Three Ravens Bestiary #23: Giants

About this episode

This episode explores the mythology and folklore of Giants, discussing their historical representations and cultural significance.

What's that coming over the hill with fists full of sheep and improbably large trousers on? It's a new episode of Three Ravens Bestiary of course, all about the mythology and folklore of Giants! We begin with a brief chat about Gigantism, the rare medical condition which makes people grow larger than normal - and other examples of very large human ancestors, from extremely tall Egyptian pharaohs and Roman Centurions to the Gravettian Hunters - the 'Giants of the Ice Age.' Soon though we're digging into appropriately enormous questions, such as, how tall are Giants actually meant to be? What do we know about the first Giant mentioned in writing, and how did we get from concepts of the snake-tailed Ancient Greek 'Gigantes' of classical mythology to the 19th century concept of Giants as blundering nitwits easily bested by things as simple as holes in the ground? Surprise surprise, there's something about the whole idea related to how 'modern people' view the past, and the foreign, whether that be in the case of David slaying Goliath, Heracles helping Zeus and his siblings to quell rebellions, or Norse deities using the corpse of a giant to build the world around us... Featuring one…

People in this episode

Host: Three Ravens

Topics covered

• Giants
• mythology
• folklore
• Gigantism
• ancient history
• cultural perceptions

Keywords

• Giants
• mythology
• folklore
• Gigantism
• ancient history
• cultural perceptions
• David and Goliath
• Heracles
• Zeus

More episodes of The Three Ravens Podcast

• Dapplegrim and The Twelve Brothers · June 13, 2026 · 54 min
• The Golden Branch · June 11, 2026 · 56 min
• Magic and Medicines #25: Familiars and Animal Magic · June 8, 2026 · 1h 10m
• LIVE @ Chiltern Open Air Museum · June 6, 2026 · 1h 15m
• The Ratcatcher, The True History of Little Golden Hood, and The Three Dwarfs · June 4, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Magus #11: Merlin · June 1, 2026 · 1h 19m