The Nephilim and the Roots of Civilization

We often take the roots of Western Civilization forJewish tradition tells us that one giant, Arba, built the
granted. Yes, we are taught by convention that suchgreat fortified city of Hebron. Another giant, Og, who
roots find a strong hold in Mesopotamia around 3500allegedly had survived the great flood, ruled over
B.C. But, have you ever stopped to ask yourself howBashan, a vast kingdom northeast of the Sea of
deep those roots go, and better yet, "who planted theGalilee.
tree?"Moving away from the Near East leaves one with no
It is very likely that the key to understanding thefewer examples of giant-founded societies. Most of us
founding of the world's great cities and civilizationsremember to some extent the myths we were taught
rests on a fundamental understanding of giants, or asin grade school about the Greeks and the Romans.
the Bible calls them, Nephilim. These creatures wereScholars have long been aware of the influence of the
the offspring of fallen angels and human females, andNear East on Greek ideas and religion. Similar residues
according to scripture, contributed to the very downfallmay be found in the pottery and art of ancient
of antediluvian society (Genesis 6). Some of them, itGreece, an indicator of trade with Phoenicians and
would seem, even survived the great deluge, croppingother peoples of the Near East, and something known
up in later millennia under various other names, such asto scholars as "orientalizing." The very gods were all
the Old Testament's Rephaim and Anakim. Thebelieved to hail from Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, and
perseverance of their race could account for many ofother lands to the east. As for feats of city-building,
the world's great cities or monuments. If we broadenPoseidon and Apollo were believed to have built the
the Biblical interpretation of this colossal line ofgreat walls of Troy. The Greeks also contended that
creatures to include world mythology, then possibilitiesthe Cyclopian giants had built the city of Mycenae.
emerge after the most cursory of glances at man'sIn the case of the Romans, we learned that the twins
religions.Romulus and Remus, descendants of the great Trojan
In extrabiblical sources, such as The Book of Enoch,refugee Aeneas, founded Rome. For obvious reasons,
one can find the very work of transformingteachers leave out the gory details which Roman
hunter-gatherers into a more sophisticated society. Thehistorian Livy relates to us. Mars, god of war, raped the
fallen angels waste no time in developing a scheme toVestal Virgin Rhea Sylvia, and the products of this
influence man for their own ends. We are told thatviolation were Romulus and Remus. The twins, as with
under the guidance of their leader Semyaza, the fallenother children sired by gods, were of great stature.
angels trade knowledge and technology for access toSomewhere between myth and history, we learn that
human females for the purposes of breeding offspring.Romulus built the city of Rome in the eighth century
To the great misfortune of mankind, civilization was aAD, promptly after killing his brother. The conditions of
high price to pay for what would soon becometheir conception, their size, and their violence all smack
oppression and violence. At any rate, the fallen angelsof traits borne by the Nephilim.
along with the Nephilim taught men metallurgy, warEven beyond the scope of Western Civilization proper,
craft, farming, husbandry, and a host of other bodies ofevidence of giant engineering abounds, as do the
knowledge defining civilizations.legends pertaining to such structures. German
The great Mesopotamian hunter and king, Nimrod, ismythology relates to us that the walls of Asgard were
often regarded as a giant. We read clearly in Genesisbuilt by a frost giant to separate the realm of the gods
of his renown, no doubt contributing to the memoriesfrom that of the giants, known as Niflheim (which is
preserved by Abraham, himself born of Sumeria.phonetically similar to Nephilim). Mesoamericans,
Consequently, Nimrod is also credited with having builtlikewise had firm ideas about the origins of their
the Tower of Babel, preserved to us in image as acivilization and giants. The Maya believed their
ziggurat, one of the stepped temples of ancientcivilization to have been founded by giants. The
Mesopotamian society. The very Cradle of CivilizationAztecs too, believed their cities and their society had
provides an early example civilization and itsbeen established by giants and gods. The great
connection to the giants of old.monuments of Machu Pichu, the earthen tombs of
Egypt, whose legends whisper to us in the present,China, Angkor Wat, the great earthen pyramid of the
was most likely not without its own giant origins. Atancient Indian city of Cahokia-they all speak to
least as much may be said about its monuments, andengineering feats that defy foundations in human
in particular the pyramids. Some scholars who entertainsweat and toil alone.
historical ideas outside of convention, such as PatrickIf you look, you can see that our civilization bears the
Heron, posit that the antediluvian giants constructed thetouch of humanity. A closer look still, reveals the
pyramids. This design spread with them as theypossibility of deeper roots and gigantic origins. The next
spread to other lands east and west of the Holy Land.time you look at the photo album from your Egypt trip,
In the Old Testament, we get a picture of thewatch a documentary on Mesopotamia, or thumb
descendants of these giants. You may recall fromthrough that humanities text you just couldn't throw
Sunday School that the spies Moses sent into Canaanaway, pause. Pause and ask yourself "what does the
on the eve of its conquest were all terrified saveevidence say, and who founded these societies?" You
Joshua and Caleb. They related that they were asjust may find the maker's mark of the Nephilim in
"grasshoppers" compared to these enormous men.subtle imprint.