Stories and accounts of ancient giants are widespread in many cultures that existed before 1 CE (1st century AD). These accounts often involve both myths of giant races and reports of discovering very large bones attributed to them.
Here are some of the most prominent examples:
1. Mythological Giants
- Nephilim (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament): Mentioned in the Book of Genesis (Gen 6:4) as “giants” or “fallen ones” who lived on the earth before the Flood, resulting from the union of “sons of God” and “daughters of men.” Later biblical books, like Numbers and Deuteronomy, refer to groups like the Anakim and the Rephaim (including figures like King Og of Bashan and Goliath, though Goliath’s size is debated) as descendants of giants living in Canaan.
- The Book of Enoch (2nd-1st centuries BCE), a non-canonical text, elaborates on the Nephilim as the offspring of fallen angels (Watchers) and human women.
- Gigantes (Greek Mythology): A race of powerful and aggressive beings, often depicted as great warriors, who battled the Olympian gods in a cosmic war known as the Gigantomachy.
- According to Hesiod (c. 700 BCE), they were born from Gaia (Earth) when drops of blood fell from the castrated Uranus (Sky). Later accounts, like those from Pseudo-Apollodorus (1st or 2nd century CE, drawing on earlier sources), describe them as having a frightening appearance, sometimes with snakes for legs.
- The Titans, a generation earlier than the Gigantes, were also described as massive, powerful primal beings, children of Uranus and Gaia.
- The Laestrygonians and Cyclopes (Greek Mythology): Mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey (c. 8th century BCE), these are colossal, monstrous figures.
- The Cyclopes (like Polyphemus) are one-eyed giants.
- The Laestrygonians are a race of cannibalistic giants who destroy most of Odysseus’ fleet.
- Mesopotamian/Sumerian Stories: The hero Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh (one of the earliest surviving works of literature, dating back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE) is described as an extraordinary figure, sometimes hinting at a connection to a race of oversized beings.
2. Ancient Bone Discoveries
Ancient writers often recorded the discovery of unusually large bones, which they interpreted as the remains of the giants and heroes from their own myths.
- Greek and Roman Accounts:
- The historian Herodotus (5th century BCE) recorded the discovery of the alleged remains of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, in Tegea, which were described as being seven cubits (about 10.5 feet or 3.2 meters) long.
- Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE, referring to earlier sources) described a large skeleton discovered in Crete after an earthquake, which he linked to the giants of myth.
- Discoveries of large fossils (often the remains of extinct large mammals like mammoths, mastodons, or extinct giraffes) were frequently explained as the bones of heroes, mythical monsters, or giants.
- Jewish Accounts: The 1st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus stated that the bones of the Anakim (a race of giants in the Bible) were still shown to his very day near Hebron, noting they were “bodies so large, and countenances so entirely different from other men, that they were surprising to the sight.” This suggests that large skeletal remains (likely misidentified fossils) were actively displayed in the Greco-Roman period.