Gigantomachia: Dionysos attacking a Gigante, Attic red-figure pelike, ca. 460 BC, Louvre

In Greek mythology, the Gigantes were a race of giants, children of Ge (the primordial Earth mother), who was fertilized by the blood of Ouranos that resulted from his castration by Cronus. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2550x2000, 3881 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Gigantomachy Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2550x2000, 3881 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Gigantomachy Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Bacchus by Caravaggio Dionysus, the name of a god, is occasionally confused with one of several historical figures named Dionysius. ... The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is the largest museum in the world. ... // Greek mythology consists in part of a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the world and detail the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines. ... Gaia (pronounced //[citation needed], sometimes also // or //) (land or earth, from the Greek ; variant spelling Gaea—see also Ge from ) is a Greek goddess personifying the Earth. ... Earth (often referred to as the Earth, or the earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ... Uranus is the Latinized form of Ouranos, Greek name of the sky. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In Greek mythology, Cronus (Ancient Greek Κρόνος—of obscure etymology, perhaps related to horned as seen in the word unicorn, which is indicitive of its connection to the levant deity El), also called Cronos or Kronos, was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of...

The primordial Gigantes rose up in arms against the Olympians in an attempt to end the Olympian reign. They tested the strength of the Olympian gods in what is known as the Gigantomachia or Gigantomachy. Led on by Alcyoneus and Porphyrion, the Gigantes hoped to reach the top of Mount Olympus by stacking the mountain ranges of Thessaly, Pelion and Ossa, on top of each other. The Olympians called upon the aid of Heracles after a prophecy warned them that he was required to defeat the Gigantes. Heracles slew not only Alcyoneus, but dealt the death blow to the Gigantes who had been wounded by the Olympians. "Power is latent violence, which must have been manifested at least in some mythological once-upon-a-time. Superiority is guaranteed only by defeated inferiors," Walter Burkert remarked of the Gigantomachy (Burkert p 128) The twelve gods of Olympus. ... Dionysos attacking a Giant during the Gigantomachia, Attic red-figure pelike, ca. ... For the Roman era writer, see Pomponius Porphyrion. ... Mytikas Summit, Mt Olympus Mount Olympus (also transliterated as Mount Ólympos, and on modern maps, Óros Ólimbos) is the highest mountain in Greece, at 2,919 (according to new measurements [1]) meters high and one of the highest, in real absolute altitude from base to top, of Europe since its... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... It may have been generated by a computer or by a translator with limited proficiency in English or the original language. ... Ossa (today Kissovo or Kissavo) is a mountain in the district of Magnesia in Thessaly, between Pelion and Olympus, from which it is separated by the valley of Tempe. ... Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Herakles (glory of Hera, Ἥρα + κλέος, )(Etruscan Hercle) was a divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, stepson of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. ... In Greek mythology, the Gigantes were giants who sprang forth from the blood of the wounded Uranus after he was castrated by Cronus. ... Walter Burkert (born Neuendettelsau (Bavaria), February 2, 1931), the most eminent living scholar of Greek myth and cult, is an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland who has also taught in the United Kingdom and the United States. ...

Fountain of the Gigantes in the gardens of Versailles

This battle parallels the Titanomachy, a fierce struggle between the upstart Olympians and their older predecessors, the Titans (who lost the battle). In the Gigantomachia, however, the Olympians were already in power when the Gigantes rose to challenge them. With the aid of their powerful weapons and Heracles, the Olympians defeated the Gigantes and quelled the rebellion, confirming their reign over the earth, sea, and heaven, and confining the Gigantes to the Netherworld. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (900x1200, 284 KB) Template:Sharedupload Statue du géant Encélade, dans le parc du château de Versailles (France) - Photo prise en avril 2005 par utilisateur Jgremillot Statue of the Gigantes Enceladus, in the garden of Versailles Castle (France) - Picture... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (900x1200, 284 KB) Template:Sharedupload Statue du géant Encélade, dans le parc du château de Versailles (France) - Photo prise en avril 2005 par utilisateur Jgremillot Statue of the Gigantes Enceladus, in the garden of Versailles Castle (France) - Picture... Versailles: Louis Le Vau opened up the interior court to create the expansive entrance cour dhonneur, later copied all over Europe Monument of Louis XIV in the cour dhonneur The Château de Versailles —or simply Versailles— is a royal château, in Versailles, France. ... In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy, or War of the Titans, was the eleven-year series of battles fought between the two races of deities long before the existence of mankind: the Titans, fighting from Mount Othrys, and the Olympians, who would come to reign on Mount Olympus. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Herakles (glory of Hera, Ἥρα + κλέος, )(Etruscan Hercle) was a divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, stepson of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. ... For other meanings of the word underworld see Underworld (disambiguation) In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly-dead souls go. ...

Whether the Gigantomachia was interpreted in ancient times as a kind of indirect "revenge of the Titans" upon the Olympians — as the Gigantes' reign would have been in some fashion a restoration of the age of the Titans — is not attested in any of the few literary references.

According to the Greeks of southern Italy, the Gigantes were buried beneath the earth by the gods where their writhing caused volcanic and other thermal activity.

In iconic representations the Gigantomachy was a favorite theme of the Greek vase-painters of the fifth century (illustration above right). More impressive depictions of the Gigantomachy can be found in classical sculptural relief, such as the great altar of Pergamon, where the serpent-tailed giants are locked in battle with a host of gods.

The most important of the Gigantes were Alcyoneus slain by Heracles, Porphyrion destroyed by Zeus with lightning bolts, Enceladus and Pallas killed by Athena, Polybotes crushed by Poseidon beneath Nisyros Island, Hippolytus by Hermes, Ephialtes shot by Apollo with arrows, Mimas by Hephaestus with bolts of metal and Clytius by Hecate with flaming torches. In Greek mythology, the Gigantes were giants who sprang forth from the blood of the wounded Uranus after he was castrated by Cronus. ... Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Herakles (glory of Hera, Ἥρα + κλέος, )(Etruscan Hercle) was a divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, stepson of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. ... For the Roman era writer, see Pomponius Porphyrion. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BCE. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ... Fountain of the Gigantes in the gardens of Versailles In Greek mythology, Enceladus was one of the Gigantes, the enormous children of Gaia (Earth). ... Pallas Athena. ... Helmeted Athena, of the Velletri type. ... Neptune reigns in the city centre, Bristol, formerly the largest port in England outside London. ... Hermes bearing the infant Dionysus, by Praxiteles Hermes (Greek IPA ), in Greek mythology, is the god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention and commerce in general, of liars, and of... See the Aloadae article for information about the giant Ephialtes of Greek mythology For Ephialtes, the prominent Athenian politician see Ephialtes of Athens Ephialtes (Greek: ) was the son of Eurydemus of Malis. ... Lycian Apollo, early Imperial Roman copy of a fourth century Greek original (Louvre Museum) In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo (ancient Greek , Apóllōn; or Ἀπέλλων, Apellōn), the ideal of the kouros, was the archer-god of medicine and healing and also a bringer of death-dealing plague; as... Mimas may refer to: Mimas, son of Gaia in Greek mythology, was one of the Giants slain by Heracles. ... Hephaestus, Greek god of forging, riding a Donkey; Greek drinking cup (skyphos) made in the 5th century B.C. Hephaestus (IPA pronunciation: ; Greek Hêphaistos) is the Greek god whose approximate Roman equivalent is Vulcan; he is the god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. ... For other uses, see Hecate (disambiguation). ...

Gigantes in popular culture

In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, there is a card by the name of Gigantes. It is an earth type monster that must be special summoned by removing one earth monster from the player's graveyard. When it is destroyed as a result of battle, it can destroy all spell and trap cards on the field. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

See also

• Pergamon Altar

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Gigantes

The front of the Pergamon Altar, as it is reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

References

• The Gigantes in classical literature and art
• Walter Burkert, Greek Religion 1982. p 128
• Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities: "Gigantes"