Legends of giants are present in almost all mythologies. Perhaps you will not find a single race on Earth, which would not tell about some giants, rising to the skies and famous for their remarkable strength.
Greek mythology emphasizes the dominance of the giants known as the Titans and their subsequent overthrow. It was from Greece that the familiar to us myth of the Atlanteans, “holding the vault of heaven” came. But who these Titans and Atlantes were is not clear for certain.
Zeus and the Olympians led the Titans to their fall. As for Atlantis, the ancient philosophers clearly spoke of its existence and subsequent flooding. It was also said that the inhabitants of Atlantis were tall.
Giants are also mentioned in Egyptian, Sumerian, Old Slavic, Scandinavian, Japanese, Chinese and Native American mythologies. In Hinduism, they act under the name of Asuras. There are giants in Biblical sources as well. The ancient Jews knew about the mysterious civilization of titans, peculiar half-breeds, children of fallen angels and mortal women.
In the Old Testament and pre-Jewish texts of Canaan there are references to the Rephaim race, else called the “Rephaites” or “Repha’im”. In the Septuagint and Vulgate, this word was translated as “giants.” Also, this name began to be called the wicked, those who were far from holiness and purity as well “the dead.” The Jews so called the tall tribes of Palestine, preserved from antediluvian times. Also mentioned are the Nephilim, angelic beings, from whom the Rephaim subsequently descended.
The Book of Job says: “The Rephaim tremble under the waters, and those who dwell in them.” It is noteworthy that the phrase “under the waters” is noted here which reminds all the same ancient legend of the sunken Atlantis.
Rephaim can also be identified with the Nephilim. In the Book of Enoch, the Nephilim are the children of humans and Guardian Angels, while the Rephaim are the offspring of humans and fallen angels. In apocryphal tales, the Rephaim are said to be terrible monsters, “18 cubits tall, with 16 rows of teeth and 6 fingers and toes.” Their remarkable physical strength and ferocity were noted.
The place of residence of the Rephaims was supposedly in the lands of the Amonites or the Land of Bashan and Moab, but their true homeland remains unknown. After the arrival of the Jews in Palestine, the giants were practically absent from these lands. Legends say that there were some tribes in which tall people lived.
The Rephaims include Goliath, a mysterious giant warrior who fought on the side of the Philistines (previous “people of the sea”). Everyone knows the myth about how David defeated the giant with one blow sling. Obviously, Goliath was still a man, and not a supernatural entity.
It turns out that if Goliath was really considered a descendant of the Rephaims, his distant ancestors hardly looked as described in the apocryphal legends. It is likely that these giants could be a subspecies of humans, existed before the Flood or even the Ice Age. Science denies the existence of civilizations before the Glacier, but this does not mean that they did not exist. Also, this does not prove that after the fall of precivilizations, their representatives completely evaporated.
Chronicles say that at least four more giants fought on the side of the Philistines against the Jews and the people of Palestine. The famous one was Ishbi-benob, “whose spear weighed 300 shekels of brass.”
Ishbi-benob was aware of David’s popularity after his victory over Goliath. But the battle between the giant and the Jewish king never took place. Ishbi-benob was not killed by David, but by Abishai the son of Saruin. Goliath had a brother named Lahmi, who was smitten by Elhanam. Also, a rephaim warrior named Safuth fought for the Philistines but he was defeated by another hero of ancient times – Sovohai.
The name of the fourth rephaim on the side of the “people of the sea” is not mentioned. The Bible talks about abnormalities in his body and six fingers. This giant was already defeated by Jonathan, the son of David’s brother. The Philistines lost the war against the Jews and then completely disappeared as a race.
Together with them, their tales and myths disappeared. Therefore, science recognizes the legendary giants of antiquity as nothing more than a fiction of the chroniclers. But why then are they mentioned almost everywhere? Were they a byproduct of humanity’s collective fantasy? It was hardly possible in such ancient times.
The question of who exactly the Rephaim were still remains unanswered. But whoever they are, they no longer exist in our world. If once their civilization was considered powerful on Earth, then these times have sunk forever into oblivion. The only trace left of them is myths and legends.
