The Cerne Giant, located near Cerne Abbas in the county of Dorset, is a figure of an aroused man holding a cudgel in his hand, carved into the side of a hill and outlined in chalk. Owned by the National Trust and a Scheduled Monument, the figure whose age is undetermined is presently re-chalked every twenty-five years.

Originally thought to date back to ancient times, there is little evidence to support this theory, as there is no reference to him of any kind until the late 17th-century, leading many scholars to believe that he was carved as a political caricature of the puritanical Oliver Cromwell. The hill was owned by Denzil Holles, a staunch critic of Cromwell during the mid- 1600's; and in the following century the Rev. John Hutchins said that it was related to him that Lord Holles had the figure carved into the hill, which would substantiate the satirizing theory.

Other theories that have attempted to link the Giant to Celtic times or to the Roman occupation, even though there is no concrete evidence to substantiate this. Regardless of his origin, the local folklore, some of which dates back to the Victorian era associates the figure with fertility rites; leading to such activities as dancing around a maypole which was placed on the hillside where the Giant was located, in the hopes that the couple would have a child as a result of such reverence. There were also couples that thought spending a night or two on the hillside in sexual activity would bless them with a child.

Fertility associations still remain to this day, even though this may only be a popular myth attached to the Giant. Some theorists associate the figure with the Roman era and attribute the chalk figure to Heracles who was often represented with a club and carrying a cloak; making it more meaningful when coupled with discovery of a cloak that may have originally been over the Giant's arm, with a head lying under it.

Scientists are attempting to discern the age of the figure through new technology, but no matter which theory one supports, unless definitive evidence is found to support a particular theory, scholars will continue to debate his origin. It is evident that the Giant is quite famous, prompting his disguise during World War II to prevent the Germans from using him as an aerial landmark. Today, this huge figure of the Cerne Giant stands quietly on his steep hillside in all his glory, for all to see.