We often take the roots of Western civilization for granted. Yes, we are taught by convention that such roots find strong roots in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC. But have you ever stopped to wonder how deep those roots are, and better yet, “who planted the tree?”
The key to understanding the founding of the world’s great cities and civilizations is most likely based on a fundamental understanding of the giants, or as the Bible calls them, the Nephilim. These creatures were descendants of fallen angels and human women and, according to scripture, contributed to the very ruin of antediluvian society (Genesis 6). Some of them, it seems, even survived the great flood, appearing in later millennia under various other names, such as Rephaim and Anakim from the Old Testament. The perseverance of your race could explain many of the great cities or monuments of the world. If we broaden the biblical interpretation of this colossal line of creatures to include world mythology, then the possibilities emerge after the most superficial of looks at the religions of man.
In extra-biblical sources, such as The Book of Enoch, the very work of transforming hunter-gatherers into a more sophisticated society can be found. Fallen angels waste no time developing a plan to influence man for their own ends. We are told that under the guidance of their leader Semyaza, the fallen angels exchange knowledge and technology for access to human females for the purpose of raising offspring. To the great misfortune of humanity, civilization was a heavy price to pay for what would soon become oppression and violence. In any case, the fallen angels along with the Nephilim taught men metallurgy, war crafts, agriculture, ranching, and a host of other bodies of knowledge that define civilizations.
The great Mesopotamian king and hunter, Nimrod, is often considered a giant. We clearly read in Genesis of his renown, no doubt contributing to the memories preserved by Abraham, himself born in Sumer. Consequently, Nimrod is also credited with having built the Tower of Babel, preserved for us in image as a ziggurat, one of the stepped temples of ancient Mesopotamian society. The Cradle of Civilization itself provides an early example of civilization and its connection to the giants of yore.
Egypt, whose legends whisper to us today, was probably not without its own giant origins. At least the same can be said of its monuments and, in particular, of the pyramids. Some scholars with unconventional historical ideas, such as Patrick Heron, posit that the antediluvian giants built the pyramids. This design spread with them as they spread to other lands east and west of the Holy Land.
In the Old Testament, we get a picture of the descendants of these giants. You may recall from Sunday School that the spies Moses sent into Canaan on the eve of his conquest were terrified, except for Joshua and Caleb. They reported that they were like “grasshoppers” compared to these huge men. Jewish tradition tells us that a giant, Arba, built the great fortified city of Hebron. Another giant, Og, who had supposedly survived the great flood, ruled Bashan, a vast kingdom northeast of the Sea of Galilee.
Straying away from the Near East leaves one with no less examples of societies founded by giants. Most of us remember to some degree the myths we were taught in elementary school about the Greeks and the Romans. Scholars have long known the influence of the Near East on Greek ideas and religion. Similar residues can be found in the pottery and art of ancient Greece, an indicator of trade with the Phoenicians and other Near Eastern peoples, and something known to scholars as “orientalizing.” The gods themselves were believed to have come from Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, and other lands to the east. As for city-building feats, Poseidon and Apollo were believed to have built the great walls of Troy. The Greeks also held that the Cyclops giants had built the city of Mycenae.
In the case of the Romans, we learn that the twins Romulus and Remus, descendants of the great Trojan refugee Aeneas, founded Rome. For obvious reasons, the masters omit the gory details that the Roman historian Livy tells us. Mars, god of war, raped the Virgin Vestal Rea Sylvia, and the products of this violation were Romulus and Remus. The twins, like other children begotten by gods, were of great stature. Somewhere between myth and history, we learn that Romulus built the city of Rome in the 8th century BC. C., shortly after killing his brother. The conditions of its conception, its size and its violence smell like Nephilim traits.
Even beyond the reach of Western civilization proper, evidence of giant engineering abounds, as do legends regarding such structures. German mythology tells us that the walls of Asgard were built by an icy giant to separate the realm of the gods from that of the giants, known as Niflheim (which is not similar to Nephilim). Mesoamericans, likewise, had firm ideas about the origins of their civilization and giants. The Mayans believed that their civilization had been founded by giants. The Aztecs also believed that their cities and their society had been established by giants and gods. The great monuments of Machu Pichu, the earthen tombs of China, Angkor Wat, the great earth pyramid of the ancient Indian city of Cahokia all speak of feats of engineering that challenge the foundations only with human sweat and labor.
If you look, you can see that our civilization carries the touch of humanity. A closer look still reveals the possibility of deeper roots and giant origins. Next time you look at the photo album of your trip to Egypt, watch a documentary on Mesopotamia, or flick through that humanities text you can’t throw away, take a break. Pause and ask yourself “what does the evidence say and who founded these societies?” You can find the mark of the creator of the Nephilim in a subtle print.