Giants of Greek Mythology

Giants or Gigantes huge monsters

Just like the Titans who fought the Olympians during the Titanomachy, the Giants also fought Zeus and the other gods during the Gigantomachy. The Gigantomachy was probably considered the most important war among gods in Greek mythology, as it was depicted in a vast number of vases that have been found. The most detailed description that has survived belongs to Apollodorus, a mythographer of the first or second century AD. In this description, it is not mentioned why the war took place; however, it ended with the defeat of the Giants. The rule of the Olympians over the Giants probably symbolised the rule of order over chaos in Ancient Greece.

Some of the Giants were:

Eurymedon: He was a king of the Giants.

Porphyrion: He was the greatest of the Giants, but he died when Zeus threw a thunderbolt against him and Hercules or Apollo shot him with an arrow.

Alcyoneus: In Greek mythology, Alcyoneus was the antagonist of the hero Heracles. He was considered to be one of the Gigantes, the children of the Titans Uranus and Gaea. In the Gigantomachy, the war that happened between the Giants and the Olympians, Heracles and Alcyoneus fought each other. However, Alcyoneus was immortal while stepping on his native land and would revive if anyone would try to kill him. So, when Heracles hit him with an arrow and Alcyoneus was about to stand up again, Athena advised Heracles to drag him out of his homeland; that was how Alcyoneus died. Alcyoneus had seven daughters called Alkyonides, who threw themselves into the sea after their father died.

Antaeus: He was the son of the gods Poseidon and Gaea, one of the Gigantes, in Greek mythology. He drew strength from his mother, earth, and was invincible while he was in contact with her; he challenged people who passed by his area to wrestling matches, in which he always won, and killed them in the end. He then used their skulls to build a temple honouring his father. He challenged the demigod hero Heracles, who was on his way to complete the eleventh of the famous Labours of Heracles, being to steal the golden apples from the Garden of Hesperides. The hero realised that Antaeus tapped his power from earth, so he locked him in a bearhug in such a way as to be unable to touch the ground, and then crushed him.

Enceladus: He was one of the Gigantes, the Giants, in Greek mythology, son of Gaea and Uranus.
During the Gigantomachy, the great battle between the Giants and the Olympian gods, Enceladus was the primary adversary of goddess Athena, who threw the island of Sicily against the fleeing Giant and buried him under it. Another source, however, mentions that it was Zeus that hurled a thunderbolt against Enceladus and killed him. Many sources claim that Enceladus was buried under Mount Etna, although others thought it was the monster Typhon or Briareus, one of the Hekatonheires, that was buried there. In any case, Enceladus was considered to be the main cause of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and when Mount Etna erupted, it was considered to be Enceladus' breath.

Mimas: He was one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology, one of the sons of the Titans Uranus and Gaea. He participated in the Gigantomachy, the battle that occured between the Gigantes and the Olympians, and he was the main opposition of the god Hephaestus; he was killed by him with missiles of red hot metal. Another account says that he was killed by Zeus, hurling a thunderbolt against him and turning him to ash. He was buried off the coast of Naples, under the island of Prochyte, one of the Phlegraean Islands.

Polybotes: He was one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology, the children of the Titans Uranus and Gaea. During the Gigantomachy, the great battle that happened between the Olympian gods and the Gigantes, he fought against Poseidon, and he was eventually crushed under Nisyros, a part of the island of Kos that Poseidon broke off and threw against him.

Porphyrion: He was one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology, the sons of the Titans Uranus and Gaea. He was considered the mightiest of all the Gigantes. During the Gigantomachy, the battle that took place between the Gigantes and the Olympian Gods, Porphyrion stood against Heracles and Hera. During their fight, Zeus threw a thunderbolt against him, while Heracles provided the finishing blow with an arrow.