We’ve all heard the story of how a young man named David fought the giant, Goliath,—and won the fight using his wits and a stone. But, are Giants real? Did they ever walk this Earth? According to the ancient, pre-Flood, Book of Giants, the tall ones were all over the place. Banned by the powers-that-be during the 4th century, this historical text soon faded from view.
But, what if the ancient Greek legends are true? Did Giants face off with the Olympians thousands of years before the time of Jesus? References to this ongoing battle between man and giant are recorded in many poems, and places; the city of Phanagoria along the Black Sea as well as Attica, Corinth, Lydia, Miletus, and Rhodes.
Predominantly mentioned by poets of those times, in many places, and in many detailed accounts, Giants are also recorded in the Art of ancient society from the 6th century BC going forward. Why?
These supporting facts, and the physical remains of bones—giant bones unearthed and documented in modern times, lead me to conclude that, yes, Giants were real and they did walk the Earth.
My question remains: Besides rare conditions effecting the pituitary gland, could the Giants of old ever return?
18 Famous Giants
2. John Rogan (1867 – 1905) – Standing at 8’9.5”, Rogan is the 2nd tallest recorded man in history according to Guinness
3. Franz Winkelmeier (1860 – 1887) Officially, Austrian Winkelmeier is Europe’s tallest recorded man standing at 258cm (8’5.5”)
5. Zeng Jinlian – (1964 – 1982) – As the tallest verified female in modern times, Jinlian topped in at 8’1.75’“ (248.29 cm). She was succeeded by Sandy Allen(see below) after she died from a pituitary hemorrhage at the age of 18.
6. Sandra Allen – (1955 – 2008) For the last 16 years of her life, Sandra Allen held the record as the tallest woman in the world. She stood 7’7”. In 1977, at the age of 22, she had surgery to stop her over-active growth hormone which stopped her from further growth. Sandra wrote a book called Cast A Giant Shadow, appeared on TV, in a documentary and had a song by New Zealand’s Split Endz band recorded about her on their debut album in 1982.
7. Ghegorghe Muresan – Standing 7’7”, Muresan played pro Romanian basketball before retiring holding record as one of two of the tallest NBA Basketball players of all time.
8. Matthew McGrory (1973 – 2005) – A 7’6″ American actor recognized as the Tallest Actor. He appeared in over a dozen films portraying imposing characters. Mr. McGrory also held Guinness records for the longest foot and toe.
9. André the Giant – If you’ve never watched The Princess Bride movie, watch it now. André was beloved as a pro wrestler and an actor. His gigantism caused him to grow to 7’4” before succumbing to heart failure at the age of 46.
10. Giant Silva – By 2014 he was the 6th tallest pro wrestler. At 7’2”, Paulo César da Silva played pro national basketball for Brazil before entering the ring taking the name Giant Silva.
11. Taller than her brother and father, Ekaterina Lisina from Russia stands 6’9” and holds the world record for having the longest legs.
12. Goliath – Probably the most famous giant during the last 2 thousand years since he was written about in the Bible. From Wikipedia – “The Masoretic Text version of the Book of Samuel gives his height as six cubits and one span (possibly 313–372 centimetres (10 ft 3 in – 12 ft 2 in)),[9] while the Septuagint, the 1st-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus and the 2nd–1st-centuries BCE Dead Sea Scrolls give Goliath’s height as four cubits and one span (possibly 216–258 centimetres (7 ft 1 in – 8 ft 6 in)).”
13. Paul Bunyan -Undeniably a mythical hero, Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, rose to larger than life status during the heyday of the lumberjacks who logged the American frontier.
14. Gulliver – of “Gulliver’s Travels” fame, the classic novel portrays a man washed ashore and surrounded by “tiny people”. This leads to, —and is fair to mention in this brief list, the idea that the term giant is ultimately a relative term subject to the comparison of other examples ie; ppl, places, things.
15. The Jolly Green Giant – The tenth tallest free standing statue in the U.S. is Green Giant frozen and canned food brand’s mascot, “Jolly Green Giant”. He’s played that role since his introduction in 1928 and has stood tall ever since. Interestingly, in 1964, the Kingsmen had a #4 Billboard Hit with “The Jolly Green Giant”—a song about the giant’s love life. ..who wudda known?
16A. Welsh folklore and mythology – brings several famous giants to the pages of history. Brân the Blessed, a famous king of Britain mythology was so tall he had trouble entering any dwelling. This same Brân gave away, as a gift, a magic black cauldron that could restore life. Now we know where Disney got their Black Cauldron..
16B. Norse folklore and mythology – Associated with Winter, Skadi is the viking goddess of the snowy mountains. The term “giant” comes from the earlier “devourer” which ties in with the idea of giants—as gods or the offspring of gods, causing great harm to humankind.
17. The Titans – Not to be confused with the Gigantes, an aggressive race who battled the Olympian gods. The Titans were the gods before Olympian gods. Or, are the gods—if that’s your thing. Predating almost everybody, the Titans were the twelve children of Uranus and Gaia. Six boys and six girls. That’s male and female…so, Cronus mated with Rhea who gave birth to the first generation of “Olympian gods”. You know, —Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. ie; Famous Giants.
Definition of titan
- 1: capitalized : any of a family of giants in Greek mythology born of Uranus and Gaea and ruling the earth until overthrown by the Olympian gods
- 2: one that is gigantic in size or power : one that stands out for greatness of achievement
#18. And then there was Eddie Carmel, the Happy Giant, whose gigantism didn’t stop him from becoming a mutual fund salesman, a film actor, a stand-up comedian, a NY side-show act, and a rock and roller who recorded the novelty records, “The Happy Giant” and “The Good Monster,” and the single “The Happy Monster’s Song”. Because of his gigantic stature—Guinness World Records clocked him at 9’ 0” –according to Wikipedia. Considering both his parents were only 5’6” tall the famous giant pictured seems like he was somewhere around 7’+ feet tall.
