The Myth of the Fallen Giant

In the past, humans intuitively understood the difference between the living and the non-living, and although stones could speak to them, and rivers could sing and dance, the idea of the separation of living matter from the rest of the universe was not alien to ancient consciousness. The fragility, mortality, and vulnerability of life, combined with its abundance and ability to regenerate, demanded an explanation.

The idea that all living beings emerged from the body of a god or a giant who sacrificed themselves for this great purpose was very popular. Whether the giant was slain by a heroic god or not was not as important as the fact that the blood, flesh, and bones of the giant transformed into our world, and their inner strength became the animating spirit of existence. The Sumerians destroyed the monster Tiamat for this purpose, while the Indians believed that Purusha, one of the avatars of Vishnu, sacrificed his body for the creation of the universe. The Scandinavians also have texts that vividly describe how Odin, Vili, and Ve, their gods, pragmatically disposed of the remains of the giant Ymir, who they had slain: they made the sea from his blood, the sky from his skull, the clouds from his brain, and trees from his hair, and humans themselves originated from the giant's hands.

Similarly, ancient Chinese texts meticulously narrate, even with unappetizing details, how Pangu, the giant-ancestor of all living things, used his own body for the needs of the emerging world. For instance, he turned his bone marrow into jade.