Gods, Myths and Heroes - Part 84

Cerne Abbas Giant

The Cerne Abbas Giant is a figure on a hill in Dorset, England.  It is cut into the turf about two feet deep, and the cuttings are filled with crushed chalk.  We hardly need to point out its prominent anatomical feature.

The Giant measures 180 feet long.  The size can be seen above relative to people who were maintaining it in 2019 (the cuttings have to be cleared of weeds).

Three theories have been proposed for the origin of the Giant.  One is that it is a Celtic creation, because the Giant is similar to the Celtic god Nodens found on a skillet handle dated between 10 and 51 AD, above.

The second theory is that it was created when England was part of the Roman Empire, and the Giant represents the Greek/Roman hero Hercules (above), specifically during the reign of Emperor Commodus (176-192 AD), who represented himself as a reincarnation of Hercules.

The third theory, citing the lack of documentation about the Giant before the 1690s, is that it was created in the 17th century.  Above, a 17th century Dutch sculpture of Cain and Abel.

Well, it turns out they're all wrong.  In 2021, scientists analyzed samples from the deepest layer of the Giant with a technique called optically stimulated luminescence.  The results: the samples dated between 700 and 1100 AD, most likely around the midpoint of that range, the tenth century.

So the Giant was made by medieval Britons.  What did it represent to them?  We don't know, but they certainly gave us something to look at.