Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1873-02-13
The Giants OF Antiquity.


antiquity, we must take into considera-
ton the fact that it was the custom of all
ancient nations to magnify the stature of
their Kings and heroes. To be con-
sidered a giant in strength and size was
the ambition of every warrior. Even the
great Alexander was not free from this
vanity, for we are told that, in one of his
Asian expeditions, he caused to be made
and left behind him a suit of armor Of
huge proportions, in order to induce a
belief among the people he had con-
quered that be was of great stature.
Homer exaggerates the size and strength
of all the heroes of the Trojan war, and
leads us 10 infer that the whole race of man,
even in his day, had degenersted. We
may suspect that even the Jewish writers
were not entirely free from similar fail
ing. Admitting that a people like the
Rephaim existed in Palestine, of greater
stature than the Hebrews, it would re-
quire but little stretch of poetic imag-
ination to paint them as giants. They
may have been no larger in comparison
with their conquerors than are the Pata-
gonians beside other more civilized races
of to day, yet have seemed immense to
the children of Israel, who were more
probably under than over the average
height.
Again, there is no absolute certainty
that the Biblical text, as we have it, is as
il was originally written. Our authorized
version makes Goliath, for instance, six
cubits and span in height; but the Vat.
ican copy of the Septuagint (Cadex Vati-
canus), as old as any in existence (unless
the Sinaiticus exceeds it), reads -four
cubits and a span," agreeing in this with
Josephus. To which account are we to
al. s1 .-sa -s
of the Philistines was only little over
six and q half feet in stature, instead of
nine and half. The sacred writer does
not give us the measure of King Og, but
only that of his bedstead. 1t is not nec-
essary to dispute the thirteen and a half
feet of the giant couch, but we are half
inclined to suspect that Og was afflicted
with an ambition similar to that OF Alex
ander, and used q bedstead not in proper
tion to mis- actual size, but in proportion
to his fancied importance. 1t is curious
to observe that, according to DR.. Smith,
the words in Deuteronomy translated
"bedstead of iron" are also susceptible of
the rendering 'sarcophagus of black ba-
salt" but this does not initiate against
the probability of our supposition.
Comparatively modern writers are not
| free from like exaggerations in regard TO
the stature of noted men, William OF
Malmesbury makes the tomb of Walwin,
nephew of King Arthur, and one of his
| famous knights, fourteen feet in length;
and Hollinshead, quoting Sylvester Gil
radius, ssys that the body of King Ar
thur, found in Glastonbury in 1889, was
two feet higher than any man that came
to see it. As Camden, who gives an &C
count of the discovery, says nothing OF
the popularity of the corpse, the story
! is probably without foundation. In like
manner, Charlemagne and his paladins
/ have been represented as of great stature.
Eignhard saws that the great Emperor
was "seven Of his own feet" in height
| from which we must infer either that he
had a very small foot entirely out of pro.
portion to his size, or that he was a very
| tall man. The old writers would have us
believe, too, that Rouland, the hero OF
Rohcesvalles, was also of gigantic stature
and strength. Happily we had some di
rect evidence on this point Hakewill
quoting Camerarius, says: Francis
King Of France, who reigned about Ion
wears since, being desirous to know the
truth of those things which were com
monty spread touching the strength and
stature of Rouland, nephew of Charlie
magne, caused his sepulchre to be opened
wherein his bones and bow were found
rotten, but his armor sound. though
covered with rust, which the King com
manded to be secured off, and putting i
upon his own body, found it SO fitted
him as thereby il appeared that RoulanC
exceeded him little in bigness and statur,
of body, though himself were not excess
i've tall or big" We have similar evi
dence in relation to the body of William
the Conqueror, which was reported Il
have been dug up 400 years after burial
and found to be eight feet in length; fo
Stowe SAYS that, when the English tool
Cannes in 1862, some soldiers broke int
the monument in search of booty and
found nothing remarkable about the
bones.
Were 1t possible to get at the truth con
cerning the giants of antiquity, there L
little doubt but that half of them could
be shown 10 be pure myths, and tha
nine-terths of the remainder could b
reduced in size very materially. Pliny'
assertion that mankind is gradually de
generating, is wholly gratuitous and hs
no foundation in fact. Indeed, a vas
deal of proof can be adduced tending 4
show that the men of to day are equal
and probably superior, in stature TO tb
ancients. The Greeks and Romans wer
undoubtedly of small size. The helmet
and sword hilts that have come down {
us from he heroic ages could rot be use
by the present European nations. An
cient rings also are generally too small 70
modern finsers.
But the classic writers give testimon,
enough on this point. Caesar, speakin
of the Gauls, says: "Their shortness G
stature, i'm comparison with the grea
size of their bodies, is generally subjeC
of much contempt to the men of Gaul.
Tacitus also describes the Germans as @
robust form and of great stature; an
, Strabe says that he has seen Britons 9