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Old 30-10-2019, 09:46 PM
Altair Altair is offline
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In the Middle Ages it wasn't uncommon to think those ancient Roman aquaducts were made by giants. People just had no clue. Today we have folks who think the pyramids were build by aliens. That's pretty much the truth behind such ''creatures'' - they're poor explanations for things people don't [yet] understand.

Any large animal leaves plenty of evidence around and has a large impact on its environment. We can observe and discover the tiniest of creatures yet we fantasize about giants.

There's also the issue of language. 'Giant' in our time may not mean the same as 'giant' in some other time. As the poster above me mentioned, it could simply have been large people, like 2 meter tall men that stand out in a population where most men would be 1.6/1.7 meter tall..

But language issues apply to all mythological creatures as well as ''miracles''; the original meaning is buried under continuously new additions and interpretations. People exaggerate more if stories rely purely on oral tradition. Carpenter John will tell his little Timmy and Sarah some old tale about giants and add his own interpretation. Timmy is impressed and will add further enchantment fitting the times in which he grows up. Sarah will interpret it through her own culture as well. It's how stories evolve(d).

But usually many of us simply don't like such rational explanations. We want to spice things up and have a need for enchantment because it feeds our imagination..
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