The fight between Grendel and Beowulf

Beowulf's dragon is described with Old English terms such as draco (dragon) and wurm (worm or snake), and as a creature with a venomous bite. In addition, the poet of Beowulf created a dragon with certain features: a nocturnal, snuffling treasure, an inquisitive, vengeful, fire-breathing creature.The fire, probably symbolic of the devil's hellfire, recalls the monster in the Book of the Work. In the Septuagint Bible, the monster of the Work is characterized as a flying dragon and is identified with the devil. The dragon of the work would be available to the author of Beowulf, as a Christian symbol of evil, "a great monstrous opponent of God, man and animal alike".