Old tales and myths are gradually being transformed into new stories. A similar thing happened with ogres and orcs: these creatures continually appear in books, games and cartoons. But how to understand where the ogre, and where the orc? Is Shrek an ogre? How to distinguish one from the other? Read about it in the article.
Who is ogre?
Ogres belong to Celtic mythology and are most often found in old tales. They were described as “moving mountains,” because the average ogre could easily reach a height of four meters. His whole body was disproportionate and disgusting: a huge puffy stomach, too long arms, a massive jaw on a small head and wide palms.
The ogres were considered the first creatures that were able to pacify the fire and begin processing iron, which indicated their outstanding intelligence. For some reason, they began to prey on people, the man was on the list of their favorite ingredients. Perhaps it was the eating of human beings that caused the rapid degradation of these creatures.
Over time, the ogres dropped to the level of intelligent animals. At the same time, they abandoned agriculture and left their settlements, preferring to live alone. This was probably due to a lack of food: it’s much easier for one or two monsters to find lunch than for two dozen.
In fairy tales, ogres are presented as extremely stupid, but very strong creatures. They love the meat of human children and neglect hygiene, which is why the approach of the ogre can be felt long before it appears on the horizon.
Also, the ogres were weakly affected by magic and they were not taken by ordinary weapons. They were formidable opponents, whom, alas, it turned out to be easy to defeat with the help of ingenuity.
Differences between ogre and orc
Ogres and orcs are often confused. Perhaps this was due to computer games: in them, the orcs are represented by massive creatures, which contradicts mythology.
Orcs prefer to live in packs, they are good inventors and are an infantry army in the evil army.
Orcs emerged from a curse that fell on the beautiful elves, while ogres are a subspecies of the giants. If orcs can have a different appearance, depending on the tribe, then ogres are always huge and smell disgusting.
Shrek: ogre or orc?
What do we know about the famous inhabitant of the swamps? In the cartoon, Shrek is an ogre, whose weight and height is not called.
Supposedly, Shrek weighs 190 kilograms and has a height of 220 centimeters. Before the adventures began, this giant lived in seclusion and did not like when someone visited his swamps.
His life is equipped, there are very complex mechanisms that Shrek probably built himself. If we consider the Broadway musical a canon, then at the age of seven, Shrek's parents gave him a leather vest and drove him out of the house to look for "his place."
All this is a little like the description of the orcs. First of all, orcs do not live alone, which can not be said about ogres. This is perfectly shown in legends and myths: the orcs in them are depicted as flocking creatures.
However, the ability to craft complex mechanisms is more likely inherent to orcs. Ogres have extremely low intelligence and are not too used to living in comfort. Orcs are more disposed to ennoble the places where they live.
According to cartoons, Shrek left his children near him, which is not typical for ogres: as mentioned above, Shrek's parents kicked him out of the house. Was this the influence of Fiona or was Shrek himself not like mythical creatures?
So Shrek is still an ogre, albeit an unusual one. First of all, this is expressed in small aggression and the desire for a quiet and peaceful life. Judging by the third cartoon, where Shrek finds himself in an alternative universe, his differences from ogres are visible to the naked eye.
Ogre family
Shrek ogre, Fiona ogrich? Or an ogre? Or even an ogre? You can find many variations of the female name of the ogre. This is understandable: there is no generally accepted classification, and the male ogres mostly appear in the legends. Women apparently seemed less scary.
The most popular names for female ogres are:
Both versions allegedly came from an analogy: Orc - Orchich (sometimes - Orc).
Since there are no exact naming rules, you can use the option that you like best. It is noticed that in games the "ogre" is more common, while in films and books - ogryha.
What about the kids? Ogryat? Hearts? Are you kidding? There is no information about them either. Most often there are descriptions like "little ogre" or "baby ogre", but there is no special name for such children.