The Hecatoncheires, or Hekatonkheires, (meaning "Hundred-Handed Ones") were figures in an archaic stage of Greek mythology, three giants of incredible strength and ferocity that surpassed that of all the Titans, whom they helped overthrow. Their name derives from the Greek ἑκατόν (hekaton; "hundred") and χείρ (kheir; "hand"), each of them having a hundred hands and fifty heads" (Bibliotheca). Hesiod's Theogony reports that the three Hekatonkheires became the guards of the gates of Tartarus.
In Virgil's Aeneid, in which Aeneas is likened to one of them, Briareus (known here as Aegaeon), they fought on the side of the Titans rather than the Olympians; in this Virgil was following the lost Corinthian epicTitanomachy rather than the more familiar account in Hesiod.
Other accounts make Briareus or Aegaeon one of the assailants of Olympus, who, after his defeat, was buried under Mount Aetna.
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Mythological Creatures
FantasyDo you know what an Ifrit is, or how Will-o'-the-Wisp attract people? Do you want to put a certain mythological creature in your story, but are confused on where to look it up? Well, you've come to the right place! "Mythological Creatures" will take...
