Aloadae (Otus and Ephialtes)
creatureTwin giants who grew nine fathoms each year and attempted to storm Olympus by stacking mountains, threatening the gods before Artemis or Apollo destroyed them.
The Myth
Otus and Ephialtes, the Aloadae, were twin sons of Poseidon and Iphimedeia, though their mortal father was Aloeus. They grew at an extraordinary rate — nine fathoms tall and nine cubits broad by age nine. Emboldened by their size, they declared war on the Olympians. They stacked Mount Pelion on top of Mount Ossa to create a stairway to Olympus. They captured Ares and imprisoned him in a bronze jar for thirteen months until Hermes freed him. They threatened to pile mountains into the sea and demanded Artemis and Hera as their brides. In one version, Artemis disguised herself as a deer and ran between them — each brother hurled his spear at the deer and killed the other. In another, Apollo provoked the fatal misunderstanding. The Aloadae were punished in Tartarus, bound back-to-back to a pillar by serpents while an owl shrieked above them forever.
Parents
Poseidon, Iphimedeia
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Aloadae's plan to stack mountains and storm heaven is the Greek version of the Tower of Babel — mortals building upward to challenge divinity. The image of stacking Pelion on Ossa became a literary idiom: "piling Pelion on Ossa" means adding difficulty upon difficulty. It appears in English literature from Shakespeare to Dickens. The phrase is so established that geologists informally use it when describing thrust faulting — one rock mass piled atop another.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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