birds descended from them? Did man, or a man-like creature, live during the time of dinosaurs? Why and how did they die out? How did they evolve? How did their bodies function?

Then one can review the various sea dinosaurs, many of which are believed to survive to this day somehow. They are described much like dragons; huge, carnivorous, elusive, and serpent-like. Why is it that dinosaurs resemble dragons today?

Many believe that man did not live during the time of dinosaurs, which means that dragons came about by some other means, but it has been argued that dragons are dinosaurs.

Most likely, dinosaur bones were found by man for hundreds of years. Either washed up on shore, or in a cave. Early man had no explanation for these mysterious bones, so we created myths to answer the question.

That's the origin of "dragons" and other assorted Sea Monsters.

Thanks for the giveaway!

It is unlikely that dinosaurs were what inspired people to write about dragons. While dinosaurs do have quite a few similarities to dragons, what people might possibly have found back in the days would be the odd bone.
The western dragons are usually portrayed as large reptiles with wings (though it was not uncommon for them to have traits from other animals, such as curled horns (like that of a ram), feathered wings, bird like feet and so on. Usually they borrowed the traits from animals that were in some way menacing or downright dangerous (if not to humans, at least to their pets & livestock). So that was probably what inspired people.
There has also been quite a lot of "crossbreeding" with other mythical creatures. Sometimes dragons have been depicted with traits associated with say cockatrices, so exactly what counts as a dragon and what counts as something else is up for debate.

That explains Licurg.

Hey ! I told you that in secret ! More on the topic at hand, I remember reading somewhere that dragons were actually inspired by Greek myths of giant sea serpents, and not dinosaur bones, but I can't remember where.



Not in but +1

So are you looking for a specific answer or random and there is an end date?

THE ICE AGE!!!!

Oh wait, I think I did that joke wrong....

But yeah, supposedly most myths of dragons and assorted creatures came from the bones and fossils of creatures. China was one of the more prevalent believers, and chances are Pterodactyls, large bird-like creatures with wings were the major inspiration for dragons flying. Fear and worries led to some of the other tropes such as breathing fire and longevity. At some point you have trade and international travel (Before people were aware of the Americas) and belief and myth spread that way, correlating different fossils with that same myth. It could have happened the other way around, but that's the likely explanation.

Not in [*], but thanks for your generosity, both of you, te_lanus and the misterious donor!

As for your question: Nope. I think the Dark Ages' concept of dragons (Asian ones are considered wise creatures and bringers of good luck, IIRC) could be an evolution of the Bible's primordial snake (the Devil).

... and tinyE. :p

[*] Withdrawing my entry because I found out a a key whilst fighting zombies on a 747. ;) Thanks, mate! As you can see, that's not longer necessary. Please, feel free to enter for someone else, if you wish. :)