House Targaryen is among other things, the most famous for breeding dragons and conquering the whole of Westeros with them. What we’ve seen in Game of Thrones with Daenerys and her dragons barely scratches the surface when it comes to the long history of Targaryens and dragons. Now that the House of the Dragon started airing we are going to use this opportunity to explore some of the most famous dragons that House Targaryen ever bred, in particular, we’re going to compare Visenya’s Vhagar and Aegon the Conqueror’s Balerion. Both dragons were large and powerful and both dragons were ridden during the conquest of Westeros it is only fair we compare them in both size and strength. So, Vhagar vs. Balerion, which dragon is bigger and stronger?
Balerion was both bigger and stronger than Vhagar but only slightly. Even though Vhagar was described as having a roar that could shake the very foundations of Storm’s End and breath hot enough to boil knights in their armor, Balerion would prevail if it ever came to a riderless fight since Vhagar was ultimately killed by Caraxes, a dragon twice smaller than her and with less battle experience. No dragon in the history of House Targaryen was as nasty and powerful as Balerion.
Now that you know the short answer you’re probably wondering why we came to our conclusion, join us as we analyze both Vhagar and Balerion and what were they like in their most glorious days.
Vhagar Vs. Balerion Size Comparison
Balerion is known as the Black Dread and honestly, that should be enough to tell you everything there is about him, but joking aside Balerion is the proud owner of one more title, the biggest dragon that House Targaryen ever bred. It’s fitting that he was ridden by King Aegon I Targaryen during the Conquest.
Balerion was always described as a black monstrosity, his wing span was enormously large, his teeth were “as long as swords” and he had a jaw wide enough to swallow a mammoth. In his old age though, due to his size, Balerion had trouble taking up the air he was too weak to support his weight. Balerion stopped growing in his old days, near his death which in part explains his enormous size.
Vhagar on the other hand was ridden by Aegon’s sister Visenya Targaryen during the conquest as well. It’s also interesting to note that Vhagar was a female dragon, not only that she was only slightly smaller than Balerion.
After Balerion’s death, Vhagar was considered the strongest, largest and nastiest dragon in all of Westeros that no other could match. We don’t know much about her size from the books, only that she could swallow a whole horse and that no dragon was her match when it comes to her size.
Even though Vhagar and Balerion both held the title of largest dragons at one point, the winner is clear Balerion is still THE largest Targaryen dragon ever. Balerion is a clear winner when it comes to size.
Vhagar Vs. Balerion Strength Comparison
A great deal of the dragon’s strength comes from its size and the power of its Dragonfire. Taking that into account both Balerion and Vhagar were described as being powerful, having large jaws, powerful Dragonfires, and enormous wingspans.
Balerion had teeth as long as swords and Balerion’s Dragonfire was so potent, that he managed to burn towers of Harrenhall like they were “candles”. Balerion managed to burn countless men, keeps, towers and swords with its Dragonfire and it seemed like no dragon would ever be a match for him.
Vhagar was also known for her extremely potent Dragonfire. It was said that she could boil a knight alive in his armor. During the Field of Fire all three Targaryen dragons took to the sky at the same time (Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes) it was said that all three dragons burned 4 thousand men alive between them. A large portion of those surely can be attributed to Vhagar. Vhagar was also known for her powerful thundering roar.
But for this analysis to be objective we have to mention what happened to Vhagar. Vhagar was killed by a smaller less experienced dragon Caraxes he managed to lock its jaw around Vhagar’s neck. Both dragons and their riders died that day. It was clear that no matter Vhagar’s strength and sheer size, she wasn’t as calculating and powerful in battle as she hoped.
And there you have it, the comparison between Balerion and Vhagar. Balerion was the biggest dragon in Valyria. Vhagar was the most famous female dragon and second in size only to Balerion. They were both powerful dragons, both were veterans of powerful battles, but only the strongest among them managed to live to ripe old age and die of natural causes and that was Balerion the Black Dread.
