It is of Greek derivation, "gigas", or the Latin,
"gigas." The Hebrew parallel is "nophel," or plural, "nephilim."
Ancient Giants.--We are told in the Bible a that the bedstead of
Og, King of Basham, was 9 cubits long, which in English measure
is 16 1/2 feet. Goliath of Gath, who was slain by David, stood 6
cubits and a span tall--about 11 feet. The body of Orestes,
according to the Greeks, was 11 1/2 feet long. The mythical
Titans, 45 in number, were a race of Giants who warred against
the Gods, and their descendants were the Gigantes. The height
attributed to these creatures was fabulous, and they were
supposed to heap up mountains to scale the sky and to help them
to wage their battles. Hercules, a man of incredible strength,
but who is said to have been not over 7 feet high, was dispatched
against the Gigantes.
Pliny describes Gabbaras, who was brought to Rome by Claudius
Caesar from Arabia and was between 9 and 10 feet in height, and
adds that the remains of Posio and Secundilla, found in the reign
of Augustus Caesar in the Sallustian Gardens, of which they were
supposed to be the guardians, measured 10 feet 3 inches each. In
common with Augustine, Pliny believed that the stature of man has
degenerated, but from the remains of the ancients so far
discovered it would appear that the modern stature is about the
same as the ancient.
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