What did the Hecatoncheires look like?
Amelia Brooks
Updated on March 04, 2026
What did the Hecatoncheires look like?
The Hecatoncheires (meaning “hundred-handed ones”) are giants in Greek mythology that have 100 arms and 50 heads who were also the children of the Protogenoi Gaia and Ouranós. They represented the natural forces of earthquakes, tornados and huge tidal waves.
What happened to Hecatoncheires?
During the War of the Titans, the Hecatonchires threw rocks as big as mountains, one hundred at a time, at the Titans, overwhelming them. While Gyges and Cottus sided with the Gods, Briareus is known to be the one to betray them and joined the Titans. After Briareus’ defeat, he was buried under Mount Aetna.
What was Hecatoncheires?
Hecatoncheires means “hundred handed”. They were gigantic and had fifty heads and one hundred arms each of great strength. There were three of them: Briareus also called Aegaeon, Cottus, and Gyges also called Gyes. They were born to Gaea and Uranus.
Who fathered the Hecatoncheires?
THE HEKATONKHEIRES (Hecatoncheires) or Hundred-Handed giants were three primordial sons of Ouranos (Uranus, the Sky) and Gaia (Gaea, the Earth). Each had a hundred hands for wielding clouds and fifty heads for blustering winds (theullai).
Are Hecatoncheires Titans?
Hecatoncheires’ Family and Role They were children of the Titans Uranus and Gaea; they were three, Briareus or Aegaeon (the vigorous or the sea goat), Cottus (the striker or the furious) and Gyges (the big-limbed).
Who is hundred handed giants?
The Hundred-Handers, Cottus, Briareus and Gyges, were three monstrous giants, of enormous size and strength, with fifty heads and one hundred arms. They were among the eighteen offspring of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), which also included the twelve Titans, and the three one-eyed Cyclopes.
How did Cronus help Gaea?
Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus grabed his father and castrated him, with the stone sickle, throwing the severed genitales into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not clear. He either died, withdrew from the earth, or exiled himself to Italy.
Did Hera seduce Kronos?
Hera, Zeus’ girlfriend and future wife, was the most desirable woman at the time and because of this, he would use Hera to seduce Kronos and poison him over time but the plan worked too well for his liking. After the war was done, Zeus “rewarded” Hades with Kronos.