NorsePrimordial
Ymir
The first being. From his corpse the world was made.
The codex
Catalogue of Giants
Filter by culture, type, or region. Search by name or tag.
57 entries
Biblical / Near EasternRace
Nephilim
The mighty ones of old - offspring of the sons of God and daughters of men.
Biblical / PhilistineIndividual
Goliath of Gath
The Philistine champion of Gath who fell to a shepherd's stone.
Biblical / Near EasternIndividual
Og of Bashan
Last of the Rephaim; king of Bashan whose iron bed was a wonder.
GreekIndividual
Atlas
Titan condemned to hold the sky upon his shoulders.
GreekIndividual
Polyphemus
The one-eyed Cyclops who trapped Odysseus in his cave.
GreekIndividual
Enceladus
Giant buried beneath Sicily; his thrashing is said to cause earthquakes.
GreekIndividual
Antaeus
Libyan giant who drew strength from the earth - until Heracles lifted him.
GreekIndividual
Alcyoneus
Immortal on his native soil; slain only when dragged beyond its border.
GreekIndividual
Porphyrion
King of the Gigantes who assailed Hera and fell to Zeus and Heracles.
GreekIndividual
Polybotes
Pursued by Poseidon across the sea; crushed under the island of Nisyros.
GreekPrimordial
Briareus
Hundred-handed giant who aided Zeus against the Titans.
GreekIndividual
Orion
The hunter so great he was set among the stars.
GreekIndividual
Geryon
Three-bodied giant of the far west whose cattle Heracles stole.
GreekIndividual
Tityus
Giant punished in the underworld; vultures feast forever on his liver.
GreekIndividual
Talos
The bronze guardian of Crete - automaton giant with a single vein of ichor.
NorseIndividual
Thrym
Frost giant who stole Mjölnir and demanded Freyja as bride.
NorseIndividual
Hrungnir
Stone-hearted giant who dueled Thor and left a whetstone in his head.
NorseIndividual
Skrymir
The vast wanderer whose glove was a hall - master of illusions.
NorseIndividual
Bestla
Frost-giantess mother of Odin - the gods' giant bloodline.
Celtic / IrishIndividual
Balor
Fomorian king whose eye destroyed armies - slain by his grandson Lugh.
Celtic / CornishFolklore
Cormoran
Cornish giant of St Michael's Mount, felled by Jack the Giant Killer.
Celtic / BritishFolklore
Gogmagog
British giant who wrestled Corineus and gave his name to London's guardians.
BasqueRace
Jentilak
Basque giants of the mountains who built megaliths and fled the new faith.
BasqueFolklore
Olentzero
The Basque charcoal-burner of Christmas - last echo of the jentilak.
HinduIndividual
Ravana
Ten-headed king of Lanka - scholar, devotee, abductor of Sita.
HinduIndividual
Kumbhakarna
Ravana's giant brother who slept six months and woke to war.
HinduIndividual
Hiranyakashipu
Asura king who could not be killed by man or beast - until Narasimha.
HinduIndividual
Mahabali
Generous asura king sent to the underworld by Vamana's three steps.
SlavicFolklore
Svyatogor
Mountain-strong bogatyr who could not be lifted by the earth itself.
Mesoamerican / AztecRace
Quinametzin
Giant race of a previous sun who built great structures and fell to divine order.
MesoamericanIndividual
Xelhua
Giant survivor of the flood who raised the great pyramid of Cholula.
ChineseIndividual
Kua Fu
The giant who chased the sun and died of thirst - staff becoming a forest.
ChineseIndividual
Fangfeng
Giant executed by Yu the Great for arriving late to the flood assembly.
JapaneseRace
Oni
Horned ogres of Japanese folklore - punishers, marauders, festival demons.
JapaneseIndividual
Shuten Dōji
Demon king of Mount Ōe - drunkard oni slain by Raikō's band.
Kwakwaka'wakw / Northwest CoastFolklore
Dzunukwa
Giantess of the woods who steals children and owns treasures of copper and power.
PaiuteRace
Si-Te-Cah
Red-haired cannibal giants of Paiute tradition, linked to Lovelock Cave.
CherokeeIndividual
Tsul 'Kalu
Cherokee lord of the hunt - slant-eyed giant of the mountains.
Abenaki / WabanakiFolklore
Kee-Wakw
Ice-hearted cannibal giant of northern forests - a winter horror.
Iroquois / HaudenosauneeIndividual
Gaoh
Master of the winds - a giant spirit who pens the gales.
Australian Aboriginal (Gunditjmara related landscape)Folklore
Budj Bim Giants
Ancestral beings of giant scale in the volcanic landscape of Budj Bim.
Australian Aboriginal (Tiwi)Folklore
Papinijuwari
One-eyed giant spirits of Tiwi tradition who hunt with clubs and bags.
Australian AboriginalFolklore
Murkupang
Giant figure in northern Australian story cycles of pursuit and country.
Australian AboriginalFolklore
Thardid Jimbo
Cannibal giant of southeastern Aboriginal tales - a terror of the camp edge.
Australian AboriginalFolklore
Chinny-kinik
Giant being in Aboriginal narrative - sparse in print, strong in place.
Māori / PolynesianRace
Maero
Wild folk of the forest in Māori tradition - long fingers, fierce, untamed.
MāoriRace
Kahui-Tipua
Bands of supernatural giants in Māori tradition - tipua of collective power.
MāoriRace
Nawao
Wild people of early Aotearoa tradition - forest dwellers of great strength.
Zulu / NguniRace
Amazimu
Cannibal ogres of Zulu and related folklore - shape-shifting eaters of the unwary.
Hausa / West AfricanFolklore
Giant of the Forest
West African forest giant of tale cycles - a being of the deep bush.
SámiFolklore
Stallo
Sámi giant-troll of the north - strong, dull-witted, dangerous to herders.
CantabrianFolklore
Ojáncanu
One-eyed Cantabrian giant of the forest - enemy of the good anjana.
German / Silesian / CzechFolklore
Rübezahl
Mountain spirit of the Riesengebirge - trickster, giant, weather-lord.
Modern legendModern Legend
Giant of Kandahar
Unverified modern military legend of a red-haired giant near Kandahar.
Modern legendModern Legend
Giant of Kunar
Unverified legend of a giant observed in Kunar Province.
American tall-taleTall Tale
Paul Bunyan
Lumberjack giant of American tall tales - Babe the Blue Ox at his side.