folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, giants (from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
giga-
Giga ( or ) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of a short-scale billion or long-scale milliard (109 or ). It has the symbol G.
''Giga'' is derived from the Greek word (''gígas''), meaning "giant". The ''Oxford English Dic ...
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the ''
Gigantes
In Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Giganto ...
'' ( grc-gre, Γίγαντες) of
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
.
Fairy tales such as '' Jack the Giant Killer'' have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted ogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat the livestock. The antagonist in ''
Jack and the Beanstalk
"Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...
'' is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...
and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly.
Literary and cultural analysis
Giants appear in the folklore of cultures worldwide as they represent a relatively simple concept. 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 with their offspring being portrayed as regular humans.
Religion and mythology
Abrahamic
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
Noah's Flood
The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the micro ...
. The word ''Nephilim'' is loosely translated as ''giants'' in some translations of the Hebrew Bible, but left untranslated in others. According to , the Nephilim were destroyed in the Flood, but Nephilim are reported after the Flood, including:
* The
Anakim
Anakim ( ''ʿĂnāqīm'') are mentioned in the Bible as a race of giants, descended from Anak.
According to the Old Testament, the Anakim lived in the southern part of the land of Canaan, near Hebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13). states that they i ...
* The
Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...
Emite
The Emites ( or ) or Emim ( he, ''ʾĒmīm'') was the Moabite name for Repha'im. They are described in the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 2 as having been a powerful and populous people. They were defeated by the Moabites, who occupied their la ...
s
The
Book of Numbers
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and c ...
includes the discouraging report by the spies who Moses sent into
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
: “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 like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” However, the Book of Joshua, describing the actual conquest of Canaan in a later generation, makes no reference to such people living there.
The Bible also tells of Gog and Magog, who later entered European folklore, and of the famous battle between
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and the PhilistineGoliath. 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. The
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
cubits
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding No ...
and one span (possibly ), while the
Septuagint
The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...
, the 1st-century Jewish historian
Flavius Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
and the 2nd–1st-centuries BCE
Dead Sea Scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...
give Goliath's height as four cubits and one span (possibly ). For comparison, the Anakites are described as making the Israelites seem like grasshoppers. See also Gibborim.
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
also described the Amorites as giants in his '' Antiquities of the Jews'', circa 93CE, indicating that some sort of fossils may have been on display at that time: "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."
The Book of Enoch describes giants as the offspring of Watchers and women in 7:2.
Armenian
Hayk was known as the founder of the Armenian state. Hayk was part of a race of giants who helped construct the
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.
According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
. Ancient historian
Movses Khorenatsi
Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late a ...
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."
Mount Nemrut
Mount Nemrut or Nemrud ( tr, Nemrut Dağı; ku, Çiyayê Nemrûdê; hy, Նեմրութ լեռ; Greek: Όρος Νεμρούτ) is a mountain in southeastern Turkey, notable for the summit where a number of large statues are erected around what ...
is known to have received its name from an Armenian tradition in which
Nimrod
Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...
was killed by an arrow shot by Hayk during a massive battle between two rival armies of giants to the south-east of
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
.
Basque
Giants are rough but generally righteous characters of formidable strength living in the hills of the Basque 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 of San 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-old megalithic structures ( dolmens, etc.), with similar explanations provided in different spots.
However, giants show different variants and forms, they are most frequently referred to as
jentilak
The jentil (or jentilak with the Basque plural), are a race of giants in the Basque mythology. This word meaning '' gentile'', from Latin ''gentilis'', was used to refer to pre-Christian civilizations and in particular to the builders of megali ...
and
mairuak
Mairu (plural: mairuak), also called Maideak, Mairiak, Saindi Maidi (in Lower Navarre), Intxisu in the Bidasoa valley are creatures of Basque mythology. They were giants who built dolmens or harrespil. Like the dolmens, they are only found in moun ...
, while as individuals they can be represented as
Basajaun
In Basque mythology, Basajaun (, "Lord of the Woods", plural: basajaunak, female basandere) is a huge, hairy hominid dwelling in the woods. They were thought to build megaliths, protect flocks of livestock, and teach skills such as agriculture ...
("the lord of the forests"), Sanson (variation of the biblical
Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
), Errolan (based on the
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
Battle of Roncevaux Pass
The Battle of Roncevaux Pass ( French and English spelling, ''Roncesvalles'' in Spanish, ''Orreaga'' in Basque) in 778 saw a large force of Basques ambush a part of Charlemagne's army in Roncevaux Pass, a high mountain pass in the Pyrenees on t ...
) or even
Tartalo
Tartaro, Tartalo, or Torto in Basque mythology, is an enormously strong one-eyed giant very similar to the Greek Cyclops that Odysseus faced in Homer's ''Odyssey''. He is said to live in caves in the mountains and catches young people in order t ...
Polyphemus
Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and leg ...
).
Bulgarian
In
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
mythology, giants called ispolini inhabited the Earth before modern humans. They lived in the mountains, fed on raw meat and often fought against dragons. Ispolini were afraid of
blackberries
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...
which posed a danger of making the giants trip and die, so they offered sacrifices to that plant.
Chilean
There are tales of giants in the northern Chilean port town of
Caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
telling of giants who play with ships moving them from one port to another. 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. In some stories the giants are black humanoids or black bulls. In
southern Chile
Southern Chile is an informal geographic term for any place south of the capital city, Santiago, or south of Biobío River, the mouth of which is Concepción, about {{convert, 200, mi, km, sigfig=1, order=flip south of Santiago. Generally cities ...
there are stories of giants said to belong to certain volcanoes such as
Calbuco
Calbuco is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Calbuco. Administratively Calbuco belongs to the Llanquihue Province of Los Lagos Region. The origin of the city was the Spanish Fort Calbuco founded in 1603, an ...
mythical city
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
of Tololo Pampa in northern Chile is said to be guarded by a giant known by various names including; ''Pata Larga'', ''Gigante Minero'' and ''Minero Gigante''. The giant enters to the mountains to obtain riches to the princess of Tololo Pampa. If a person manages to watch the giant while he works folklore says the person will be blessed with
good luck
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
in the rest of his life.
Greek
In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
, the ''
Gigantes
In Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Giganto ...
'' (γίγαντες) were (according to the poet
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet ...
) the children of
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus ( Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of ...
(Ουρανός) and Gaia (Γαία) (spirits of the sky and the earth) where some depictions had them with snake-like legs. They were involved in a conflict with the Olympian gods called the ''
Gigantomachy
In Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Giganto ...
'' (Γιγαντομαχία) when Gaia had them attack
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
. This battle was eventually settled when the hero
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
decided to help the Olympians. The Greeks believed some of them, like
Enceladus
Enceladus is the sixth-largest moon of Saturn (19th largest in the Solar System). It is about in diameter, about a tenth of that of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Enceladus is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most refle ...
, to lie buried from that time under the earth and that their tormented quivers resulted in earthquakes and
volcanic eruption
Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are oft ...
s.
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
in Book 1, Chapter 68, describes how the
Spartans
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
uncovered in
Tegea
Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal un ...
the body of
Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...
, which was seven cubits long — approximately 3.73m, or about 12feet 3inches. In his book ''The Comparison of Romulus with Theseus'',
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describ ...
, which was "of more than ordinary size." The kneecaps of
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
were exactly the size of a discus for the boy's pentathlon, wrote
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
. A boy's discus was about in diameter, while a normal adult
patella
The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as ...
is around , suggesting Ajax may have been nearly 14feet (over 4m) tall.
The
Cyclopes
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
are also compared to giants due to their huge size (e.g.
Polyphemus
Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and leg ...
, son of
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
and
Thoosa
In Greek mythology, Thoosa (, el, text=Θόωσα, translit=Thóōsa), also spelled Thoösa, was, according to Homer, the sea nymph daughter of the primordial sea god Phorcys, and the mother, by Poseidon, of the Cyclops Polyphemus.Homer, ''Odys ...
and nemesis of Odysseus in Homer's''The Odyssey''). The Elder Cyclopes were the children of Gaia and Uranus, and later made
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
' "master thunderbolt", Poseidon's trident, and Hades' "helm of darkness", during the
Titanomachy
In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; grc, , , Titan battle) was a ten-year series of battles fought in Ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Olympians (t ...
.
The
Hecatoncheires
In Greek mythology, the Hecatoncheires ( grc-gre, Ἑκατόγχειρες, , Hundred-Handed Ones), or Hundred-Handers, also called the Centimanes, (; la, Centimani), named Cottus, Briareus (or Aegaeon) and Gyges (or Gyes), were three monstrous ...
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-armed Gegeines, the northern
Hyperborea
In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans ( grc, Ὑπερβόρε(ι)οι, ; la, Hyperborei) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas" (the God of ...
ns, and the cannibalistic
Laestrygonians
In Greek mythology, the Laestrygonians or Laestrygones ( el, Λαιστρυγόνες) were a tribe of man-eating giants. They were said to have sprung from Laestrygon, son of Poseidon.Hesiod, '' Ehoiai'' fr. 40a as cited in ''Oxyrhynchus Pap ...
.
Hindu
There are accounts stating humans grew to the size of giants during the
Satya Yuga
''Satya Yuga'' ( ''Krita Yuga''), in Hinduism, is the first and best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Kali Yuga'' of the previous cycle and followed by ''Treta Yuga''. ''Satya Yuga'' lasts for 1,728,000 yea ...
, the first of the four cyclical ages (yugas) in the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
reckoning of time.
Jain
According to
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
, there was a time when giants walked upon this earth. Jain cosmology divides the worldly cycle of time into two parts or half-cycles, ''avasarpani'' (age of descending purity) and ascending (''utsarpani'').
According to Jain texts, the height of Rishabhanatha, first ''
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...
'' of the present half-cycle of time (''avasarpani'') was 500 ''dhanusa'' (longbow).
In ''avasarpani'', as the cycle moves ahead, height of all humans and animals decreases. The following table depicts the six ''aras'' of ''avasarpini''–
Native American
According to
Paiute
Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...
oral history, the
Si-Te-Cah According to Northern Paiute oral history, the Si-Te-Cah, Saiduka or Sai'i are a legendary tribe whose mummified remains were allegedly discovered under four feet of guano by guano miners in what is now known as Lovelock Cave near Lovelock, Nevada, ...
or Sai'i are a legendary tribe of red-haired
cannibalistic
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
giants, the remains of which were allegedly found in 1911 by guano miners in Nevada's
Lovelock Cave
Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18) is a North American archaeological site previously known as Sunset Guano Cave, Horseshoe Cave, and Loud Site 18. The cave is about 150 feet long and 35 feet wide.Heizer, Robert F., and Lewis K. Napton (1970). ''Archaeology ...
.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. Furthermore, the Paiute creation story tells of "beautiful giants" who once lived between the Sierra Nevadas and the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
. After giving birth to a disfigured child, the giants treated the child so poorly that the 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.
Aztec mythology
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accord ...
features the Quinametzin, a race of giant men created in one of the previous solar eras. They are credited with the construction of
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as t ...
.
Norse
In Norse mythology, the (cognate with ang, eotenas and eng, 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''). The are the origin of most of various monsters in Norse mythology (e.g. the
Fenrisulfr
Fenrir (Old Norse: ; "fen-dweller")Orchard (1997:42). or Fenrisúlfr (O.N.: ; "Fenrir's wolf", often translated "Fenris-wolf"),Simek (2007:81). also referred to as Hróðvitnir (O.N.: ; "fame-wolf")Simek (2007:160). and Vánagandr (O.N.: ; " ...
) and in the eventual battle of Ragnarök, the giants will storm
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...
and fight the gods until the world is destroyed. Even so, the gods themselves were related to the by many marriages and descent; there are also such as
Ægir
Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the gods in his halls ...
who have good relationships with the gods and bear little difference in status to them. Odin, often regarded as the chief good, is the great-grandson of the
Ymir
In Norse mythology, Ymir (, ), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writ ...
. 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 a
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
with
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
of Indo-Iranian mythology.
Troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...
s are beings that are sometimes very large. The name ''troll'' is applied to .
An old
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic legend says that two night-prowling giants, a man and a woman, were traversing the
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Förden and East Jutland Fjorde, Germany, ...
near Drangey 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.
A ''bergrisi'' – the traditional Protector of Southwestern Iceland – appears as a supporter on the coat of arms of Iceland.
Roman
Several Jupiter-Giant-Columns have been found in Germania 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.
Other European
In
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
from all over Europe, giants were believed to have built the remains of previous civilizations. The Danish historian,
Saxo Grammaticus
Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...
thought giants had a hand in the creation of
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
Seafarer
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
'' speaks of the high stone walls that were the work of giants. Natural geologic features such as the massive
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
columns of the
Giant's Causeway
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (5 km) northeast of ...
on the coast of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
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 of
Akkrum
Akkrum is a village in the Dutch province of Friesland. It is located in the municipality Heerenveen, about 17 km south of the city of Leeuwarden.
Akkrum had about 3,395 inhabitants in 2017.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1315 as ...
, 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 as Ellert and Brammert, in the province of Drenthe.
Medieval chivalry romances such as the Spanish ''
Amadís de Gaula
''Amadís de Gaula'' (in English ''Amadis of Gaul'') ( es, Amadís de Gaula, links=no, ); pt, Amadis de Gaula, links=no, ) is a Spanish landmark work among the chivalric romances which were in vogue in sixteenth-century, although its first ver ...
'' feature giants as antagonists, or, rarely, as allies. This is parodied famously in Cervantes' ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...
'', when the title character attacks a windmill, believing it to be a giant. This is the source of the phrase
tilting at windmills
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Western ...
.
Tales of combat with giants were a common feature in the folklore of the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
Arthurian
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
Kinloch Rannoch
Kinloch Rannoch (; Gaelic: ''Ceann Loch Raineach'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, at the eastern end of Loch Rannoch, 18 miles (29 km) west of Pitlochry, on the banks of the River Tummel.
The village is a tourist and outdoor ...
, a local myth has a local hill resembling a giant named as ''The Sleeping Giant''. Folklore says the giant will awaken only if a specific musical instrument is played near the hill.
Many giants in
English folklore
English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the English region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, and folktales. Its cultural history is rooted in Celtic, Christia ...
were noted for their stupidity. A giant who had quarrelled with the Mayor 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 from Shrewsbury, and so it was too far to travel. Occasionally this is inverted, however, and a long-lived giant can become known for fairness and wisdom, such as the guardian figure of Yernagate in the
New Forest
The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...
. Other English stories told of how giants threw stones at each other, which was used to explain many great stones on the landscape.
Giants figure in folklore and fairy tales, such as '' Jack the Giant Killer'', ''
The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body
The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.
George MacDonald retold it as "The Giant's Heart" in ''Adela Cathcart''. A version of the tale also appears in ''A Book of Giants'' by Ruth Mannin ...
'', ''
Nix Nought Nothing "Nix Nought Nothing" is a fairy tale included in Joseph Jacobs's anthology, ''English Fairy Tales'' (1898). ''Nix Nought Nothing'' is a translation of the Scottish tale "Nicht Nought Nothing", originally collected by Andrew Lang from an old woman in ...
'', ''
Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon
Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon is Child ballad 129. The song portrays Robin Hood in a tale of chivalrous adventures, such as are uncommon in his ballads, and has seldom been featured in later tales.Holt, J. C. ''Robin Hood'' p 165 (1982) Tha ...
Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the o ...
.
Ogre
An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...
s are humanoid creatures, sometimes of gigantic stature, that occur in various sorts of European folklore.
Rübezahl
Rübezahl ( pl, Liczyrzepa, Duch Gór, Karkonosz, Rzepiór, or Rzepolicz; cs, Krakonoš) is a folkloric mountain spirit ( woodwose) of the Giant Mountains (''Krkonoše'', ''Riesengebirge'', ''Karkonosze''), a mountain range along the border bet ...
, is a kind giant from
German folklore
German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Partially it can be also found in Austria.
Characteristics
It shares many characteristics with Nordic folklore and English folklore due to th ...
who lived in the
Giant Mountains
The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massi ...
, along with the Bergmönch, a giant mountain spirit.
Antero Vipunen is a giant shaman that appears in the ''
Kalevala
The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and ...
'', meeting the epic hero
Väinämöinen
Väinämöinen () is a demigod, hero and the central character in Finnish folklore and the main character in the national epic ''Kalevala'' by Elias Lönnrot. Väinämöinen was described as an old and wise man, and he possessed a potent, m ...
to teach him creation spells.
Names
*
Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...
-
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Anakim
Anakim ( ''ʿĂnāqīm'') are mentioned in the Bible as a race of giants, descended from Anak.
According to the Old Testament, the Anakim lived in the southern part of the land of Canaan, near Hebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13). states that they i ...
-
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Asura
Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...
Druon Antigoon
Druon Antigoon or Druon Antigonus is a Flemish folkloric character. He was a mythical giant who lived in Antwerp.
Guarding a bridge on the river Scheldt, he exacted a toll from those crossing the river. For those who refused, he severed one ...
-
Dutch folklore
Folklore of the Low Countries, often just referred to as Dutch folklore, includes the epics, legends, fairy tales and oral traditions of the people of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Traditionally this folklore is written or spoken in Dutch ...
*
Brân the Blessed
Brân the Blessed ( cy, Bendigeidfran or ''Brân Fendigaidd'', literally "Blessed Crow") is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. He appears in several of the Welsh Triads, but his most significant role is in the Second Branch of ...
-
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...
*
Cormoran
Cormoran ( or ) is a giant associated with St. Michael's Mount in the folklore of Cornwall. Local tradition credits him with creating the island, in some versions with the aid of his wife Cormelian, and using it as a base to raid cattle from t ...
-
Cornish mythology
Cornish mythology is the folk tradition and mythology of the Cornish people. It consists partly of folk traditions developed in Cornwall and partly of traditions developed by Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium, often sh ...
*
Cyclopes
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
-
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
*
Daidarabotchi
was a gigantic yōkai in Japanese mythology, sometimes said to pose as a mountain range when sleeping.
Mythology
The size of a Daidarabotchi was so great that his footprints were said to have created innumerable lakes and ponds. In one legend, ...
Daitya
According to ancient scriptures, the daityas (Sanskrit: दैत्य) are a race of asuras, descending from Kashyapa and his wife, Diti. Prominent members of this race include Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, and Mahabali, all of whom overran t ...
-
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
*
Fomorians
The Fomorians or Fomori ( sga, Fomóire, Modern ga, Fomhóraigh / Fomóraigh) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally they were said to come from under the sea or the eart ...
-
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...
*
Gigantes
In Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Giganto ...
-
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
Matter of Britain
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
Humbaba
In Ancient Mesopotamian religion, Humbaba ( Assyrian spelling), also spelled Huwawa ( Sumerian spelling) and surnamed ''the Terrible'', was a monstrous giant of immemorial age raised by Utu, the Sun / justice / truth god.
Humbaba was the guardi ...
Ispolin The ispolin ( bg, исполин , plural ''ispolini'') is a legendary giant in Bulgarian mythology. While the appearance of the ispolin varied according to the myth and region, ispolini were believed to have inhabited the Earth before humans and ...
Basque mythology
The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of ...
*
Jötunn
A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods ( Æsir and Vani ...
-
Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
Origins
As the Germanic langu ...
*
Kalevipoeg
''Kalevipoeg'' (, ''Kalev's Son'') is a 19th century Epic poetry, epic poem by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald which has since been considered the Estonian national epic.
Origins
In pre-Christian ancient Estonia there existed an oral tradition ...
-
Estonian mythology
Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in eccles ...
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Og -
Book of Numbers
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and c ...
*
Ogre
An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...
-
European folklore
European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively.
The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many ...
*
Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the o ...
-
American folklore
American folklore encompasses the folklores that have evolved in the present-day United States since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. While it contains much in the way of Native American tradition, it is not wholly identical to the tribal ...
Aztec mythology
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. Accord ...
*
Rakshasa
Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma wh ...
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" '' Rübezahl
Rübezahl ( pl, Liczyrzepa, Duch Gór, Karkonosz, Rzepiór, or Rzepolicz; cs, Krakonoš) is a folkloric mountain spirit ( woodwose) of the Giant Mountains (''Krkonoše'', ''Riesengebirge'', ''Karkonosze''), a mountain range along the border bet ...
-
German folklore
German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Partially it can be also found in Austria.
Characteristics
It shares many characteristics with Nordic folklore and English folklore due to th ...
/
Czech folklore
Czech folklore is the folk tradition which has developed among the Czech people over a number of centuries. Czech folklore was influenced by a mix of Christian and pagan customs. Nowadays it is preserved and kept alive by various folklore ens ...
*
Si-Te-Cah According to Northern Paiute oral history, the Si-Te-Cah, Saiduka or Sai'i are a legendary tribe whose mummified remains were allegedly discovered under four feet of guano by guano miners in what is now known as Lovelock Cave near Lovelock, Nevada, ...
Stallo
In the folklore of the Sámi, a Stállo (also Staaloe, Stalo or Northern Sami Stállu) is a large, human-like creature who likes to eat people and who therefore is usually in some form of hostilities with a human. Stallos are clumsy and stupid, an ...
-
Sámi shamanism
Traditional Sámi spiritual practices and beliefs are based on a type of animism, polytheism, and what anthropologists may consider shamanism. The religious traditions can vary considerably from region to region within Sápmi.
Traditional Sám ...
*
Tepegöz
In Turkic mythology, Tepegoz or Tepegöz is a legendary creature who has only one eye on his forehead – a kind of cyclops. He is an ogre that appears in the Book of Dede Korkut, a famous epic story of the Oghuz Turks.
Etymology
In Turkic langu ...
-
Turkic mythology
Turkic mythology refers to myths and legends told by the Turkic people. It features Tengrist and Shamanist strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the nomadic and warrior way of life of Turkic and Mongo ...
Germanic mythology
Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism.
Origins
As the Germanic langu ...
*
Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...
-
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...
Estonian mythology
Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in eccles ...
*
Troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...
s -
Nordic folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. ...
*
Uriaș
''Uriaș'' (plural ''uriași'') is the common Romanian-language designation of giants, who are prominent figures in Romanian folklore. There are several varieties of ''uriași'', who share most of their traits but have different names from one his ...
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Romanian folklore
The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian ...
*
Ysbaddaden
; "Ysbaddaden, Chief of Giants," is the primary antagonist of the Welsh romance '' Culhwch ac Olwen''.Helmut Birkhan: Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien 1997, , S. ...
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Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celti ...
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifeti ...
Half-giant
Half-giants are fictional beings that have one parent that is a giant and another parent that is a different species.
Description
In most cases, a half-giant is the result of a union between a human and a giant. Often they are of normal size or sl ...
*
List of giants in mythology and folklore
This is a list of giants and giantesses from mythology and folklore; it does not include giants from modern fantasy fiction or role-playing games (for those, see list of species in fantasy fiction).
Abrahamic religions & Religions of the ancien ...
Processional giant
Processional giants, french: géants processionnels, es, gigantes y cabezudos, va, gegants i cabuts, ca, gegants i capgrossos, eu, erraldoi eta buruhandiak are costumed figures in European folklore, particularly present in Belgian, Fren ...
Somali mythology
Somali mythology covers the beliefs, myths, legends and folk tales circulating in Somali society that were passed down to new generations in a timeline spanning several millennia. Many of the things that constitute Somali mythology today are tra ...
References
Sources
*
* Childress, David Hatcher (1992). ''Lost Cities of North & Central America''. Stelle, IL: Adventures Unlimited.
* Dhallapiccola, Anna (2002). ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend'', Thames & Hudson, ()
* Alt URL * 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.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giant (Mythology)
Fairy tale stock characters