Giants have appeared in stories of mythology and fiction for thousands of years. Goliath, in the Bible, is normally depicted as one, whilst even in the recent J.K. Rowling Harry Potter series, giants make an appearance. The Gigantes was a name given to a race of giants from Greek mythology.

The concept of the giant was quite common in Greek mythology, and the offspring of Gaia and Ouranos, the Cylopes, the Hecatonchires, and the Titans, were all considered to be giants. Indeed, Kronos, the leader of the Titans, was said to have imprisoned his own offspring, the first generation Olympians, inside his own stomach by swallowing them whole.

The Gigantes were also the offspring of Gaia, and were born when the blood of Ouranos fell to earth after he was castrated by Kronos; and as such were born in the same way as the Erinyes. When born, each Gigantes was said to be fully armoured with weapon in hand. There was normally said to be one hundred Gigantes born, and would live on the Pallene peninsula. In later times, the Gigantes would be equated with a barbarous race of Thrace.

Many of the Gigantes are named in sources by Strabo, Homer and Hesiod. Amongst the most famous were Eurymedon, the king of the Gigantes, and two of the strongest giants, Alcyoneus and Porphyrion.

Described as being five metres tall and unkempt in appearance, in most cases there are described as being man-like in appearance, although Hesiod would also describe them as having serpents for feet.

Troublesome in nature, the Gigantes would be blamed for the driving off of cattle sacred to Helois, as well as the attempted rape of Aphrodite. The Gigantes though are most famous for appearing in the Gigantomachy, when they rose up against Zeus and the gods of Mount Olympus.

The Gigantes were pushed into an uprising by their mother, Gaia. Gaia herself was enraged by the overthrowing and treatment of the Titans by Zeus and his siblings; with many of the Titans imprisoned within Tartarus, deep within the depths of Gaia.

Incredibly strong, the Gigantes proved to be an easy match for the gods of Mount Olympus, and indeed victory for the Olympians only came with the assistance of Heracles and the Moirai. Heracles would be awarded a share of the spoils of war, and upon his later death would ascend to Mount Olympus.

Other giants were also occasionally called Gigantes, most famously the two children of Polyphonte, Agrius and Orius. Born to Polyphonte and a bear, the children were despised by Zeus, but before they could be killed by Hermes, Ares, the children’s ancestor, transformed them into birds with the help of Hermes. Polyphonte became a small owl, Orius an eagle owl, and Agrius, a vulture. 
Alebion (Albion) and Bergion are also sometimes called Gigantes, although their father was normally named as Poseidon. Alebion was said to be the founder of Albion, or Britain. Like the other Gigantes, these two brothers also met their demise at the hands of Heracles, after the Greek hero had completed the task of obtaining the Cattle of Geryon.