House of the Dragon and its predecessor, Game of Thrones, take place in a fantasy world where dragons are real, can be ridden and are used as instruments of war. At least a couple of protagonists in the original series and most of them in the prequel show belong to House Targaryen, the only existing family of dragonriders. Naturally, there is considerable interest in a size chart ranking of all the Targaryen dragons from the biggest to the smallest.
So, here’s a ranking of all the dragons.
All Targaryen dragons ranked by size from biggest to smallest
The chart below goes beyond the shows to include dragons from George R. R. Martin’s books. The Targaryens were originally one of the 40 noble houses of dragonlords of the Valyrian Freehold. After one of its members, Daenys the Dreamer, had a dream about the Doom of Valyria, they permanently shifted to Dragonstone and brought along whatever they could, including the dragons. The doom and the subsequent events made them the sole surviving family of dragonriders in the world of Martin’s A Song of of Ice and Fire.
1. Balerion
In the books, Balerion had four recorded riders: Aegon I, Maegon I, Aerea Targaryen, and Viserys I. However, it’s safe to presume that he had other riders before the Conquest. A prop history book for House of the Dragon mentioned that Daenys the Dreamer claimed Balerion when he was no bigger than a horse, effectively making this event part of TV canon. However, it is unknown whether this is book canon as well.
Balerion was born in Valyria and was one of the five dragons that the Targaryens brought with them when they came to Dragonstone. He was the only one among those five to be alive during Aegon’s Conquest, which started about 113 years after the Targaryen relocation. During this period, Balerion had grown massive and had a wingspan that could cast a shadow over an entire town. His teeth were big as swords, and he could eat an auroch whole. Balerion was the biggest Targaryen dragon since the Conquest.
2. Vhagar
Vhagar was the second biggest Targaryen dragon since the Conquest. The she-dragon was born on Dragonstone after the Targaryens came to the island, unlike Balerion, during a period known as the Century of Blood. Her recorded riders were Visenya Targaryen, Baelon Targaryen, Laena Velaryon, and Aemond Targaryen. By the time of the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war depicted in House of the Dragon, Balerion had died, making Vhagar the biggest dragon in the world.
3. Meraxes
While we are not entirely sure about Meraxes’ position on this list, Rhaenys Targaryen’s dragon was undoubtedly big. Like Vhagar, she was born during the Century of Blood, and according to what Tyrion Lannister says, she was bigger than the other dragon at the time of the Conquest, though not as big as Balerion. Meraxes was ultimately killed alongside Rhaenys during the First Dornish War. Vhagar, who outlived Meraxes by well over a century, went on to grow significantly larger.
4. Vermithor
Legends claim that Vermithor, or the Bronze Fury, was born in the cradle of its first rider, Jaehaerys I Targaryen. By the time of the Dance of the Dragons, he was the second biggest living Targaryen dragon after Vhagar. During this period, his rider was Hugh Hammer.
5. The Cannibal
The Cannibal was one of the three wild dragons at the time of the Dance alongside Sheepstealer and Grey Ghost. Smallfolk of Dragonstone gave him that particular name because he sometimes ate dragon eggs as well as smaller and dead members of his species. Some claim that he had been on Dragonstone since before the Targaryens’ arrival on the island, though he was apparently not as big as Vhagar or Vermithor.
6. Sheepstealer
As mentioned above, Sheepstealer was one of the three wild dragons during the time of the Dance. According to Grand Maester Munkun, Sheepstealer was a “skinny” dragon. In the book, the dragonseed called Nettles became his rider. But in House of the Dragon, she hasn’t been introduced yet, and it seems that Rhaena Targaryen might replace Nettles as Sheepstealer’s rider in the show.
7. Silverwing
Silverwing was originally the dragon of Queen Alysanne Targaryen. She was born sometime between 36–42 AC. So, presumably, she was quite large by the time of the Dance. During this civil war, Wolf White was her rider.
8. Dreamfyre
Dreamfyre’s riders were Rhaena Targaryen and Helaena Targaryen. Although she was older than Silverwing, the former is described as “slender” in the book.
9. Caraxes
Caraxes is another dragon whose place on this list we aren’t entirely sure about. By the time of the Dance, the Blood Wyrm was old and about half as big as Vhagar. His two recorded riders were Aemon Targaryen and Daemon Targaryen.
10. Meleys
Meleys, or the Red Queen, had two riders in her lifetime: Alyssa Targaryen and Rhaenys Targaryen. She was a magnificent red dragon who was known to be one of the swiftest dragons in Westeros. She was about the same age as Caraxes or slightly younger. And she was definitely smaller in size than Vhagar.
11. Drogon
One of Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragons, Drogon is considerably larger than his siblings both in the show and in the books as he spent considerable time in the wild.
12. Seasmoke
The riders of Seasmoke were Laenor Velaryon and Addam of Hull. He was a relatively young and nimble dragon by the time of the Dance.
13. Rhaegal and Viserion
The two other dragons of Daenerys Targaryen, Rhaegal and Viserion weren’t as big as Drogon. This is because Daenerys reluctantly put them in captivity after learning about Drogon’s purported attack on a young girl. But eventually, they grew almost as big as Drogon towards the end of Game of Thrones (the TV series), when Jon Snow and the Night King rode them.
14. Syrax
Syrax was Rhaenyra Targaryen’s dragon and is described as huge. Given that Rhaenyra was the one who named her, it’s safe to speculate that she was young when she bonded with the future queen.
15. Sunfyre
Sunfyre, or Sunfyre the Golden, was Aegon II’s dragon. He was big and formidable despite his youth. His fate currently hangs in the balance in House of the Dragon Season 2. But in the book, he plays a huge role helping Aegon II go up against Rhaenyra.
16. Tessarion
Tessarion was Daeron Targaryen’s dragon. Although she was born around the same time as Arrax and Vermax, she outlived them both. By the time of her death, she was one-third in size to Vermithor.
17.
Moondancer
Moondancer was Baela Targaryen’s dragon. She was young, nimble, and smaller than Sunfyre. In the book, Baela couldn’t ride Moondancer in 129 AC as the latter was too small. But by 130 AC, Moondancer became big enough for Baela to ride.
18. Vermax
Martin’s book states that Vermax, the dragon of Jacaerys Velaryon, had been growing larger every year before the Dance. So, he was presumably bigger than Arrax at the time of his death.
19. Arrax
Lucerys Velaryon’s dragon Arrax was one fifth of Vhagar’s size during their confrontation in the skies over Storm’s End. As Arrax was younger and swifter, he and Lucerys could have escaped if the weather were better. But Storm’s End lived up to its name, and the encounter proved to be fatal for Arrax and his rider.
20. Morning and the last dragon
Morning was a dragon born during the Dance of the Dragons and was one of the very few of its species to survive the Targaryen civil war. Per the book, she died by 153 AC. She was bonded to Rhaena Targaryen in the book. Given that House of the Dragon seems to be establishing Rhaena as the rider of Sheepstealer instead of Nettles, it’s unclear whether Morning will appear in the show.
The unnamed last dragon was apparently the final Targaryen dragon to live in the years after the Dance. She was small and stunted, and her wings were withered. Although she laid five eggs, no hatchling came out of any of them. She died in 153 AC, and the Targaryens would not have another dragon for the next one and a half centuries until Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.
21. Morghul and Shrykos
In the book, Morghul and Shrykos were the dragons of Aegon II children Jaehaera Targaryen and Jaehaerys Targaryen. Both were born during the reign of Viserys I Targaryen. However, in the show, it is heavily implied that neither dragon had hatched by the time Blood and Cheese broke into Red Keep and killed Jaehaerys.
22. Tyraxes and Stormcloud
Tyraxes was Joffrey Velaryon’s dragon, whereas Stormcloud was Aegon the Younger’s (later, Aegon III) dragon. Both were young and relatively small by the time of the Dance.
23. Honorable mention: Grey Ghost (Size unknown)
Grey Ghost is the most reclusive of all the wild dragons. His size is largely unknown, though he apparently got defeated and eaten by an injured Sunfyre in the book. So we can presume that he was at least of a similar size if not smaller than the other dragon.
