The Dundee Dragon

You can find this statue in Dundee, Scotland, guarding the east of high street. It is the work of Alistair Smart and Tony Morror, and was erected in the 1990s.

This statue is based on the local Dundee legend of the Nine Maidens or The Strathmartine Dragon. Dragons are also present on Dundee’s coat of arms.

According the legend, an old farmer had sent one of his nine daughters to take water from the well. As she didn’t return, he sent his other daughters, one by one, but none of them came back. When he went to look for them, he found them dead, at the feet of a dragon. The old farmer couldn’t fight the beast, and went to the town to look for help. Martin, the lover of one of the maidens, would be the one to slay the dragon while the townfolk shouted “Strike, Martin”. According to the legend this was the origin of the name of Strathmartine , a village near Dundee.

This legend is also thought to be related to Balluderon stone, a Pictish symbol stone which depicts a dragon-like creature