The stories of Greek mythology were not just tales about gods and heroes, and a whole range of other mythical creatures that were said to inhabit the ancient world. Some creatures, such as the Centaurs and the Cyclopes, are relatively well known, whilst the likes of the Hecatonchires are recognised by only a small number of people.

The Hecatonchires were one of the groups of gigantic beings that were said to live on the earth, or within it.

The story of the Hecatonchires is most famously told in the ‘Theogony’ by Hesiod, and starts in a time before that of Zeus and the other gods of Mount Olympus.

The Hecatonchires were three brothers born to the supreme deity Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth); these three brothers were named Briareus (also known as Aegaeon), Cottus and Gyes. The name Hecatonchire itself means “hundred handed” and each of the three giants were equipped so; additionally they were also said to have 50 heads.

Uranus was so afraid of the power of the Hecatonchires, or perhaps because of their ugliness, that the deity had three brothers imprisoned within Tartarus, the hell pit of the underworld. The Hecatonchires were subsequently joined in Tartarus by their siblings, the Cyclopes, when Uranus imprisoned those three brothers for the same reason.

The imprisonment of her offspring, and the pain that caused, was one of the reasons why Gaia, persuaded Cronus and the Titans to overthrow Uranus. Cronus though was as afraid of the power of the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes as his father had been, and so the gigantic siblings remained in Tartarus, and this time there was the added guard of Campe, to ensure their incarceration.

Eventually Zeus rose up against his father, Cronus, and released his siblings from the stomach of the Titan lord. Gaia advised Zeus that victory would only come from the release of the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes from within Tartarus; and so Zeus killed Campe, and set his uncles free.

The Cyclopes provided weapons to Zeus and his siblings, whilst the Hecatonchires took to the battlefield, alongside the Olympians, and for ten years the Titanomachy raged. Each Hecatonchire was noted for their ability to release a volley of 100 mountain-sized rocks in one go. The power and the might of the Hecatonchires helped to ensure victory for Zeus; and the Olympian took the crown of supreme deity.

As thanks for their assistance, the Hecatonchires were given the role of prison guards of Tartarus; the hell pit now filled with many of the male Titans. Virgil tales of how Aeneas observes Briareus during his descent into the underworld.

Poseidon offered Braireus his daughter in marriage, as a sign of gratitude for his role in the war; and Braireus and Cymopolea resided in a palace beneath the Aegean Sea. Cottus and Gyes were also given underwater palaces, these though were located beneath Oceanus, the earth encircling water source.

After the Titanomachy, the Hecatonchires all but disappear from mythological tales.

Homer mentions Briareus as coming to the rescue of Zeus, when Poseidon, Hera and Athena plotted to overthrow the supreme god. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, called upon the Hecatonchire to aid Zeus, and the mere presence of the Hecatonchire alongside Zeus was enough to dissuade the other gods from their plans.

The same Hecatonchire is also said to have arbitrated in a dispute between Helios and Poseidon when the division of worship at Corinth was decided upon. In the division the Isthmus of Corinth was given to the sea deity, whilst the Acrocorinth, the monolithic rock overlooking the city, was given to the sun god.

In all probability, the Hecatonchires were simply the personifications of storms, earthquakes and tsunamis, the natural events that could toss around rocks, just as the mythical monsters could. The stories of Ancient Greece have survived for thousands of years, and are still enjoyed today, even though science has explained these natural events.