#steropes

THE CYCLOPES (Brontes, Steropes, Arges)

ok so in terms of the age order of Gaia's first few groups of children, i think that the Titans came first, then the Cyclopes, and then the Hecatoncheires.

i've already said this before, but i like the idea the Ouranos was the first being ever created by any primordial ever, and i think that Gaia also didn't know exactly how she did it (after all, there was no one to teach the primordials, right?)

and so, Ouranos comes out and he's completely super-powered and he's effectively on par with the other primordials.

but then Gaia and Ouranos create the Titans, and i think that when that happened, Gaia was creating them with the intention of creating helpers for herself- beings to take care of the Earth.. and this meant that the Titans didn't really need to be super-charged the way Ouranos was.

and we know that Ouranos named the Titans "titans" because they were "puny"- they were always trying to "over-reach" to Ouranos' level.

BUT! i think when Gaia creates the Cyclopes, she was doing it with the intention of creating bigger, stronger children. i mean, i think she definitely loved her Titan kids, but she wanted to create something even bigger than before.

i think Gaia was very proud of Ouranos as a creation, and she wanted to see if she could do it again- so i like the imagery of her moulding the Earth into these little clay figures, and then she breathes life into them and they grow rapidly in size.

and i think that when they were "born", the clouds gathered and rumbled, and there was lightning everywhere... and that's how the Cyclopes were named- Brontes ("thunder"), Steropes ("lightning") and Arges ("bright").

Hesiod describes the Cyclopes as having "violent hearts" and i like to interpret this as meaning that the Cyclopes have a lot of emotion. they feel a lot- just like their mother.

i think that when Ouranos became aware of the Cyclopes' presence, and he chucked them into Tartarus, that scarred them deeply. and when Cronus freed them, only to imprison them a short while later again, they were filled with an immense distrust of the gods (understandably!).

still, the fact that the Cyclopes were willing to forge the lightning bolt for Zeus during the Titanomachy indicates to me that they weren't cold-hearted, and that they could be reasoned with.

i also think that the Cyclopes are highly intelligent beings. they're very skilled with metal-work obviously,, and i like the idea that after all the shit they've been through, Zeus really does honour them and treat them well.

in the Asclepius myth, the Cyclopes are killed by Apollo in a rage, but i like the version where Zeus brings them back :D

also, i like the idea that the Cyclopes taught Hephaestus how to forge stuff and how to be a blacksmith. i think that they are really supportive of Hephaestus and the four of them have a really close relationship.

i think that Hephaestus addresses them sometimes as "Lord Brontes" etc. etc. just as a sign of respect. the Cyclopes are a proud race, and i think that they appreciate being addressed like that- after all, they are older, and wiser and just as worthy of such a title as any of the other gods are.

in terms of individual personalities, i think Brontes is the self-designated leader. he's the oldest, and he's the most sensible. i think he likes to sing/hum while he works :)))

Steropes is more serious than his brothers. he's the middle child and i think sometimes he can be really scary,, but he appreciates those with confidence (not to be confused with: arrogance), and i think he tells awesome jokes.

Arges is the youngest. i think he can be a little quiet, but he's very light-hearted and friendly ^-^

about Polyphemus- i think he and the other Cyclopes are kinda disregarded by Brontes, Steropes, and Arges. they are not brothers and don't really have any obligations to each other as far as they are concerned.

THE HECATONCHEIRES (Cottus, Briareus, Gyges)

after Gaia made the Cyclopes, she created the Hecatoncheires, also called the "Hundred-Handers".

when she made the Cyclopes, i think she made them just to have a little fun. but when Gaia made the Hecatoncheires, i think she made them with the intention of creating beings powerful enough to destroy Ouranos.

Ouranos pretty much got rid of the Cyclopes as soon as they were born- and i think this was a real wake-up call for Gaia concerning the true nature of her husband.

and Gaia is a super maternal being- there could be no greater pain for her than having her children separated from her like that. so she was super pissed at Ouranos when she created the Hecatoncheires.

and i think she channelled all that anger into them. where she had earlier taken time to create clay forms for the Cyclopes, i think Gaia just straight up placed her hands on the Earth and summoned all the rage within her- and that manifested into three great, strong, hulking creatures- the Hecatoncheires.

because Gaia made them with the intention of deposing Ouranos, i think that the Hecatoncheires are more violent and angry than their Cyclopean or Titan siblings.

i don't think that they're particularly intelligent- they're not dumb, but they're not geniuses- but they ARE extremely skilled fighters.

as with the Cyclopes, i think the Hecatoncheires matured to adulthood as soon as they were born. and like 5 minutes later, Ouranos came and they battled.

during his fight against the Cyclopes, i don't think Ouranos broke a sweat- but during the fight against the Hecatoncheires, i think they were the first creatures to ever make Ouranos bleed.

and that was pretty frightening for Ouranos. i think that the Hecatoncheires probably could have won, but since they were technically still just children, and lacked proper fighting experience, they were eventually defeated like the Cyclopes and sent to Tartarus, much to Gaia's despair.

also, i like the idea that the Titans witnessed the defeat of the Hecatoncheires- i think it helps us understand why the Titans were so reluctant to fight Ouranos.. i mean, if the Hecatoncheires barely scratched him, what hope did they have? at the same time though, i like the idea that Cronus saw Ouranos bleed- he knew that his father wasn't invincible and that's where he got the courage to fight him from.

compared to the other "giants", mythographers often say that the Titans were "large", but that idea just doesn't gel with me. i think that they were a normal size for regular gods, but significantly smaller than the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires.

anyways, similar to the way the Cyclopes had a lot of trust issues, i think the Hecatoncheires definitely were a little doubtful about Zeus.

there's later versions of the Titanomachy that suggest that the Hecatoncheires fought on the Titans' side, but i reject this version. if Cronus locked up the Cyclopes, then i definitely think he'd have locked up the Hecatoncheires also. it doesn't make sense why he'd imprison one and not the other.

there's another version as well that suggests that the Hecatoncheires were not monstrous at all- they appeared as regular men but were called "hundred-handers" because they lived in a city called Hecatoncheiria ("hundred-arm"), and they rescued the citizens of a city called Olympia. again, i reject this because what's not awesome about having 100 hands?????????

we don't really hear too much about them in later myths, but i think that they went into retirement and are living their best life :)

Briareus, in particular, is mentioned as being given a wife by Poseidon- Cymopolea (who was Poseidon's daughter). and i think that they are very happy together and are in love <3

i'm not sure about the rest of the Hecatoncheires. maybe they had wives as well ^-^

TYPHON

Typhon is best known for his rule as the final challenger for authority over the cosmos, and as such, i think he was born much much much after the rest of Gaia's children- during Zeus' rule in fact.

however, i think he was "created" by Gaia during the Castration of Ouranos.

what i mean by this is that Typhon was born from two eggs, and i think these eggs were created around the time that the Titans first began to fight against Ouranos. but he only hatched during Zeus' rule.

regarding his parentage- some say that he's Gaia's child, some say that he's Cronus', and some say that he was Hera's child alone. well,,, i like the idea that all three of them had some role in the birth of Typhon.

in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, it's suggested that Hera was furious with Zeus for giving birth to Athena by herself, and so she prayed for a son stronger than Zeus and thus became pregnant with Typhon. in the Iliad, Gaia gets pissed at Zeus for destroying her Giant children, and decides to slander Zeus to Hera, who, in her anger, goes to Cronus for advice on destroying Zeus. in this myth, Cronus gives Hera two """""""""special"""""""" eggs and tells her to bury them so that Typhon can be born.

now,, i really like both of these versions so my hc is that Gaia is the primary progenitor- she created Typhon- but Cronus and Hera both gave Typhon part of their power in order to strengthen him and make him pretty undefeatable.

so what i'm saying is that all three of them had a role in Typhon's birth. i think Hera was angry at Zeus about Athena, so she goes to Cronus and he tells her about Typhon.

this version of events makes sense to me because i think it really emphasises just how angry and hurt Hera was by Zeus- i mean,, you know things are bad when you're resorting to conspiring with your estranged father who tried to murder you as a child.

also, this isn't "canon" i don't think, but my hc is that Typhon was created by Gaia as a back-up in case the Titans were really unable to defeat Ouranos. this would explain how Cronus knew about Typhon, and also why Typhon never ended up fighting Ouranos.

Typhon usually ends up being thrown into Tartarus or gets Mt Etna thrown on top of him by Zeus. tbh, i like the Mt Etna version.

in Greek mythology, gods never die. so i imagine that after a few hundred years of being crushed by Mt Etna, Typhon regathers his strength and that's when he meets Echidna,, and they fall in love, and i think Typhon still likes to make trouble for Zeus through his monster children, but i don't think that Typhon attempts to usurp Zeus again- he's lost interest.

in terms of personality, i think Typhon is pretty violent, but he also has a super short attention span. he has pride, but i don't think it's his weakness.

also, i like Apollodorus' description of Typhon as appearing humanoid from the waist-up, but like a serpent from the waist-down.

THE GIANTS