Saint Sylvester and the Dragon
Saint Sylvester, or Pope Sylvester I, was partly responsible for Constantine’s conversion to Christianity. Taking on this mentor role, he was the person to whom Constantine turned when a dragon began to plague his people with poisonous breath that killed hundreds daily. And so, Sylvester prayed, and the Holy Spirit told him to go down into the cave, and bind the mouth of the dragon. Sylvester did as he was counseled, and thus vanquished the dragon. The two priests that followed him, however, were affected by the dragon’s poison, but Sylvester was able to revive them, and converted them from their pagan beliefs to Christianity. (Jacobus, 70-71).
In different versions of this legend, Silvester stops the dragon with different methods- binding its neck with a chain, paying ritual sacrifices, sealing it in a hole in the earth, or merely tying its mouth shut and leaving it behind (Ogden, 221-224), but the most often cited is the last listed. Agnolo Gaddi, an Italian painter, turned the life of Saint Sylvester into a series for an altar’s Predella. One panel (left) depicts the above legend in its entirety. On the far right, Constantine stands crowned after requesting Sylvester’s aid. Left of center, Sylvester with his saint’s halo is depicted binding the mouth of the dragon, which is strangely calm. On the ground below the dragon are the two priests who were knocked unconscious by the dragon. Behind the figures on the ground, the same men stand after being awakened.
What interests me most in this image is how calm the dragon appears to be: instead of fighting back, the dragon completely submits to Sylvester, and everyone leaves unscathed. While Sylvester himself is also peaceful in his actions, as he merely approached the beast and was able to subdue the creature, but he was still immediately put into a role of dominance…