A short and sweet post today. Exciting Times are coming to Sorchia’s Universe after this April Blog Challenge. Stay Tuned.

Giants, ogres, and trolls have certain things in common.  They are large, not too bright, and have a penchant for eating children.

Orcus was an Estruscan and later a Roman god of the underworld—not the main god, just a lesser one. He was also the god of broken oaths. From Orcus, one theory goes, came the word ogre and, in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, Orcs.

Orcus mouth in the Gardens of Bomarzo.

Stories of large, hairy man-shaped creatures who ate children and defied the one God of the Christians survived longest in rural areas. Ogres, trolls, and giants are often portrayed as  uncivilized and uneducated.

https://ogresvstrolls.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/poucetogre.jpg?w=300&h=208

Trolls are a bit more supernatural than ogres in that trolls can be turned to stone by sunlight and are thought to be immensely old. According to Norse mythology, trolls are frightened by lightning and ringing church bells. They live in the mountains and seldom interact with humans. Some trolls are associated with certain landmarks such as bridges and caves.

Trolls and giants enjoy hurling boulders at the populace—especially at churches under construction. Giants appear in folklore and myth around the world. They are often equated with chaos—the unknown wilderness and foreign cultures.

King Arthur faces a giant in this engraving by Walter Crane.

Tomorrow—Popobawa—a Tanzanian shapeshifter