Some Obscurish facts
#1370
Stories about giant birds often associated with thunderstorms appear in many parts of the world throughout history. As early as the third millenium B.C. the ancient Sumerians revered the giant lion-headed eagle Imdugud whose roaring created thunder. The ancient Hindus venerated Garuda, a giant eagle-like bird who served as the mount of Vishnu. Four stories in Tales from the Arabian Nights relate encounters with the Roc (or Rukh), a giant bird said to be capable of carrying off an elephant. In two of the stories Sinbad the sailor tangles with the Roc, and he is carried off by one. The two other stories about the Roc feature Abd al-Rahman. Italian explorer Marco Polo mentions the Roc in his journals. Envoys from Madagascar presented Roc feathers to the Chinese ruler. Madagascar was indeed formerly the home of a giant bird, the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus, now extinct. However, unlike the Roc, the elephant bird could not fly.
Stories about giant birds often associated with thunderstorms appear in many parts of the world throughout history. As early as the third millenium B.C. the ancient Sumerians revered the giant lion-headed eagle Imdugud whose roaring created thunder. The ancient Hindus venerated Garuda, a giant eagle-like bird who served as the mount of Vishnu. Four stories in Tales from the Arabian Nights relate encounters with the Roc (or Rukh), a giant bird said to be capable of carrying off an elephant. In two of the stories Sinbad the sailor tangles with the Roc, and he is carried off by one. The two other stories about the Roc feature Abd al-Rahman. Italian explorer Marco Polo mentions the Roc in his journals. Envoys from Madagascar presented Roc feathers to the Chinese ruler. Madagascar was indeed formerly the home of a giant bird, the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus, now extinct. However, unlike the Roc, the elephant bird could not fly.