In Greek myth, dragon's teeth feature prominently in the legends of the Phoenician prince Cadmus and Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. In each case, the dragon's teeth, once planted, would grow into fully armed warriors. The Oricoli bust of Zeus, King of the Gods, in the collection of the Vatican Museum. ... Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plains of what is now Lebanon. ... Cadmus Sowing the Dragons teeth, by Maxfield Parrish, 1908 Cadmus, or Kadmos (Greek: Κάδμος), in Greek mythology, was the son of the king of Phoenicia and brother of Europa. ... Jason (Greek: Ιάσων, Etruscan: Easun) is a hero of Greek mythology who led the Argonauts in the search of the Golden Fleece. ... Jason returns with the golden Fleece on an Apulian red-figure calyx krater, ca. ...

Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's Teeth, by Maxfield Parrish, 1908

Cadmus, bringer of literacy and civilization, killed the sacred dragon that guarded the spring of Ares. The goddess Athena told him to sow the teeth, from which sprang a group of ferocious warriors called the spartoi. He threw a precious jewel into the midst of the warriors, who turned on each other in an attempt to seize the stone for themselves. The five survivors joined with Cadmus to found the city of Thebes. Cadmus Sowing the Dragons Teeth, 1908 Source: http://mcduffskeep. ... Cadmus Sowing the Dragons Teeth, 1908 Source: http://mcduffskeep. ... Cadmus Sowing the Dragons teeth, by Maxfield Parrish, 1908 Cadmus, or Kadmos (Greek: Κάδμος), in Greek mythology, was the son of the king of Phoenicia and brother of Europa. ... The Dinky Bird, by Maxfield Parrish, an illustration from Poems of Childhood by Eugene Field, 1904. ... // Chinese dragon, colour engraving on wood, Chinese school, 19th Century The dragon is a mythical creature typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. ... Statue of Ares, villa Hadriana In Greek mythology, Ares (battle strife; in Greek, Άρης)[1] is the son of Zeus (king of the gods) and Hera. ... Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ... In Greek mythology, the Spartes (sown) were the men who grew from the sown teeth of a dragon. ... Jewel can refer to Jewel, American singer. ... Thebes (in Demotic Greek: Θήβα — Thíva, Katharevousa: — Thēbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ...

Jason obtained the remaining dragon's teeth with the aid of Aeetes of Colchis. He offered the Golden Fleece to Jason if Jason would sow them into the ground. Jason did this and successfully overcame the warriors with the aid of Medea, who gave him the means to resist fire and steel. Aeetes (in Greek Αἰήτης) - King of Colchis (territory of modern West Georgia) in Greek mythology, Aeetes figured prominently in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. ... In ancient geography, Colchis (sometimes spelled also as Kolchis) (Greek: Κολχίς, kŏl´kĬs; Georgian: კოლხეთი, Kolkheti) was a nearly triangular district in Caucasus. ... Medea by Evelyn De Morgan. ...

The classical legends of Cadmus and Jason have given rise to the phrase "to sow dragon's teeth." This is used as a metaphor to refer to doing something that has the effect of fomenting disputes, rather akin to the law of unintended consequences. In language, a metaphor (from the Greek: metapherin rhetorical trope) is defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. ... Unintended consequences can be either positive, in which case we get serendipity or windfalls source of problems, according to the Murphys law definitively negative: perverse effect, which is the opposite result to the one intended The Law of unintended consequences holds that almost all human actions have at least...

Cultural references

Dragon's teeth was used in World War II to refer to fortifications intended to slow the advance of mechanized armies. During World War II, the term Dragons teeth came to designate square-pyramidal fortifications used to impede the progress of mechanized armies. ...

Stephen Baxter's novel Evolution includes a segment where 21st century soldiers are placed into suspended animation in hidden bunkers, ready to wake up and fight behind enemy lines if their territory is occupied. In the novel this is referred to as "sowing dragons' teeth". Stephen Baxter at the Science-Fiction-Tage NRW in Dortmund, Germany, March 1997 Stephen Baxter (born in Liverpool, 13 November 1957) is a British hard science fiction author. ... Evolution (ISBN 034545782X) is a science fiction book by author Stephen Baxter. ... The 21st century is the present century of the Gregorian calendar. ... Suspended animation is the slowing without termination of life processes by external means. ... Bunkers in Albania A bunker is a defensive military fortification. ...

"Dragon's Teeth" was also the title of a novel by Upton Sinclair about the rise of the German Nazi Party. Upton Sinclair I never met a Socialist, or a Socialist cause, that I didnt like. ... The Nazi swastika symbol The National Socialist German Workers Party ( German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ...