{{no footnotes, date=May 2012 The

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...

Thyrsus is a mythical figure from

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

. He is said to have lived in Leithen close to Reith. Thyrsus is mentioned in the legend of the giant

Haymon Figure of the giant Haymon in the chapel in Wilten Haymon and the dragon with its tongue torn; below the monastery of Wilten. Copperplate engraving from Topographia Provinciarum Austriacarum by Matthäus Merian (1679) Haymon is a mythical fig ...

. According to tradition, Thyrsus was stronger, more dexterous and half a head taller than Haymon.

Background

In the Germanic

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, Thürse, Thürsus, and Thurse are names for prehistoric

giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

. The hrimthurs, who are made of frost and ice, are descendants of the world's giant

Ymir In Norse mythology, Ymir (), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writte ...

. In the legend of the

, however, Thyrsus is a proper name.

Tradition

The cause of the dispute between the two giants

and Thyrsus is reported differently: One tradition tells that Thyrsus felt provoked by the immigrating

("Rheinländer" which means man from the river Rhine), because Thyrsus had already lived for ages in the Upper

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

Valley. Another tradition reports of a sudden destruction of

's castle during one night. Whilst one reported variant provides no reason for the sudden destruction, another variant says that it was Haymon's human neighbors who destroyed his castle. Then, they knowingly accused Thyrsus to be the perpetrator. The fight between the two giants was reported to have taken place close to the hamlet Thyrschenbach - today: Dirschenbach. During the fight,

stabbed a deep wound into Thyrsus' heel with his sword, so that a fountain of bright blood poured out. Thyrsus took a turf, stuffed it into the wound, and fled into

Karwendel The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is located on the Austria–Germany border. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part ...

. The many blood, which he had lost, leaked into the rocks. Haymon followed him and reached him close to the hill Leitner Kogel. There Haymon slew Thyrsus. The last words of the giant Thyrsus should have been: "Blood spray! Be good for man and beast! (Spritz Bluet! Sei für Viech und Menschen gut!“)" Only long time later, local farmers found the healing ''Thyrsusblut'' - named ''Dirschenblut'' - in the rocks of the

mountains (cf.

Tyrolean Shale Oil Tyrolean shale oil is a black, strong-smelling oil found in the stones of Karwendel Mountains, a mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps in Austria and Germany. It is also known as Ichthyol. According to legend, it is the blood of the gian ...

Miscellaneous

At the time of plague, Thyrsus once fell ill. In order not to infect the rest of the villagers, he retreated into the cellar of his house. Thus his village was spared from the plague. The house vis-à-vis the Chapel of the Holy Saint Magnus in Reith (almost Leithen) is said to be Thyrsus' house.

Books

*Michael Unterwurzacher (Ed.), Im Reich des Patscherkofel: Sagen und Fakten rund um Innsbrucks Hausberg und das Südöstliche Mittelgebirge, Books on Demand, 2009 *Michael Forcher, Der Riese Haymon, Haymon Verlag, Innsbruck, 2007 *Wolfgang Morscher, Berit Mrugalska-Morscher, Die schönsten Sagen aus Tirol, Haymon Verlag, Innsbruck, 2010

External links

"Wie Haymon den Riesen Thyrsus erschlug" at ''Sagen.at''

"Die Sage vom Riesen Haymon" at ''Haymon.at''

Giants Germanic mythology Tyrol (federal state)