Modern Depictions
In the early 20th century sculpture of the Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland, inspired by Medieval art, dragons are a frequent theme—as symbols of sin but also as a nature force, fighting against man.
Dragons and dragon motifs are featured in many works of modern literature, particularly within the fantasy genre. Prominent works depicting dragons include J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern.
The popular role playing game system Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) makes heavy use of dragons, and has served as inspiration for many other games' dragons. Though dragons usually serve as adversaries, they can be either good or evil, with their alignment being determined by their species. For example, a red dragon is evil and breathes fire.
Some modern pseudo-biological accounts of dragons give them the generic name Draco, although the generic name Draco is used in real-world biology for a genus of small gliding agamid lizard. An infectious disease called Dracunculiasis, caused by infection with the Guinea worm which grows up to 3 feet (0.91 m) long before emerging from its host, also derives its name from dragons (literally "infestation with little dragons"), based on the burning pain experienced by sufferers.
Some creationists believe that dragons of mythology were actually dinosaurs, and that they died out with other creatures around the end of the ice age.
The dragon is used as a mascot of some athletic programs. Notable among them is Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, one of the state's dominant high school football programs with eight state championships.
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