An ogre is a creature of bestial behavior.
Ogre is a notion that comes from the French ogre and refers to a mythological being , similar in appearance to a human being . The tradition of ogres was forged in various cultures of northern Europe.
In the stories of the writer Robert E. Howard , famous especially for " Solomon Kane " and " Conan the Barbarian ", the possibility is explored that the myth of the ogres was born from the sighting of Neanderthals who had survived longer than expected. .
Generally, ogres were described as creatures of large size and brutal behavior . It has been written that ogres kidnapped children and ate them. Despite their danger, they were considered beings of little intelligence, which allowed them to be defeated with relative ease.
Tradition indicates that ogres kidnap princesses and take them to places that are difficult to access, such as their castles or caves . In recent years, however, other models of ogres began to be proposed, far from the classic vision.
Most famous ogres
The most representative ogre of the new times is Shrek , who first appeared in a children's book in 1990 and made it to the movies in 2001 . This creature is sullen and moody, but has good feelings. Therefore, he distances himself from the evil and bloodthirsty ogres of ancient times.
Other of the most important ogres in current fiction are found in:
- The Digimon cartoon series, where they are referenced very often and there is a character called Ogremon .
- The book " A Spell For Chameleon " by the English writer Piers Anthony , where the ogre is a very strong beast of little intelligence that lives in the Land of Xanth and communicates through rhymes.
- The Dragonlance books, a series of novels written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis , among other authors, belonging to the epic fantasy genre, which describe ogres as humanoid beings who work for the gods of darkness and are very cruel.
- "The Spiderwick Chronicles" , a series of children's books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi , where the figure of the ogre has such an important role that it has become the main antagonist of one of them.
- Warcraft , one of the most important video game sagas in the world. Warcraft ogres are large humanoids, generally very burly and may have one or two heads. In Draenor , one of the worlds of this universe, are the orcs, their close relatives and with whom they usually ally.
Ogres appear in multiple stories and films.
A sculpture in Bern
In the city of Bern , the capital of Switzerland , there is one of the most terrifying sculptures in the world: an ogre holding three children with one arm while mercilessly devouring another. It is located in the center of a very photographed fountain , although not so easy to find for tourists.
Its construction took place in 1546 , which makes it one of the oldest fountains in the city. There are various theories about its meaning; One of them says that it represents the older brother of the founder of Bern , who, in a fit of jealousy over the latter's fortune, kidnapped and ate dozens of Bernese.
Symbolic use of the notion of ogre
It is possible to use the notion of ogre symbolically, based on its traditional meaning. In this way, an ogre is called a human being who has problems socializing or integrating into social groups , or who exhibits behaviors that are far from the customs and norms accepted by the community .
For example: “My boss is an ogre, he is always in a bad mood,” “Could you chew with your mouth closed?” “You look like an ogre,” “I thought the math teacher was an ogre, although over time I began to love him.”