GOG AND MAGOG.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 31 January 1929, Page 8

GOG AND MAGOG.

FAMOUS STATUES IN LONDON

The idea of the word giant as convoyed in classic mythology is that of beings more' or less miam.-like>, but monstrous in size and strength. But we do not need To. go balck to mythology for legends of giants, for ever since very early times' individual cities of the Old TYorld (have stored in their ochives stores of them. Thus London has Gog and Magog, whose, effigies—l4ft din i high—still stand in the' Guil'dhall, while! Antwerp has heT AutigonUs, 40ft high, j DOuai her Gayant 22ft high, and so on. At the moment, however, wei -alre only ) interested dm Gog and Magog, London's I mythic giants, replicas of. these famous Guildhall statues being used during the ; procession of the Lord Mayor of London ' on 9th November lalst. The original statues stand one on ! each side of the 'entrance to the great hall of the Guildhall, the l civic centre , of the City of London-. God stands' on ' th'e left -of the door and Magog oh-the ’ right. They were carved in 1708 by a man. named. Saunders to; replace two wickerwork figures, originally made to take part in the Load Mayor's processions, and dating from the reign of Henry V., which were' destroyed during the Great Fire of London. The legends concerning Gog and Magog are very contradictory. One ac"counit describes them as. the.' last survivors of a rata'c of evil giants inhabiting Albion, aWd finally overcome toy the Trojans on their arrival in the island ntoout 1000 B.C. Other authorities make them fight on the side of the: Trojans, the legendary founders of London;, then known as "New Troy." According to a third version the l figurels represent Oorineus, a British giant, and IGogmagOg, a rival slain; by him', the confusion of names’ toeing explained Ijy the lapse of time. | According to the "Reteuyell des Histoires de Troye, ” Gog and Magog were the survivors of a! race of giatute de!scended from the thirty-threC wicked daughters of Diocletian 1 , who each'murdered her husband. After their brothers had been slain toy Brute and his companions, Gog and Magog werel brought to" Troy Nov ant ’ ’ (London) and compelled to officiate; as poTters at the 1 gate Of the royal palace. The chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth, a very early history of Britain, much of which is legendary, refers to Goemot and GOemagot, either corrupted from or corrupted into Gog and Magog, a® giants who, in company with their brother Cornieus, tyrannised over the' western portion of England until slaih toy foreign invaders. Although it is known that the city , hais possessed effigies similar to those at present in existence mt the Guildhall ate far back as the' fourteenth century, it is not possible to place any definite: date o!n the legend itself. There are several instances in the Bible- where: Gogamd Magog are mentioned 1 , so: that it would appear that the legend is of very long standing. It is found in. Revelations xx., where; it apparently denotes an l an titheocratic power tha-t is to manifest itself in the world immediately, before the final dispensation. In the passage Gog and Magog are spoken of ais coordinate. Magog is afe-O' spoken of by the writer of Genesis as a sou -of JapKet, while Ezekiel speaks of Gog, Prince > off Magog, as a terrible ruler in the far north, who united with the PersiaUs, Armenians and Cimm-eriante' against Israel. ‘Gog and Magog in th'e Apocalypse appear as co-ordinate terms comprehending all future enemies off the Kingdom of God. The name Magog iis also used as applied in thel Bible to unknown peoples' living north off the. Caucasus.

The last occasion on which Gog and Magog too-k pant in a Lord Mayor's procession wals in 1837. They are far too valuable' ate city treasures l atnd 1 far too heavy to allow them to. be 1 again used for such, a purpose.