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Paper short abstract

Before seismology, people believed earthquakes were caused by a dragon moving underground, while its flight brought storms and hail. This legend reappeared after the 2020 earthquakes in Zagreb and Banija, Croatia.

Paper long abstract

Before the development of seismology, earthquakes were "caused," according to mythological understandings of nature, by dragons from oral traditions. Specifically, the meteorological myth and the myth of earthquakes suggest that the dragon’s movement in the depths of the earth, according to belief, would cause an earthquake, while its flight through the sky would bring about storms and hail. For example, in Iceland and Scandinavia, it was believed that dragons and monsters beneath the ground could trigger earthquakes with their movements.

I refer to an oral belief from the area around Zagreb (Croatia), which says: "The dragon sleeps beneath the hill, his head by the water in Susedgrad, his tail in Kašina. When he awakens, he strikes with his tail—so be quiet, lest the dragon awaken. While he sleeps, he brings peace..."

This belief legend was revived after the recent earthquake in Zagreb and Banija (Croatia, 2020).

What is common in the legends of the Grabancijaš and the Pozoj is the idea that only a student sorcerer (the Grabancijaš or “črnoškolec” – literally "black-school student") can defeat or summon the Pozoj (dragon). Both variants emphasize that disturbing the dragon is dangerous—it can lead to earthquakes and storms. As one version notes, if that were to happen, a part of the town of Čakovec would collapse.