PART
5 –
Ch.XXXIII.2
The
Pelasgians or proto – Latins (Arimii)
(The
Pelasgians from the northern parts of the
XXXIII.
2. The Giants (Gigantes)
Another generation
of titans mentioned by the ancient Greek theogonies were the Giants (Gigantes). They were born
of Terra or Gaea and of Uranus, like
the Titans; or, in other words, both tribes were from the same country and the
same people.
In the Greek epics,
the Giants are presented as a superb type
of people, violent and impious, because they did not believe in gods (Macrobius, Sat. I. 20). Their stature
was of an astonishing size. They had gleaming weapons and long spears in their
hands (Hesiodus, Theog. v. 186).
“Gaea or Terra”,
writes the grammarian Apollodorus,
“being upset by the terrible fate of the Titans, gave birth by Uranos to the Giants, who were characterized by the
size of their body and the vastness of their strength; they had terrible faces
and long hair fell from their head and chin; they had scales like a dragon’s on
their legs, and threw stones and lighted faggots towards the sky” (Bibl. lib.
I. 6. 1).
The Giants were a
mountainous people par excellence. In their war with Jove, the new ruler of the
Pelasgian empire, they lifted mountains on top of other mountains, in order to
climb to
Their country was
on the
During the Roman
epoch, the Dacians were considered
as a remainder of the ancient Titans and Giants.
The emperor Augustus mentions in his testament
(Monumentum Ancyranum, C. I. L. III. p. 796) that he had led in person an
expedition against the Dacians; that after he had won and repelled the
incursion made by this people on Roman territory, his armies had crossed to
this part of the Danube and had forced the Dacians to accept to be subjected to
the orders of the Roman people. Following these successes, Horatius celebrated
Augustus as the second victor against
the Titans (Od. III. 4). After the war with the Dacians, the emperor
Augustus erected in his forum a magnificent temple dedicated to Mars the
avenger, Mars Ultor. About this
temple writes the poet Ovid:
“Grandiose is the monument, grandiose is the statue of the god and deserving of
the trophies taken from the Giants” (Fast. Lib. V. v. 552 seqq).
The emperor Domitian also undertook, as we know, a
great expedition against the Dacians. Martial,
one of his favorite poets, celebrates him as a victor over the Giants (Epigr. Lib. VIII. 50); and the poet Arruntius Stella, who was significantly
wealthy, threw a magnificent banquet in honor of Domitian’s victory against the
Dacians, considered a triumph over the Giants (Martial, Epigr. Lib. VIII. 78. v. 1-3).
The dwellings of
the Giants, as the Greek logographers tell us, were in the regions of Phlegra mountain (Apollodorus, Bibl. lib. I. 6. 1), where the heroic battle with the
gods had also taken place. The Roman poet Statius
(Thebaidos, lib. III. v. 595), who had often written about the triumph of
Domitian against the Dacians, also confirms that the memorable Phlegra, where the Giants had fought
with the gods, was on the
On the territory of
the Romanian country, close to Cerna, is the mountain so-called Pregleda.
Without woods,
because of some remote events, its surface is covered only with burnt,
calcareous rocks. It is the ancient Phlegra of the history of the Giants,
which, as the Greek authors tell us, had received this name because it had been
burnt by the thunderbolts of Jove (Diodorus
Siculus, I. V. 75) [1].
[1. According to other traditions,
the battle of the Giants with the gods might have taken place in the glade from Phlegra (TN – poiana de
la Phlegra), or at Pallene or Ballene, in fact identical with Phlegra. It is probable that this
open plain in the woods of Phlegra is the so-called Poiana Beletin near the mountain Pregleda, where can be made out
even today the remains of some ancient earth fortifications].
The identification
of the mountain Pregleda with Phlegra of the legend of the Giants is confirmed
all the geographical data which we possess in this regard.
Near Phlegra of the
Giants was the renowned cave of antiquity called Avernus, Greek ‘Aornos, ‘Aouernis. At the foothills
of Pregleda mountain, a Romanian
village called Isvernea exists today,
with a vast cave, extremely complicated and dark, about which we shall speak
later.
Near Phlegra of
heroic times the defeated Giants, called Avernii,
had been buried under rocks and mountains (Strabo,
I.VI.3.5; Val. Flaccus, Argon. II.
16; Silius Italicus, lib. XII. V.
151); and in the slopes of the mountain called Pregleda from Isvernia is seen
even today a vast cave in, or a giant, amazing cut, unique in its way, which,
it is said, it had been made by a giant [2].
[2. In Strabo’s geography (VI. 3. 5, Ed. Didot), the Giants who had fought
at Phlegra with the gods are also named Leuternioi, and Leuernioi in the Venetian
codex (ibid. p. 980), a corrupt form of ‘Aouernioi (see Diodorus, IV. 22).
The grammarian Apollodorus (Bibl. I. 6. 2) communicates the names of a number of
Giants who had distinguished themselves in their battles with the gods. Among
these we find Coemse, Pallas, Phorcus,
Ienios, Alemone, Gration and Poliboetes.
These are names which we still find
today with the Romanian people under the forms: Comsa, Bala, Porcu, Ianes, Aleman and Craciun. Polyboetes
(meaning one with large herds of cattle) has a Greek form. Boetiu, as family name, appears even today in the region of the Guganii from the tableland of Closani.
In his poem towards Nicetas, the
bishop of
We are therefore in
the geographical region of the ancient Giants.
Towards north of
Pregleda begins the majestic massif of Retezat, a vast labyrinth of high peaks
and precipitous depths, of secular woods and enclosed and dark valleys; a
strong natural fortress, which had remained almost unknown even during the
Roman epoch (C. I. L. vol. III. nr. 1579, 1585).
The battle between Neptune (Poseidon) and the giant Polyboetes.
Painting executed with great care by
the artist Aristophanes on a cup from the workshop of Erginos.
The giant Polyboetes, a noble
martial figure, is presented having on his head a crested helmet;
over the shirt he wears a jerkin embroidered with flowers and
two little stars on his shoulders;
he has a sword on his left side, hung with a strap over his chest, while in
his left hand he holds
a round
shield and a spear. At the back
of the god appears Terra or Gaea;
the expression of her face and
gestures show her deep distress and fear.
(From Gerhard, Trinkschalen u. Gefasse d. k.
Museums zu
In the same massif,
in the south-western part of Retezat, is the so-called mountain Gugu, which in the present case
presents a particular interest.
Around this
mountain lives since the most remote times a population of shepherds, robust
people, men and women of a sometimes astonishing tall stature, of a particular
type, dress and traditions. They are called Gugani.
A significant part
of these Gugani shepherds are scattered, even since remote times, through the
mountainous regions of the districts Mehedinti and Gorj. Here they form their
own hamlets and villages, leading a more isolated tribal life, as if they
considered themselves more ancient, more noble, and with a different historical
past than the other inhabitants of this country. The folk traditions say about
these Gugani that they are originated from the “tera guganesca (TN – the Gugan country), which is across the mountain”.
The language of this population of Gugani
is distinguished by some characteristic phonetic particularities, very archaic.
Guganii don’t have the s (TN – read sh) and j, instead of which they use only s and z. So they say, si, sede, septe, zoc, zos. They
pronounce z as if formed of d, like dz: dzece. And the sound
ce and ci has a soft sibilance, as it is pronounced by the Romanian people
from Hateg,
[3. The villages on the
Baraiac, Sipot, Cracul-muntelui, Closani, Obersa, Isvernia, Selisce,
Gornovita, Presna, Costesci, Gornenti, Podeni, Cires, Marga, Godean, Bala and Cernaverf, all situated on the tableland of Closani in Mehedinti
district].
Two figures of Giants (anguipedi), one young, the other old. Indignant and
confident in their rights,
they threaten with tree branches the unseen
powers of the gods. Relief on a sarcophagus found at
(The oldest art shows the Giants
with heroic, robust, human figures.
Later though they were represented
with snakes for their legs,
from where derived their epithets of
anguipedes and serpentipedes.
(From Stark, Gigantomachie auf antiken
Reliefs, Heidelberg, 1869)
The name Gugani given to these inhabitants of
the mountains was also known to Greek antiquity. A locality from the region
where the Giants had fought with the gods was called Gigonus (Stephanus Byz,
see Gigonos).
Hercules, whose
legends under the name Iorgovan are tightly connected to the mountains of
Mehedinti, was also given the epithet of Gigon
by the Egyptians (Hesychius, see Gignon).
In Romanian traditions, he is called “son of a shepherd” (TN – “ficior de mocan”
- Teodorescu, Poesii pop. p. 415),
from the slopes of the Carpathians.
The name Gugani was
also known in the Roman epoch. A locality of ancient
As we have
established the geographical region where this tribe of tall, superb and
violent men dwelt, we can understand now which is the origin of the Greek name Gigantes.
Most of the Greek
poets, grammarians and historians, derived this name from the word gegeneis,
born from the earth (Isidorus, Orig.
lib. XI. 3. 13; Timaeus, fragm. 10,
in Fragm. Hist. graec. I. 195; Diodorus,
lib. IV. 21. 7), epithet which was in fact applied in antiquity to the entire
Pelasgian people. This etymology is not right though. The word gigas,
gigantes,
is not of Greek origin.
The personal (and
family) name Gyges, meaning Guges, was very much used in Pelasgian
primitive times.
One of the ancient
Giants (Hecantonchir) is called Gyges,
meaning Guges (Suidas, Lex, see Tritopatores). Another giant of the
ancient world was the so-called Ogyges
(‘O
Gyges), king of Beotia, or according to other traditions a king of the
gods (Schol. Hesiod. Theog. 806).
A Gyges, son of Dascylos, is mentioned as
king of the Lydiens (Herodotus, lib.
I. 14; Clearchus, fragm. 34, in
Fragm Hist. gr. II. 314). He had erected in honor of his favorite woman a
funerary mound of an extraordinary size, to be seen by all the Lydiens.
According to Homer’s Iliad (XX. 390), the most
terrible hero among all mortals had been originally from near the
Finally, a locality
in Roman
The term Gigantes
of the Greek legends is only a simple ethnic name from the north of the
The Giants, who
during primitive Pelasgian times had reached such a celebrity, are also
mentioned in the Hebrew traditions.
Here they figure under the name Gog
and Magog.
The oldest legend
regarding Gog and Magog is found with Ezekiel.
In one of his
prophecies, Ezekiel threatens the Hebrews that Jehovah will bring against their
country king Gog from the country Magog, with his fine army of horse
riders, armed with shields, helmets, swords, lances, maces, bows and arrows.
These, coming from the depth of the
north, together with many other peoples riding their horses, will fall like
a storm on the country of
They will ride the
earth in triumph, will take the Hebrews
in captivity, after which, their mission accomplished, will be all
destroyed by the fury of the heaven (38, 39).
Two colossal statues, known under
the name Gog and Magog, which decorate the
great hall of the municipal palace
(Guildhall) of
a king-pontiff, wears a crown on his
head, which seems to represent a phoenix among flames,
and in his right hand he holds a
spear with three points, arranged in the shape of a cross
(the ancient Roman kings also had a
lance, hasta, as emblem of sovereign
power).
The second figure, with a crown of
oleander on his head, wears Scythian dress and weapons.
(From Berthelot, La Grande Encycl. Vol.
XVIII, p. 1168)
The prophecy of
Ezekiel had remembered, without doubt, the ancient traditions about the
terrible war of the Giants, when these, chasing the gods, had followed them to
The prophet Jeremiah, who had lived a little before
Ezekiel, speaks about the same people (4-6), which he simply names the looter of peoples (praedo gentium),
which will come from a faraway country from the northern parts, from the ends of the earth; people of riders and
archers, courageous, strong and ancient (Cf. Virgil, Aen. VI. 580), speaking a language which the Hebrews do not
understand. They are a great people, cruel and without pity; their voice
bellows like the sea, and they come on horses faster than vultures, all in
rows, like men of war. They will surround the citadel of
Six centuries after
Ezekiel, Gog and Magog are mentioned in the Revelation of John the
Theologian (20, 7-10). Speaking about the last times of the world, the
author of the Revelation tells us that when one thousand years shall pass since
the ancient dragon (Typhon, devil, Satan) had been thrown and shut underground,
then he shall be freed and coming out of his prison he shall gather around him
and shall lead to war the peoples of Gog
and Magog, which are scattered
in the four corners of the world, and whose number is like the sand of the sea.
(As we see, the Revelation considers Gog
and Magog as the mother peoples, from which had
descended all the Pelasgian tribes, scattered in various parts of the ancient
world). These shall come like the sea on the surface of the earth, shall lay
siege to the beloved city of
As we see, in the
Revelation we have just a simple version of the traditions about which speak
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, or in other words, of the old legend of the Giants, or
the Pelasgians from the Carpathians.
Under the names Gog and Magog, the ancients understood especially the Getae and the Massagetae.
But St. Augustin, more theologian
than historian, had tried to interpret the text of the Revelation referring to
Gog and Magog, more in an ecclesiastical sense. Nevertheless, his words are
remarkable, as they state the historical truth that some of the authors of
antiquity, faithful to their inherited traditions, understood as Gog and Magog,
the Getae and Massagetae. “It must not be understood”, writes he, “that these
peoples, whom the Revelation calls Gog and
Magog, might be some heathens, who
exist in some parts of the earth under these names, or the names of Getae and Massagetae, as some call them” (De civit. Dei, lib. XX. c. 11).
The same thing
results also from the Sibylline oracles, saying that the countries in which the
peoples Gog and Magog dwelt, were situated at north of
The tradition about
Gog and Magog is also found in the epic legends about Alexander the Great (Graf,
Roma nella memoria e nelle immaginazioni del medio evo., 1883, Vol. II. p.
507-563).
The country of the
peoples called Gog and Magog is described in these narrations as inhospitable,
wild and infertile, exposed to the northern winds, rains and frost; but
sometime these lands are presented as a fecund earth and having a very gentle
climate.
The peoples Gog and Magog, these epic legends tell us, had started an invasion towards
the southern parts. They made Alexander prisoner in
We reproduce here
the names of these peoples, according to the version titled Revelationes from the 8 – 9 centuries
ad, attributed to Metodius; we add
some versions from the narration of Pseudo-Callisthenes,
predating the 8th century ad, and at the same time we give as
comparison the actual names of several localities in Romania, which seem to be
more or less identical with those from the above mentioned legends.
List of the peoples from the family
Gog Actual names of localities
in the western
and Magog, according to the epic
legend parts
of
of Alexander the Great
1. Gog and Magog Mocod
(Nasaud and Zabolti)
2. Marson [4] Marsani (Dolj)
3. Mosach -
4. Thubal [5] -
5. Anog (Anugi, Nunii – Ps. Cal.) -
6. Ageg (Egi - Ps. Cal.)[6] Ogean (Dolj)
7. Athenal Antina
(Romanati); Olteni (Valcea)
8. Cephar Cepari
(Romanati and Arges)
9. Pothim (Photinaei – Ps. Cal.) Putinei (Mehedinti and
Dolj)
10. Hei Hau
(family name)
11. Libii Libicesci
(Mehedinti)
12. Cumei Camuesci
(Mehedinti)
13. Pharilei (Pharizaei – Ps. Cal.) Fauresci (Valcea)
14. Ceblei Ceple
(Dolj)
15. Lamarchiani (Zarmantiani – Ps.
Cal.) -
16. Charchanii Gorgani
(Olt)
17. Amathartae Amarade,
river, valley, village (Gorj)
18. Agrinardi (Agrimardi – Ps. Cal.) Atarnati (Mehedinti, Dolj)
19. Alan (Alani – Ps. Cal.) Olan
(Mehedinti), Olanesci (Valcea)
20. Anufagi or Cynocephali Afumati (Olt,
Dolj), Caneni (Valcea)
[4. This name appears only in the
Sibylline Oracles (Ed. Friedlieb) lib. III. v. 512. These Marsoni, or Marsani, had
probably been in antiquity the undivided people to which the tribes, which we
find scattered later, belonged: Marsi
in the
5. Mosach (Mesech, Mesoc,
Mosoc) and Tubal appear also in
biblical traditions. Both were the sons of Iapet,
who reigned over the mountains of
6. Aggon (= Agoni) in the Sibylline Oracles, Aggei in Liber generationis, near the Gangini (Riese, 164,
XLVIII). It seems that the name of Agathyrsi
indicates the Aggei Tyrseni.
An ancient king of the Scythians was
called Agaetes (Steph. Byz. see Pantichapaion)].
21.
Caribei Corobai
(Mehedinti), Corobesci (Gorj)
22.
Thasbei (Tarbaei – Ps. Cal.) Tarbesci
(Romanati)
23.
Phisolomici (Phisolonicaei – Ps. Cal.) Fiscalia
(Fiscaleni) (Valcea)
24.
Arceni Arcani
(Gorj)
25.
Saltarei (Saltarii – Ps. Cal.) Slatarei
(Valcea); Slatari (Dolj)
To these we also add the following tribes from
Pseudo – Callisthenes, Ed. Mullerus,
lib. III, c. 26. 29:
26.
Phonocerati Pangarati
(only in
27.
Syriasori Silisciora
(Gorj, Romanati)
28.
Ionii Ionesci
(Gorj, Olt, Valcea)
29.
Catamorgori (De sub maguri?) -
30.
Campani Campeni
(Romanati, Olt)
31.
Samandri Sumandra
(Mehedinti)
32.
Ippii Calarasi
(Dolj) (TN – cal = horse)
33.
Epambori Iepurani
(Olt)
34.
Diphar Dervari
(Mehedinti, Dolj)
35.
Caloni, var. Chalonii Caloiu
(Mehedinti), Caluiu (Romanati)
36.
Exenach -
37.
Imantopodi (= those with the legs tied up -
with
leather straps)
As we see, the
various tribes allied with Gog and Magog had their dwellings on the territory
of today Oltenia; so they were neighbors with the Gugani [7].
[7. According to the Cosmography of Aethicus Istricus (Graf, Roma, II. p. 534), these populations had a vast and strong
metropolis, called Tareconta (var. Taracont). It was situated in an island
of the Ocean (or Istru of Pelasgian times), which flew along the countries Gog
and Magog. Alexander the Great, during his war with Gog and Magog, had come to
a distance of 20 miles from this metropolis.
We believe that under the name Tareconta may be understood ancient Tirighina, from near the mouths of
Siret. In those parts Alexander the Great had crossed the
Finally, we also
mention here two more versions regarding the legend about Gog and Magog.
In one of these, of
German origin, whose essence is very ancient, the populations Gog and Magog
appear under the name Rimtursi (Graf, Roma nella memoria
At Homer (Iliad, II. v. 783) and Hesiodus (Theog. v. 304), the Giants
who fought together with Typhon against the gods, are from the country called Arimi, situated at the northern part of
the
According to
another legend, the peoples Gog and Magog were under the domination of Popa Ion (Presbyter Johannes, prest
Ian, Prester John), a prince whose power also extended over a great part of