A 17th century illustration of a dragon killed on Rhodes

An illustration of a 20-metre long dragon, with wings and four legs, breathing smoke. It lived in a swamp on the Greek island Rhodes in the 14th century, from where it preyed on the cattle of the locals. So many of the Knights of Jerusalem lost their lives trying to kill it that the Grand Master, Hélion de Villeneuve (c. 1270-1346 ) forbade the Knights to made further attempts. However one knight, Dieudonné de Gozon, disobeyed and, after months of special training, attacked the beast with his dogs. Knocked off his horse, de Gozon managed to stab the dragon in its soft underbelly, killing it. Despite the fury of de Villeneuve for the disobedience, de Gozon later replaced him as Grand Master in 1346, holding the position until his own death in 1353. The head of the dragon was nailed above the gate of the castle of the Knights, where it stayed until 1837. More modern sightseers recognised it as a crocodile. From a Dutch edition of 'Mundus Subterraneus' (Subterranean World), by Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), with a Dutch letterpress description. Kircher, a German Jesuit polymath, wrote books on religion, volcanos, music, China, Egyptian hieroglyphics and an early description of the magic lantern.