Ogre
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- This article is about the mythical creature. For alternative meanings, see ogre (disambiguation).
Image:Oni2WP.jpg According to the folklore and mythology of the peoples of Northern Europe, an ogre is a member of a race of humanoid beings, fierce and cruel monsters, that eat human flesh; in some stories they are also shy and cowardly, and have little or no intelligence and cleverness, which makes it easy for men to defeat them. A female of this race is called an ogress. Ogres are said to be able to change their shape at will into animals or objects, and they often dwell in marvelous palaces or castles, sometimes underground. In art, ogres are often depicted with a big head, abundant and hirsute hair and beard, a huge belly, and a strong body.
Ogre is a French word probably ultimately derived from the Latin Orcus; compare the Italian word for "ogre", orco. The word first appeared in the fairy-tales of Charles Perrault, some of which had Neapolitan originals.
In Scandinavian countries, the word "ogre" is not used; instead, beings called trolls take their role in the fairy tales. Trolls are considered to be the inhabitants of mountains or castles far away in the wilderness, where they hoard fabulous treasures (compare with the Irish leprechaun). Scandinavian fairy tales usually imagine trolls as gigantic creatures, often with monstrous features – although a south-Scandinavian tradition holds them to be a much more human-like folk, both in appearance and customs.
Blue, red, and yellow ogres with horns and iron clubs appear in Momotaro ("Peach Boy"), a Japanese fairy tale, as well as in several other works inspired in the local mythology and religion. For more information, see oni.
Other fairy tales with ogres in them: Motiratika, Tritill Litill And The Birds, and Don Firriulieddu. In the tale Puss in Boots, a cat outwits a shape-changing ogre. Negoogunogumbar is an ogre of Pygmy myth who devours children.
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Ogres in modern fiction
Literature for children has plenty of tales mentioning ogres and kidnapped princesses who were rescued by valiant knights and, sometimes, peasants. Ogres are also popular in fantasy fiction, such as C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, and in various fantasy games.
Image:Screenshot of the character Shrek from film Shrek 2.jpg The titular protagonist of the award-winning CGI film Shrek is an ogre. Shrek is voiced by Mike Myers, and has a seemingly Scottish accent. The ogre Shrek is not depicted as a stereotypically hostile ogre. Shrek is not a villain, but an ogre that lives in a swamp and prefers not to be disturbed.
The animated television series Digimon provides many references to mythical beasts. The Digimon Ogremon is most obviously an ogre, holding a club to whack enemies with.
In the Xanth chronicles by Piers Anthony, ogres are idiotic beasts who contain immense strength and are able to communicate only with rhyme as in the Chronicle Ogre, Ogre. The rhyming is a cultural behaviour and the ogres can choose to speak in rhyme or not.
Ogres in modern games
- For ogres in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, see Ogre (Dungeons & Dragons).
In the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game, ogres are a race of large, primitive humans. They are fully as intelligent as humans, and capable of cross-breeding with them, but they tend to be more savage. They are also skilled at working with animals.
In the Warcraft universe, Ogres are a savage race from Draenor. They followed the orcs through the Dark Portal into the world of Azeroth. During the First War, they were little more than destructive brutes, hazards to both sides, but between the first and second war, the Ogres were recruited into the Orcish Horde by the Warlock Gul'dan to replace the now-disbanded Wolf-riders as heavy cavalry. This is the point at which the two-headed variety of ogre appeared, due to Gul'dan's experiments that ultimately created the Ogre-Magi - the powerful body of an ogre with the mind of a slain warlock implanted in one or both heads.
The main boss in the fighting game Tekken 3 is named Ogre. This Ogre is apparently a demon rather than a traditional ogre; he possesses magical powers and at least a human level of intelligence. Ogre here is solely used for connotational purposes.
Ogre as title or name
By extension, the term ogre applies to disgusting persons with a violent temper. This is undoubtedly the basis for the coarse fraternity brother, Ogre, who was played by Don Gibb in the Revenge of the Nerds movies.
Kevin Ogilvie is the real name of the musician known as Ogre or Nivek Ogre. Lead lyricist and vocalist of the industrial music group Skinny Puppy, he chose his monicker to fit the description of a disgusting person with a violent temper. The onstage antics displayed by his Ogre character give insight into the description of his name. His solo work is with the group, ohGr.
In the 1980s animated TV series Drak Pack, the main villain, Dr. Dred, and his cronies formed a group known as OGRE: the Organisation for Generally Rotten Enterprises (or "Endeavours" in some episodes).
See also
de:Oger fr:Ogre it:Orco (folclore) he:עוג (פנטסיה) hu:Ogre ja:オーガ pl:Ogr ru:Огры