Hecatoncheires
creatureThe Hecatoncheires were three giants, each with a hundred hands and fifty heads — the most powerful beings born before the Olympians.
The Myth
Briareus, Cottus, and Gyges were born to Gaia and Uranus. So terrifying that Uranus imprisoned them in Tartarus. Zeus freed them during the Titanomachy, and they proved decisive — each hurled three hundred boulders at once, overwhelming the Titans. After the war, they guarded the imprisoned Titans in Tartarus. Briareus was so respected that when the gods attempted to chain Zeus, Thetis summoned Briareus to Olympus and his mere presence deterred the conspirators.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Hecatoncheires each threw 300 boulders simultaneously during the Titanomachy — making them the original artillery barrage.
Explore Further
Gaia
primordialGaia was the primordial Earth goddess, the first being to emerge after Chaos — mother of the...
Olympus
placeThe highest mountain in Greece and the mythological home of the twelve Olympian gods. Olympus was...
Tartarus
placeThe deepest abyss beneath the earth, as far below Hades as heaven is above earth. Tartarus was the...
Thetis
nymphThetis was a sea nymph so powerful that both Zeus and Poseidon desired her — until a prophecy...
Uranus
primordialUranus was the primordial sky god, born from and consort of Gaia, whose castration by Kronos...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...