Today I'm going to continue my character analysis series. Dagon Greyjoy will be my focus for this post. He was Lord Reaper of Pyke and Lord of the Iron Islands.
Image from http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/House_Greyjoy
Lord Dagon Greyjoy was Lord of Pyke and the Iron Islands during the reign of King Aerys I Targaryen. He last sat in the Seastone Chair"almost a hundred years" before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire.
By 211 AC, Dagon and his ironborn were raiding along the Sunset Sea and the western coast of Westeros. They raided as far south as the Arbor, attacking and burning Little Doskand carrying off half the wealth of Fair Isleand a hundred women. Dagon sent ironborn north, where Lord Beron Stark was gathering swords to drive him off, and Lord Tybolt Lannister was building ships to fight him on the seas.
After Dagon's time the ironborn would not raid the Reach until 300 AC.
-Wiki of Ice and Fire
As we can see, Dagon ruled the Iron Islands about one hundred years prior to the main book series. If you follow the novellas, though he is a character that is mentioned and lives during Duncan the Tall's lifetime.
Not a great deal is told about Dagon. He is only mentioned four times in the main series, twice in the novellas, and three times in The World of Ice and Fire.
By all accounts, he was able to cause problems for the Starks in the North and the Lannisters in the Westerlands. I find the quote bearded the lion and tied The wolves tails in knots. I don't have any idea what it could be implying, but i cant get past it seeming odd.
Dagon being Lord Reaper, we can assume he was trying to return to the Old Way of the Ironborn. Victorian even says that he tried, but ultimately was not able to, because of the "dragons". I find that to be a saving grace of sorts. He was trying to take his people back to the root of their heritage. Their reaving lifestyle isn't one to be glorified, but it's almost like the Dothraki in the regard that it was the only lifestyle they have known. It's how they had been raised to believe, and even in our modern day, we see how being indoctrinated by a radical cause influences people to do horrific things.
They also live on an island with little resources. The only way to change that would be to take over an area and rule like Harren the Black did, when he built Harrenhal. They are destined to be stuck on the Iron Islands, so a longing for their Old Way of living is only natural. They are in a forced poverty of sorts and they follow leaders like Harren, Dagon, or even Euron to change the lifestyle of an entire people. In my opinion that's his saving grace and a justification of sorts for their actions.
Image from http://www.charmsaddict.com/game-thrones-house-greyjoy-bracelet/
Thank you all for your time and reading.
-Bran the Builder