Balerion Vs. Drogon: Who Is Bigger (And Stronger)?

Balerion, The Black Dread, is one of the oldest, biggest, and strongest dragons the Targaryens ever had. On the other hand, Drogon is the only dragon left alive after the Game of Thrones events, and he is often compared to Balerion both in size and overall appearance. The question is, who is bigger and stronger – Balerion or Drogon?

Balerion is the biggest, strongest dragon that the House Targaryen had ever bred – thus bigger and stronger than Drogon. The only other dragon that ever came close to his strength and size was Vhagar, and it was years after Balerion had already died.

Drogon is the largest among his brothers, Rhaegal and Viserion, and his black and red scales resemble Balerion a lot. But, dragons grow their entire life, so the older they get, the larger they become. Drogon was big but still very young during Game of Thrones and nowhere near Balerion in size and strength.

Balerion Vs. Drogon Size Comparison

Balerion, The Black Dread, was one of the first-generation dragons that the House Targaryen bred. He was huge, with black and red scales and dark wings. Even his fire was said to be as black as night. 

In the books, dragons grow for as long as they live, and Balerion was one of the largest dragons who lived for a very long time. He was so large his shadow could cover an entire town when he flew, and his jaws were so big he could swallow an entire mammoth.

In the Game of Thrones series, Balerion is long gone, but his enormous skull still decorates the cellars of the Red Keep. We see his head compared to Cersei, and it’s almost three times her height – and that’s just his head. 

His skull and skeleton remained in the Red Keep, as he passed away in the Dragonpit from old age after over two hundred years of life.

The only other dragon who ever came close to The Black Dread in size was Vhagar. After Balerion had passed away, she was the only remaining dragon alive from the time of Aegon Targaryen’s conquest.

Vhagar was the youngest of the original three dragons (with Balerion and Meraxes the other two), so she was the smallest. However, when they both passed away, Vhagar kept growing.

During the Dance of the Dragons, she was approaching 200 years of age, so she came close to Balerion in size, but never got as big, as she died in battle against Caraxes.

As for Drogon, he was still a young dragon during the Game of Thrones events. He was the biggest of his three brothers (Rhaegal and Viserion being the other two), and he grew incredibly fast, but he didn’t come even close to Balerion’s size simply because he was a lot younger.

His spectacular appearance also resembled Balerion uncannily, but when you compare Balerion’s skull to Drogon’s head, you can see that Balerion was at least twice as big.

However, Drogon was still alive at the end of Game of Thrones, meaning he could live to grow larger than Balerion in the future. We don’t know if that’ll ever happen or not, but seeing his growth rates, he might become even larger than his enormous ancestor.

Balerion Vs. Drogon Strength Comparison

Balerion and Drogon are extremely similar in terms of appearance – both were big and black with red details, big red-to-orange eyes, and many spikes covering their chest. Based on that, we can assume their strength would be about the same, provided they were of the same age and size.

Of course, Balerion was older, meaning he grew bigger than Drogon ever did, and he fought more wars and battles, making him more experienced in combat. All in all, Balerion was larger, more experienced, and in the end, much stronger than Drogon.

Drogon was the strongest and most aggressive dragon of Daenerys Targaryen, and he showed spectacular strength in the final battle at King’s Landing, where he destroyed half the city with his breath and fire. If he grew to be The Black Dread’s size, he might be even stronger, but as it is, Balerion would destroy him in combat.

Be that as it may, Drogon was surprisingly strong for his size. He was able to burn down and melt the Iron Throne – the same Throne that the breath of Balerion had forged.

Is Drogon the Reincarnation of Balerion?

Due to his size and appearance, even as a young dragon, the Dothraki proclaimed Drogon to be the reincarnation of Balerion The Black Dread. Khaleesi, Daenerys Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, chose to name Drogon after the Dothraki leader and her deceased husband, Khal Drogo.

One other theory that the fans claim to confirm Drogon being Balerion’s reincarnation is that he didn’t kill Jon Snow after he had murdered Daenerys but rather melted and destroyed the Iron Throne. 

Balerion’s breath forged the Throne, which as a result, brought nothing but death and despair to the Seven Kingdoms, so Drogon – supposedly Balerion reincarnated – decided to burn it down the same way he had forged it.

In reality, those are just theories that we may or may not choose to believe. George R.R. Martin’s books have no inclination or insinuation that the dragons may reincarnate as other dragons.

The more realistic, obvious theory is that Drogon is a direct descendant of Balerion. After all, they come from the same family tree, hence, the uncanny resemblance in appearance, size, and power.

Therefore, Drogon isn’t the reincarnation of Balerion but his descendant. More likely, he had burned the Throne to end the misery it had caused, especially seeing that his mother died because of her desire to sit on the Throne. 

He didn’t even kill her murderer even though he could, knowing that it wasn’t Jon’s fault that Daenerys died, but rather the Throne’s.