The Pindos mountains took their name from the mythological hero Pindos. He was a son of Macedon, son of Zeus. Pindos vanquished Draco, a dragon who lived in the mountains and subsequently befriended him. The myth may be related to the dragon Phoebus that Apollo slew. The alpine lakes of the Pindos mountains often bear the name ”dragon lake” (drakolimne), and evidence of ancient dragons can be seen in the rare amphibian triton, a kind of salamander, that lives in these lakes.
King Macedon had many sons, the eldest of whom was Pindus, the tallest and most handsome man of his day. When King' Macedon died, Pindus succeeded to the throne, and seemed likely to be as good a king as his father, and as much beloved by his people. But his brothers were jealous of him, and they conspired together, and at length drove him from the throne. Pindus might have made war against his brothers, for most of the Macedonians were faithful to him. But he did not wish to bring about civil war, or to harm his brothers, in spite of their wickedness, and he made no attempt to win back the throne. Instead, he devoted all his time to hunting, and soon became famous throughout all Greece for his skill at the chase. One day he was pursuing some young wild mules, and spurring his horse after them, left far behind those who were hunting with him. The mules sought shelter in a deep cavern and disappeared from sight, so Pindus leapt from his horse, tied it to the nearest tree, and prepared to follow them into the cave. As he was about to enter, a voice cried: "Do not touch the mules!" Who called he could not see, for the rocks caught the words and echoed them from all sides. Being unable to discover who had called to him so mysteriously, and feeling that it might be some god warning him for his good, Pindus turned back, mounted his horse, and left the place. Next day as he hunted alone he drew near to the same place, and paused in doubt near the cavern. He did not dare to enter it, but began looking about to see if any mountain shepherds or hunters lived near the spot who might have warned him on the previous day. Suddenly, while he searched, there came out of the cavern into which the mules had disappeared a dragon of immense size, its great neck and head arching up above his own, and its tongue flicking hungrily from side to side between its sharp white fangs. Though desperately afraid, Pindus did not turn to fly. For he thought: "The dragon can move much faster than I, and will simply sink its teeth into my back and drag me off to its cave. There is no escape, but I'd rather die facing my foe than fleeing from him." The dragon did not seem to be in an angry mood, and made no attempt to attack Pindus, but stood over him swaying its head from side to side and hissing softly. A desperate thought came to Pindus. At his belt hung some partridges and a young deer which he had caught that morning. Kneeling down, he offered these to the dragon, saying: "Take all I have. Spare me, and I will bring you each day half of what I take in the chase." It is to be doubted whether the dragon understood the words, but it seemed to understand the action. For it seized the birds and the deer in its jaws, and turning, carried them off into the cave, where it disappeared from sight. Pindus backed slowly away to where he had tied his horse, leapt upon its back, and galloped thankfully down the valley to safety. But it seemed to him that he had made a promise which he must keep. So each evening he would carry half the spoils of the chase and lay them outside the dragon's cave. He did not see the great creature again, but the offerings vanished each night, and it seemed also that extra good fortune attended him in his hunting from that day on. Not only did he catch far more than ever before, but as he himself grew both more handsome and more famous as a hunter, more and more followed him in the chase, both men and women. All this made his brothers even more jealous than when he was king, and they began to plot how they might murder him. Their chance came one day when he had gone out hunting alone, and they were able to lay an ambush for him, attack him suddenly from all sides, and soon dispatch him. As he died, however, Pindus cried out once for help, and his voice went ringing away into the mountains and ended in one long despairing cry that echoed from rock to rock and whispered away into silence. The dragon in the great cave heard that cry, recognized the voice of the man whose life he had once spared, and who had ever afterwards fed him so faithfully, and came at full speed to see what was happening. When he saw Pindus lying dead, bleeding from many wounds, and the wicked brothers standing round with their tell-tale swords still bloody in their hands, he swooped down upon them, screaming with rage. The brothers turned to fly, but they had no chance of escape. The dragon seized one in his jaws, struck down another with his curved talons, and with a single sweep of his great tail broke the backs of the rest. Then he crouched down beside the murdered man and did not cease to guard him until the people of Macedon came to pay the last funeral dues to their beloved king. Pindus was buried with all honour in a splendid tomb high on the slopes of the mountains which have ever afterwards born his name. Then only did the dragon turn and vanish from sight in the deep gorge that led to his cave in the Pindus Mountains. From the Hamish Hamilton Book of Dragons |