Ispolin (Bulgarian mythology)
Encyclopedia
The ispolin is a legendary giant
in Bulgarian
mythology
. While the appearance of the ispolin varied according to the myth and region, ispolini were believed to have inhabited the Earth
before humans and to have been considerably taller.
Old Church Slavonic
texts as early as the 11th century. Russia
n linguist Max Vasmer
believes the word's etymology
is tied to spali, a name for the defeated Goths
inhabiting what is today southern Russia. The word appears as Sраlаеi in 1st-century Ancient Roman
author Pliny the Elder
's Natural History.
s refer to the ispolini as the second out of three generations of people to inhabit the Earth, the third generation being modern humans. The first people that God created were dwarves or little people, i.e. dzhudzheta (джуджета, singular джудже dzhudzhe). However, because of their low stature these people were unable to protect themselves from wild animals or to effectively cultivate the land, and thus they died out.
Dwarves were succeeded by ispolini, whom Bulgarians believed God created as the opposite of dwarves. Various myths describe them as up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall and having huge heads, while other legends portray ispolini as possessing three heads and a single eye, the size of an egg, on their forehead, or a single leg. In some aspects, the ispolin bears a resemblance to the cyclops
of ancient Greek mythology
. Besides their height, ispolini also possessed supernatural powers.
Ispolini were believed to have inhabited the prehistoric mountains. Their voices were thought so powerful that they were able to communicate between each other even when they were standing on far-away mountain tops. Ispolini lived in caves and were carnivorous, feeding exclusively on raw meat. They were regarded as a natural enemy of dragons
(змейове zmeyove) and would often engage them in battle.
Despite their physical strength and stature, ispolini were not invulnerable. Bulgarian legends claim that the most dangerous object for an ispolin was the blackberry
bush. Due to their height and sluggishness, ispolini were unable to spot or avoid blackberry bushes, so they would trip, get caught in the thorns and perish. Perceiving the blackberry as a great and powerful danger, ispolini were believed to offer sacrifices (курбан kurban
) to the blackberry in order to propitiate it.
However, the legend goes, God destroyed ispolini because he judged that they were, just like dwarves, not suited for life on Earth. In many regions of Bulgaria, large heaps of stones, often ruins of ancient buildings, are interpreted as ispolin graveyards. It was common practice that when a person passed such an area, they would throw a stone as a form of denouncement (anathema
).
Because ispolini and thus their "graveyards" were also known under the names елини elini ("Hellenes"), латини latini ("Latins") and жидове zhidove ("Jews"), such heaps are attributed to the pre-Christian
civilizations that inhabited the Balkans
. Ruins that were commonly tied to the mythological ispolini could be found near Samokov
, Veliko Tarnovo
, Malko Tarnovo
and Ihtiman
. Bulgarian scholars interpret the association of Latins and Greeks with legendary ancient giants as a result of the wars that medieval Bulgaria
waged against these people. Humans who were often forced to wage war were thought to be inherently strong and bulky.
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
in Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
. While the appearance of the ispolin varied according to the myth and region, ispolini were believed to have inhabited the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
before humans and to have been considerably taller.
Etymology
Ispolin with the meaning of "giant" appears in Rus'Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
texts as early as the 11th century. Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n linguist Max Vasmer
Max Vasmer
Max Vasmer was a Russian-born German linguist who studied problems of etymology of Indo-European, Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages and worked on history of Slavic, Baltic, Iranian, and Finno-Ugric peoples....
believes the word's etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
is tied to spali, a name for the defeated Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
inhabiting what is today southern Russia. The word appears as Sраlаеi in 1st-century Ancient Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
author Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
's Natural History.
Origin and appearance
Bulgarian founding mythFounding myth
A national myth is an inspiring narrative or anecdote about a nation's past. Such myths often serve as an important national symbol and affirm a set of national values. A national myth may sometimes take the form of a national epic...
s refer to the ispolini as the second out of three generations of people to inhabit the Earth, the third generation being modern humans. The first people that God created were dwarves or little people, i.e. dzhudzheta (джуджета, singular джудже dzhudzhe). However, because of their low stature these people were unable to protect themselves from wild animals or to effectively cultivate the land, and thus they died out.
Dwarves were succeeded by ispolini, whom Bulgarians believed God created as the opposite of dwarves. Various myths describe them as up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall and having huge heads, while other legends portray ispolini as possessing three heads and a single eye, the size of an egg, on their forehead, or a single leg. In some aspects, the ispolin bears a resemblance to the cyclops
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
of ancient Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. Besides their height, ispolini also possessed supernatural powers.
Ispolini were believed to have inhabited the prehistoric mountains. Their voices were thought so powerful that they were able to communicate between each other even when they were standing on far-away mountain tops. Ispolini lived in caves and were carnivorous, feeding exclusively on raw meat. They were regarded as a natural enemy of dragons
Slavic dragon
In Slavic mythology, the word “zmey” and its cognates zmiy and zmaj , are used to describe a dragon. These words are masculine forms of the Slavic word for "snake", which are normally feminine . In Romania, there is a similar figure, derived from the Slavic dragon and named zmeu...
(змейове zmeyove) and would often engage them in battle.
Despite their physical strength and stature, ispolini were not invulnerable. Bulgarian legends claim that the most dangerous object for an ispolin was the blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
bush. Due to their height and sluggishness, ispolini were unable to spot or avoid blackberry bushes, so they would trip, get caught in the thorns and perish. Perceiving the blackberry as a great and powerful danger, ispolini were believed to offer sacrifices (курбан kurban
Kourbania
Kourbania is a practice of Christianized animal sacrifice in some parts of Greece. It usually involves the slaughter of lambs to certain saints...
) to the blackberry in order to propitiate it.
However, the legend goes, God destroyed ispolini because he judged that they were, just like dwarves, not suited for life on Earth. In many regions of Bulgaria, large heaps of stones, often ruins of ancient buildings, are interpreted as ispolin graveyards. It was common practice that when a person passed such an area, they would throw a stone as a form of denouncement (anathema
Anathema
Anathema originally meant something lifted up as an offering to the gods; it later evolved to mean:...
).
Because ispolini and thus their "graveyards" were also known under the names елини elini ("Hellenes"), латини latini ("Latins") and жидове zhidove ("Jews"), such heaps are attributed to the pre-Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
civilizations that inhabited the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. Ruins that were commonly tied to the mythological ispolini could be found near Samokov
Samokov
Samokov is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a kettle between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia...
, Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
, Malko Tarnovo
Malko Tarnovo
Malko Tarnovo is a town in Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria, located 5 km away from the Turkish border. It is the only town in the interior of the Bulgarian Strandzha Mountains. Malko Tarnovo is the administrative centre of the homonymous Malko Tarnovo Municipality...
and Ihtiman
Ihtiman
Ihtiman is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountains and lies in a valley 48 km from Sofia and 95 km from Plovdiv, close to Trakiya motorway....
. Bulgarian scholars interpret the association of Latins and Greeks with legendary ancient giants as a result of the wars that medieval Bulgaria
Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
waged against these people. Humans who were often forced to wage war were thought to be inherently strong and bulky.
Alternative names
Ispolini were known under a large number of alternative names, depending on the region of Bulgaria.| Latin transliteration | Cyrillic original | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| elini | елини | Hellenes |
| latini | латини | Latins Latins "Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"... |
| zhidove | жидове | Jews Jews The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation... |
| zhidavtsi | жидавци | from zhidove, see above |
| kapinchovtsi | къпинчовци | blackberry people |
| kaloyantsi | калоянци | |
| pesoglavtsi | песоглавци | dog-headed people Cynocephaly The condition of cynocephaly, having the head of a dog — or of a jackal— is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts.-Etymology:... |
| tsoglavtsi | цоглавци | |
| tsologlavtsi | цологлавци | |
| bugantsi | буганци |