03 — The Dragon and the Demon
The most famous, most fabulous, and most consequential part of the legend: the two prison episodes. In the first, the devil appears to Marina in her cell as a great dragon and swallows her whole; she makes the sign of the Cross, and the dragon bursts, and she comes forth unharmed — the episode that became the root of her patronage of childbirth and safe delivery. In the second, a further demon appears, whom she seizes, binds, casts down, and interrogates, compelling him to confess his works. These files report both episodes as the legend gives them, read them frankly as hagiographic legend — as the Church’s own tradition has long flagged the dragon — and trace how the bursting-forth became the seed of Marina’s protection of women in labor.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Great Martyr; virgin-martyr)
These two episodes are where Marina’s legend departs furthest from anything the historian can entertain and where, at the same time, the cult found its most powerful and enduring image. The dragon that swallows the saint and bursts at the sign of the Cross is the iconographic and devotional core of the whole tradition — and it is exactly the kind of episode the Golden Legend itself calls “apocryphal and not to be taken seriously.” This section therefore holds two things together with particular care: the legend in its full and vivid form, and the source-critical honesty that names it legend. The result is the collection’s clearest demonstration of its governing discipline — the dragon read as legend, the saint honored without it.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Swallowed by the Dragon | The famous episode: the devil as a dragon swallows Marina in prison; she signs herself with the Cross and the dragon bursts; she emerges unharmed — the Golden Legend’s own “apocryphal” flag, and how the bursting-forth became the root of her patronage of childbirth. |
| Hammering the Demon | The second prison episode: the further demon Marina seizes, binds, and interrogates, compelling him to name his works — read as hagiographic legend and as the source of her distinctive demon-subduing iconography. |
See Also
- The Tortures — the imprisonment in which the prison wonders are set
- The Protectress in Labor — how the dragon-bursting made Marina patroness of childbirth
- The Virgin Hammering the Demon — the iconography these episodes generated
- Reading the Marina Tradition — the method by which the dragon is read as legend
References
- Greek Passio of St. Marina, BHG 1165–1167. Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1957.
- Jacobus de Voragine. The Golden Legend, “St. Margaret.” Trans. Ryan. Princeton, 1993.
- Bibliotheca Sanctorum, vol. 8, “Marina.” Rome, 1966.