bon, dans une galerie marchande de melbourne il y a gogg et magogg, mais ki peux me dire leur histoire?

y a til d'autres géants de part l'australie? meme dans le folklore aborigene?

par avance merci...........

C'est interessant car le semaine passe, j'ai lu un livre touristique a propos de Melbourne et j'ai vu les noms de 'Gog & Magog' pour la premier fois...but it didn't explain their history at all, and I would have liked to know it.

As for Aboriginal mythology/dreamtime, it's different in each state, but for Victoria, Bunjil is an important figure (and in the last few years, white people living in the centre of Victoria have come to know him a little as well)

..."Located in the Black range, 22km from Stawell on the Pomonal Rd., Bunjil's Shelter is one of Australia's most important Aboriginal Art sites.
In the Aboriginal 'Dream-time', Bunjil was believed to have once been a man, and the father of all people; he was revered by all tribes in Central and Northern Victoria, and was the creator of all things and divined the laws and culture of the tribes. "
(http://www.wilmap.com.au/atts/303.html)

Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre, The Grampians
http://www.brambuk.com.au/

Anglo-Saxon giants in past Australian history: some of Australia's past Prime Ministers, such as John Curtin.
There's also Banjo Patterson, (famous writer of "The Man from Snowy River")
Burke & Wills, famous explorers on the first big outback expedition in 1860-61, who also met their death on it.
Folklore: Harold Lasseter (who is said to have found a huge gold mine near Alice Springs about 1890 but died during the search before he could tell anybody where it was, and it's still missing. See http://www.gold-net.com.au/lasseter1.html)

A bit more recently: Albert Namatjira (1902 - 1959. Most famous Aboriginal landscape artist) David Gulpullil: most celebrated Aboriginal Actor (star of recent movie "The Tracker" also)
Jeannie Aneas Gunn (author of famous outback book "We of the Never Never")
From my region over 100 years ago but still nationally famous: Adam Lindsay Gordon (Poet), The Lindsay family (artists)

Kate

Of all the legends surrounding Gog and Magog, the one at the following address may well have been the inspiration behind our own Gog and Magog in Royal Arcade.

http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/SESLL/STELLA/ ... G/main.htm

Merci, Jean-Marie, I've finally read it...all 77 chapters! and can say I'm happy I now understand the story, or the legend, or whatever it may be.

So in summary, in pre-Christian (and Pre Roman) times, a wicked tyrannical giant called Humbug took a beautiful princess called Londona captive in his castle.
Living in the village (which was under control of the giant), were the twin sons of a miller. They were called Gog and Magog. These young men were famous in the village for their strength of body and their generous dispositions. They excelled in feats of vigour and manly strength and there was no one in the whole district, subject to the tyrannical giant, who could compare with them, either in masculine stature, or the valiant virtues of frank and generous hearts.

When Gog and Magog heard about the capture of the princess, they were filled with noble indignation at this new case of tyranny by the giant and loudly exclaimed to their companions that it was disgraceful to endure any longer such oppression. They declared, at the same time, that if they were well supported, they wouldn't hesitate to attempt to rescue the princess.
They decided, on the instant, to attack the ferocious Humbug in his gloomy fortress. Gog divided the young men, who had been inspired by his speaking, into different groups and appointed captains to each :
while Magog went with another group, breathing revenge, to provide crude wooden weapons for their warlike attack.

They tried on more than one occasion to storm the castle and rescue the princess, but were unable to beat the giant and his army.
They then made a deal with the giant to exchange themselves for the life of the Princess, and the exchange was made and she was set free.
The Princess, unable to bear the thought of her rescuers deaths, re-assembled the little army of Gog and Magog, and managed to sneak inside the castle, where between them, they defeated the giant's army and Gog and Magog killed the giant at the princess's feet.

Princess Londona decided to make a new city, and call it after herself, London. Gog and Magog were given much praise and good positions, and when they eventually died in old age, it was decided to erect 2 huge statues of these two famous brave champions in the Guild-hall of London, as a mark for all time of the esteem in which they had been held by the city.


Nice story, especially once you get to the end, as it's so long!
Kate

Thank you, dear Kate, for condensing the story of Gog and Magog so wonderfully. It is a long text but the writers were paid by the line.

As for other Australian giants, I can think of Dame Joan Sutherland, Gough Whitlam, Sir Robert Menzies, Percy Grainger, Sir William Oliphant, Mother Mary McKillop, Rupert Bunny, Dame Mabel Brookes, Patrick White as they come to mind in an erratic and most disorderly fashion.

Mabel Brookes is to be especially remembered by us. Her grandfather Balcombe was the jailer of Napoleon at St Helena. Longwood, where the Emperor died, was still in her possession when she made of gift of it to the French Republic. Her collection of Napoleonic treasures is to be found on the Mornington Peninsula at the Briars. It contains one of only three death masks of Napoleon.