Half-giant

Half-giants are fictional beings that have one parent that is a giant and another parent that is a different species.

Mythology

In most cases, a half-giant is the result of a union between a human and a giant. Often they are of normal size or a little bit larger and either have abnormal or supernatural abilities, or are unusually strong and hearty

In Greek mythology, Antaeus is a half-giant who is the son of Poseidon and Gaia.

Popular culture

• Half-giants are most well known from the Harry Potter series, by J.K Rowling. One of Harry Potter’s father figures, Rubeus Hagrid was a half-giant. Hagrid was born to the giantess Fridwulfa, who was a notorious muggle slayer. Rubeus Hagrid stands at about 8 feet 6 inches. The other half-giant in the Harry Potter series is Olympe Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Madame Maxime stands at nearly 11 feet 6 inches. In the Harry Potter series half-giants are looked upon as evil beings and are immensely discriminated against. Half-giants are thought to be, like their giant parents: slow, stupid, aggressive, selfish, and dishonest. However, that is not at all the case, as can be seen from Hagrid and Madam Maxime.^[1]
• They feature primarily in fantasy role-playing games, where they often are a playable race (for example, Half-Giants in the Dark Sun setting for Dungeons & Dragons and another race of half-giants in the MMORPG Horizons: Empire of Istaria).
• In the game Dungeons and Dragons, Half-giants are a race of enormous demihumans who have adapted to a variety of lifestyles in the many harsh terrains of Athas. The origins of the race are unclear. While it is known that the race is spawned from the union of human and giant and the nature of that union was certainly magical, its original purpose is unknown. Left to themselves, the original half-giants have multiplied, especially near the shores of the Silt Sea.
• In The Chronicles of Narnia series, by C.S Lewis, the White Witch is a half-giant.^[2] However, the White Witch isn’t part-giant and part-human. She is part-giant and part-Jinn.
• In One Piece manga and anime, there are half-giants known as "Wotan" which are a resultant species from the crossbreeding of fishmen and giants. They are larger than humans, but smaller than pure giants.

Notes