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Originally Posted by Kristoffer O
There was some additional inspiration from the rephaim texts and canaanite religion. R'p'm and the ditanu were deified dead kings and were associated with the dead. Thus Ashdod is more of a mythological mix than the others. The concept of r'p'm giants is quite prevalent in middle eastern mythology. Some even wants to equate the ennunaki of sumerian myth with the biblical and canaanite giants. I couldn't resist the sumerian setting entirtely, so the archers and chariots of Hinnom are sumerian/assyrian in design.
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Thanks, Kristoffer. I the deeper I got into my research, the more I realized how pervasive these myths were: it used to be that (some) scholars thought the Biblical Giants were imported from Greek myth (Kronos and the other Titans), but it's actually a really complex interconnected mesh of myths that go WAY back.
I even ran across the website of a ultraconservative talk radio host who has constructed a conspiracy theory by syncretizing all the different giant myths! If he'd shed the paranoia, he might almost be able to make something of it. (If you're curious, here's the link:
http://www.stevequayle.com/Giants/index2.html).
In response to Trumanator's post, I don't know of any historical or mythological connection between Ashdod and Abyssia, though there may be some link through the ancient Near- and Middle-Eastern nations that influence both of these groups. Kristoffer?