Fairy tales such asJack the Giant Killer have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted and violentogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat livestock. In more recent portrayals, like those ofJonathan Swift andRoald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly.
Giants appear many times in folklore and myths. Representing the human body enlarged to the point of being monstrous, giants evoke terror and remind humans of their body's frailty and mortality. They are often portrayed as monsters and antagonists, but there are exceptions. Some giants intermingle with humans in a friendly way and can even be part of human families, their offspring portrayed as regular humans often referred to ashalf-giants.[3]
Folklorists and historians examine the role giants are assigned in regionalgeomythologies. For example,Fionn mac Cumhaill is said to have built theGiant's Causeway on theisland of Ireland.[4] Per a 1965 examination in anAmerican studies journal, "It is generally admitted today thatPaul Bunyan was a synthetic figure conceived by advertising men rather than the spontaneous product of the folk mind, yet he has been adopted by the American people with enthusiasm...Paul and his blue ox Babe are supposed to have altered the appearance of the American continent; the animal's hoof prints became the lake beds of the Northwest and from its drinking trough spilled theMississippi River."[5] Fossilized remains of ancient mammals and reptiles common to theSivalik Hills of India may have influenced aspects of theMahābhārata that tell of battles in which "hundreds of mighty, and sometimes gigantic, heroes, horses, andwar elephants are said to have died."[6]
Claudine Cohen, in her 2002 bookThe Fate of the Mammoth, argued that the history of human interaction with fossil bones of prehistoricmegafauna was heavily influenced by giant lore.[7] Per Cohen, the proto-scientific study of giants appears in several phases of human history:Herodotus reported that theremains of Orestes were found inTegea;Pliny described a giant's skeleton found inCrete after an earthquake, and seemed to refer to evolution as the process by which giants become human-size over time; andSaint Augustine mentions what is believed to have been the fossilized molar of an ancientElephantidae in hisCity of God, in a passage reflecting on the nature and meaning of the Noahacian deluge.[7] The academic consideration of giants continued through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and even the early modern period.Boccaccio devoted a passage of hisGenealogies of the Pagan Gods to purported archeological discoveries in Sicily that he thought might be evidence of the historicity ofThe Odyssey'sPolyphemus.[7]Rabelais created a wholly "fabricated giantology" for his 16th-centuryGargantua and Pantagruel.[8] Massive bones found in 1613 in France were initially assigned toTeutobochus but the examinations of them by various physicians and their publication of diverging conclusions about the bones kicked off a "pamphlet war" between anatomists and surgeons of the day.[7] The discovery of the so-calledClaverack Giant incolonial New York triggered giantological investigations by two important early American intellectuals,Cotton Mather andEdward Taylor.[9]
Genesis tells of theNephilim before and afterNoah's Flood. The wordNephilim is loosely translated asgiants in some translations of the Hebrew Bible, but left untranslated in others. According toGenesis 7:23, the Nephilim were destroyed in the Flood, but Nephilim are reported after the Flood, including:
TheBook of Numbers[10] includes the discouraging report by the spies sent byMoses intoCanaan: "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are. (...) All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed likegrasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." TheBook of Joshua, describing the actual conquest of Canaan in a later generation, makes reference to such people living there in (Joshua 14:12–15 and Joshua 15:13–14).
The Bible also tells ofGog and Magog, who later entered European folklore, and of the famous battle betweenDavid and thePhilistineGoliath. While Goliath is often portrayed as a giant in retellings of the Biblical narrative, he appears to be significantly smaller than other giants, biblical or otherwise. TheMasoretic Text version of theBook of Samuel gives his height as sixcubits and one span (possibly 313–372 centimetres (10 ft 3 in – 12 ft 2 in)),[15] while theSeptuagint, the 1st-century Jewish historianFlavius Josephus and the 2nd–1st-centuries BCEDead Sea Scrolls give Goliath's height as four cubits and one span (possibly 216–258 centimetres (7 ft 1 in – 8 ft 6 in)).[16] For comparison, the Anakites are described as making the Israelites seem like grasshoppers.[17] See alsoGibborim.
Josephus also described the Amorites as giants in hisAntiquities of the Jews, circa 93CE, indicating that some sort of fossils may have been on display at that time:[18] "For which reason they removed their camp to Hebron; and when they had taken it, they slew all the inhabitants. There were till then left the race of giants, who had bodies so large, and countenances so entirely different from other men, that they were surprising to the sight, and terrible to the hearing. The bones of these men are still shown to this very day, unlike to any credible relations of other men."[19]
Hayk was known as the founder of the Armenian state. Hayk was part of a race of giants who helped construct theTower of Babel. Ancient historianMovses Khorenatsi wrote, "Hayk was handsome and personable, with curly hair, sparkling eyes and strong arms. Among the giants he was the bravest and most famous, opponent of all who raised their hand to become absolute ruler over the giants and heroes."[21]
Mount Nemrut is known to have received its name from an Armenian tradition in whichNimrod was killed by an arrow shot by Hayk during a massive battle between two rival armies of giants to the south-east ofLake Van.[22]
Giants are rough but generally righteous characters of formidable strength living in the hills of theBasque Country. Giants stand for the Basque people reluctant to convert to Christianity who decide to stick to the old lifestyle and customs in the forest. Sometimes they hold the secret of ancient techniques and wisdom unknown to the Christians, like in the legend ofSan Martin Txiki, while their most outstanding feature is their strength. It follows that in many legends all over the Basque territory the giants are held accountable for the creation of many stone formations, hills and ages-oldmegalithic structures (dolmens, etc.), with similar explanations provided in different spots.
However, giants show different variants and forms, they are most frequently referred to asjentilak andmairuak, while as individuals they can be represented asBasajaun ("the lord of the forests"), Sanson (variation of the biblicalSamson), Errolan (based on theFrankish army generalRoland who fell dead at theBattle of Roncevaux Pass) or evenTartalo (a one-eyed giant akin to the GreekCyclopsPolyphemus).
InBulgarian mythology, giants calledispolini inhabited the Earth before modern humans. They lived in the mountains, fed on raw meat and often fought againstdragons. Ispolini were afraid ofblackberries which posed a danger of making the giants trip and die, so they offered sacrifices to that plant.[23]
There are tales of giants in the northern Chilean port town ofCaldera telling of giants who play with ships moving them from one port to another.[24] Tales of the same area also tells of giants who are able to crush humans with their feet and when laying down to sleep being so long as to reach from the mountains to the sea.[24] In some stories the giants are black humanoids or black bulls.[24] Insouthern Chile there are stories of giants said to belong to certain volcanoes such asCalbuco andOsorno.[24]
Themythical city ofTololo Pampa in northern Chile is said to be guarded by a giant known by various names including;Pata Larga,Gigante Minero andMinero Gigante.[25] The giant enters to the mountains to obtain riches to the princess of Tololo Pampa.[25] If a person manages to watch the giant while he works folklore says the person will be blessed withgood luck for the rest of their life.[25]
Heracles faces the giantAntaios in this illustration on a calixkrater, c. 515–510 BC.
InGreek mythology, theGigantes (γίγαντες) were (according to the poetHesiod) the children ofUranus (Ουρανός) andGaia (Γαία) (spirits of the sky and the earth) where some depictions had them with snake-like legs. They were involved in a conflict with theOlympian gods called theGigantomachy (Γιγαντομαχία) when Gaia had them attackMount Olympus. This battle was eventually settled when the heroHeracles decided to help the Olympians. The Greeks believed some of them, likeEnceladus, to lie buried from that time under the earth and that their tormented quivers resulted inearthquakes andvolcanic eruptions.
Herodotus in Book 1, Chapter 68, describes how theSpartans uncovered inTegea the body ofOrestes, which was seven cubits long — approximately 3.73m, or about 12feet 3inches. In his bookThe Comparison of Romulus with Theseus,Plutarch describes how theAthenians uncovered the body ofTheseus, which was "of more than ordinary size." The kneecaps ofAjax were exactly the size of adiscus for the boy'spentathlon, wrotePausanias. A boy's discus was about 12 cm (4.7 in) in diameter, while a normal adultpatella is around 5 cm (2.0 in), suggesting Ajax may have been nearly 14feet (over 4m) tall.
TheCyclopes are also compared to giants due to their huge size (e.g.Polyphemus, son ofPoseidon andThoosa and nemesis ofOdysseus inHomer'sThe Odyssey). The Elder Cyclopes were the children of Gaia and Uranus, and later madeZeus' "master thunderbolt", Poseidon's trident, andHades' "helm of darkness", during theTitanomachy.
TheHecatoncheires are giants that have 100 arms and 50 heads who were also the children of Gaia and Uranus.
Other known giant races in Greek mythology include the six-armedGegeines, the northernHyperboreans, and the cannibalisticLaestrygonians.
There are accounts stating humans grew to the size of giants during theSatya Yuga, the first of the four cyclical ages (yugas) in theHindu reckoning of time.[26]
According toJainism, there was a time when giants walked upon this earth.[27][28]Jain cosmology divides the worldly cycle of time into two parts or half-cycles,avasarpani (age of descending purity) and ascending (utsarpani).[29]
Division of time as envisaged by Jains. Human beings are said to be much taller than today in the first fouraras ofavasarpani and last fouraras ofutsarpani.
According toJain texts, the height ofRishabhanatha, firsttirthankara of the present half-cycle of time (avasarpani) was 500dhanusa (longbow).[30]Inavasarpani, as the cycle moves ahead, height of all humans and animals decreases. The following table depicts the sixaras ofavasarpini–
InNorse mythology, thejötnar (cognate withOld English:eotenas and English:ettin) are often opposed to the gods. While often translated as "giants", most are described as being roughly human-sized. Some are portrayed as huge, such as some frost giants (hrímþursar), fire giants (eldjötnar), and mountain giants (bergrisar). Thejötnar are the origin of most of various monsters in Norse mythology (e.g. theFenrisulfr) and in the eventual battle ofRagnarök, the giants will stormAsgard and fight the gods until the world is destroyed. Even so, the gods themselves were related to thejötnar by many marriages and descent; there are alsojötnar such asÆgir who have good relationships with the gods and bear little difference in status to them.Odin, often regarded as the chief god, is the great-grandson of thejötunnYmir. Norse mythology also holds that the entire world of men was created from the flesh of Ymir, a giant of cosmic proportions whose name is considered by some scholars to share aroot withYama of Indo-Iranian mythology.
Trolls are beings that are sometimes very large. The nametroll is applied tojötnar.
An oldIcelandic legend says that two night-prowling giants, a man and a woman, were traversing thefjord nearDrangey Island with their cow when they were surprised by the bright rays of daybreak. As a result of exposure to daylight, all three were turned into stone. Drangey represents the cow and Kerling (supposedly the female giant, the name means "old hag") is to the south of it. Karl (the male giant) was to the north of the island, but he disappeared long ago.
According toNorthern Paiute oral history, theSi-Te-Cah or Sai'i are a legendary tribe of red-hairedcannibalistic giants, the remains of which were allegedly found in 1911 byguano miners in Nevada'sLovelock Cave.[31] Furthermore, the Paiute creation story tells of "beautiful giants" who once lived between theSierra Nevadas and theRocky Mountains. After giving birth to a disfigured child, the giants treated the child so poorly thatthe Great Spirit responded by making the land hot and desolate and allowing enemies to conquer the giants. Only two giants survived: Paiute and his wife, both of whose skin became brown from eternally living in the hot desert.[32]
SeveralJupiter-Giant-Columns have been found inGermania Superior. These were crowned with a statue of Jupiter, typically on horseback, defeating or trampling down a giant, often depicted as a snake. They are restricted to the area of south-western Germany, western Switzerland, French Jura, and Alsace.
Infolklore from all over Europe, giants were believed to have built the remains of previous civilizations. The Danish historianSaxo Grammaticus thought giants had a hand in the creation ofmegalithic monuments. Similarly, theOld English poemThe Seafarer speaks of the high stone walls that were the work of giants. Natural geologic features such as the massivebasalt columns of theGiant's Causeway on the coast ofNorthern Ireland were attributed to construction by giants.
In the Netherlands, giants are often associated with creating or forming the landscape. For instance, two giants are said to have dug a channel, until they reached the village ofAkkrum, where they had an argument and each went his own way, thus splitting the channel into two separate waterways. Others threw up hills, or became hills themselves when they died on the spot. In several legends, giants were evil beings that threatened, robbed and killed travellers or locals; such asEllert and Brammert, in the province ofDrenthe.
Medievalchivalry romances such as the SpanishAmadís de Gaula feature giants as antagonists, or, rarely, as allies. This is parodied famously in Cervantes'Don Quixote, when the title character attacks a windmill, believing it to be a giant. This is the source of the phrasetilting at windmills.
Tales of combat with giants were a common feature in the folklore of theBritish Isles. Celtic giants also figure inBreton andArthurianromances. InKinloch Rannoch, a local myth has a local hill resembling a giant named asThe Sleeping Giant. Folklore says the giant will awaken only if a specific musical instrument is played near the hill.Giants are also prominent inWelsh folklore.
Many giants inEnglish folklore were noted for their stupidity.[33] A giant who had quarrelled with theMayor of Shrewsbury went to bury the city with dirt; however, he met a shoemaker, carrying shoes to repair, and the shoemaker convinced the giant that he had worn out all the shoes coming fromShrewsbury, and so it was too far to travel.[34] Other English stories told of how giants threw stones at each other, which was used to explain many great stones on the landscape.[35]
^Robert, of Gloucester; Wright, William Aldis (1887).The metrical chronicle of Robert of Gloucester. University of California Libraries. London : Printed for H.M. Stationery off., by Eyre and Spottiswoode. p. 25.
^γίγαντες, Georg Autenrieth,A Homeric Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library
^abcdCohen, Claudine (2002).The Fate of the Mammoth. University of Chicago Press. pp. xiv (prescientific analysis of megafauna fossils), 23–26 (historiography of giant lore), 27 (Boccaccio), 31 (1613 France).ISBN9780226112923.
^Smith, P. J. (2019). Parody and Appropriation of the Past in the Grandes Chroniques Gargantuines and in Rabelais’s Pantagruel (1532). In K. A. E. Enenkel & K. A. Ottenheym (Eds.),The Quest for an Appropriate Past in Literature, Art and Architecture (Vol. 60, pp. 167–186). Brill.http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvbqs5nk.14
^Стойнев, Анани; Димитър Попов; Маргарита Василева; Рачко Попов (2006). "Исполини".Българска митология. Енциклопедичен речник (in Bulgarian). изд. Захари Стоянов. pp. 147–148.ISBN954-739-682-X.
^abcdMontecino Aguirre, Sonia (2015). "Gigante".Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos (in Spanish).Catalonia. pp. 307–308.ISBN978-956-324-375-8.
^abcPlath, Oreste (1979).Folklore chileno (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile: Editorial Nascimiento. p. 116.
^Loud, Llewellyn L.; M. R. Harrington (15 February 1929). "Lovelock Cave". University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology (University of California at Berkeley) 25 (1): 1–183.
^Greene, Michael S (2005).Nevada: A Journey of Discovery. Utah: Gibbs Smith. p. 39.ISBN1-58685-139-X.
Lyman, Robert R., Sr. (1971).Forbidden Land: Strange Events in the Black Forest. Vol. 1. Coudersport, PA: Potter Enterprise.* Dakhloul / Fakih debate, HHUMC (2013).Are Giants Just a Hoax?. Saida, Lebanon: Archive
Schäfke, Werner (2015). ″Dwarves, Trolls, Ogres, and Giants″. In Albrecht Classen (Ed.):Handbook of medieval culture. Fundamental aspects and conditions of the European middle ages, vol. 1. Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 347–383.
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