Giants

🐉 creatureΓίγαντες

earth-born, warfare

Enormous earth-born warriors who waged the Gigantomachy against the Olympian gods and were defeated ‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍only with the help of a mortal hero.

The Myth of Giants

The Giants were born from Gaia (Earth), sprung from the blood of Ouranos when Kronos castrated him.‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍ They were enormous beings, often depicted with serpent legs in later art, and their war against the Olympians — the Gigantomachy — was one of the three great cosmic battles in Greek mythology. A prophecy declared that the gods could not defeat the Giants without the aid of a mortal, so Zeus fathered Heracles specifically for this purpose. In the battle, each god faced a particular Giant: Athena fought Enceladus and buried him under Sicily, where his struggles cause earthquakes; Zeus struck Porphyrion with a thunderbolt; Heracles dispatched those the gods wounded. The Gigantomachy was depicted on the Great Altar of Pergamon in one of the most spectacular sculptural programs of antiquity, and it adorned the Parthenon's metopes, serving as a symbol of civilization's triumph over barbarism and chaos.

Parents

Gaia and the blood of Ouranos

Symbols

serpent legsbouldersmountains

Fun Fact

The word "gigantic" derives directly from the Gigantes — the earth-born warriors whose very name became synonymous with immense size.

Words We Inherited

English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.

giganticgiant

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cosmic warfare, imprisonment

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