Giant (mythology)

Giant is the English word (coined 1297) commonly used for the monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength common in the mythology and legends of many different cultures. The word giant was derived from the gigantes (Greek: γίγαντες) of Greek mythology.

In various Indo-European mythologies, gigantic peoples are featured as primeval creatures associated with chaos and the wild nature, and they are frequently in conflict with the gods, be they Olympian, Celtic, Hindu or Norse. Giants also often play similar roles in the mythologies and folklore of other, non Indo-European peoples, such as in the Nartian traditions.

There are also accounts of giants in the Old Testament, most famously Goliath, Og King of Bashan, the Nephilim, the Anakim, and the giants of Egypt mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11:23. Attributed to them are extraordinary strength and physical proportions.

Fairy tales such as "Jack the Giant Killer" have formed the modern perception of giants as stupid and violent monsters, sometimes said to eat humans, especially children (though this is actually a confusion with ogres, which are distinctly cannibalistic). The ogre in "Jack and the Beanstalk" is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of Jonathan Swift and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly.

Giant

Giant or Giants may refer to:

In mythology

In arts and entertainment

In literature and publications

Films

Video games

Fictional characters

Giant star

A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main-sequence (or dwarf) star of the same surface temperature. They lie above the main sequence (luminosity class V in the Yerkes spectral classification) on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram and correspond to luminosity classes II and III. The terms giant and dwarf were coined for stars of quite different luminosity despite similar temperature or spectral type by Ejnar Hertzsprung about 1905.

Giant stars have radii up to a few hundred times the Sun and luminosities between 10 and a few thousand times that of the Sun. Stars still more luminous than giants are referred to as supergiants and hypergiants.

A hot, luminous main-sequence star may also be referred to as a giant, but any main-sequence star is properly called a dwarf no matter how large and luminous it is.

Formation

A star becomes a giant star after all the hydrogen available for fusion at its core has been depleted and, as a result, leaves the main sequence. The behaviour of a post-main-sequence star depends largely on its mass.

Giant (band)

Giant is an American melodic hard rock band that was formed in 1987. The band consisted of founding members Dann Huff (lead vocals & guitar) and Alan Pasqua (keyboard), and had Dann's brother David Huff on drums and Mike Brignardello on bass. The Huff brothers were part of the founding members of the Christian rock band White Heart.

The band scored one hit, the 1990 power ballad "I'll See You In My Dreams", written by Alan Pasqua and Mark Spiro.

Giant disbanded in the early 90s after recording two albums, but resurfaced in 2000 minus Alan Pasqua and released the album III in late 2001.

In December 2009, it was announced by Frontiers Records that they will be releasing Giant's latest album Promise Land in 2010. Writing for the album started in April 2009 and will include Terry Brock (Strangeways, Seventh Key) on lead vocals and John Roth (Winger) on guitars. Dann Huff will not be a part of the band due to his busy schedule but has co-written seven songs and guested on guitar on two. The release dates were February 26, 2010 for Europe and March 9, 2010 for the US.

Mythology (Eloy Fritsch album)

Mythology is an album by new age artist Eloy Fritsch. It is generally viewed as one of his stronger solo works. As with Apocalypse, Fritsch plays a variety of keyboard instruments on the album. Featured in the inside photograph are a Modular Synthesizer System-700, Minimoog Synthesizer and electronic keyboards. Mythology deals with diverse myths of the world. So several cultures were visited, including those of Brazil, the Aztecs, the Incas, Assyria, Greek, Hindu, Egyptian, Nordic, Atlantis, the Romans, the Chinese, and so on. All electronic compositions on the album were based in his own interpretation of the characteristics of each mythological element chosen for this work.

Track listing

External links

Mythology (fiction)

Mythology (also referred to as a mythos) is the term often used by fans of a particular book, television, or movie series to describe a program's overarching plot and often mysterious backstory. Daniel Peretti argues that mythology "is often used emically to refer to back story". The term was pioneered by the American science fiction series The X-Files, which first aired in 1993. With this being said, many other forms of media have some sort of mythology, and the term is often applied in regards to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost and the Batman and Superman comics, among others.

References

See also

Mythology (Bee Gees album)

Mythology is a box set compilation of recordings by the Gibb Brothers, mostly performed as the Bee Gees, arranged in a four disc set each highlighting a Gibb brother. Barry and Robin chose their own songs (presumably their personal favourites), with Maurice's songs selected by his widow Yvonne and Andy's songs selected by his daughter Peta.

Background

All of the songs on Barry's & Robin's disc have already been released on CD, though several are receiving new remasters by Rhino/Reprise, which is true for all the songs in this set. Maurice's disc includes two unreleased tracks from 1999, "Angel of Mercy" and "The Bridge", as well as his 1984 single "Hold Her in Your Hand", which makes its CD debut. Missing from Maurice's disc is his jazzy "My Thing" from 1970 and a rare B-side, "I've Come Back" from 1970, of which the latter has never been released on CD. Andy's disc contains his previously unreleased final song from 1987, "Arrow Through the Heart", which was briefly heard on Behind the Music: Andy Gibb.