Ispolin

The ispolin (исполин ispoˈlin, plural исполини ispolini) 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. Ispolin with the meaning of "giant" appears in Rus' Old Church Slavonic texts as early as the 11th century. Russian 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 Spalaei in 1st-century Ancient Roman author Pliny the Elder's Natural History. Bulgarian founding myths 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 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.