S4E3 - The Giant Problem

The stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features a war started for ridiculous reasons, lots of fighting, the help of a mortal, some stolen cattle, and dastardly war tactics.

The giant problem.

This is the story of how the gods of Olympus fought and defeated an army of a hundred ferocious giants.

But it's also a story about parents, owls, volcanoes, and cows.

But first, you need to understand the giants themselves.

These weren't your run-of-the-mill jack and the beanstalk type giants.

I mean, they were really, really big, yes, and they were monsters, but they were also divine beings, like the Olympians themselves.

In fact, they were almost like gods.

If you remember the story of how Zeus and the Olympians defeated the Titans to become rulers of the universe, you will remember Gaia.

She was essentially Mother Earth, the wife of Uranus, the mother of Cronus, who killed his father to take the throne.

We kind of skimmed over this part last time, but as Uranus was dying from the wound Cronus had inflicted, drops of his blood fell to the earth and sea, and from those drops of blood grew the gigantes.

Things don't actually grow from blood, but adding dried blood to garden soil will help raise the level of nitrogen and will help plants to grow lush and green.

This dried blood is sometimes called blood meal.

Okay, that's kind of disgusting.

Kind of makes you wonder about your neighbor's lawn, doesn't it?

Well, now I am.

Anyway, these giants were actually called gigantes, as I said, and they grew up and roamed the earth, the sea, and the heavens, sometimes encountering both mortals and Olympians alike.

There were some awkward exchanges from time to time, but for the most part, their mother Gaia kept the Gigantes mostly out of trouble.

Until the thing with Alcionius and the cows.

Helios is the god of the sun, or more specifically, he's the god who drives the sun chariot across the sky every day.

You might remember him from an early episode of Greaking Out a few seasons ago.

And he had a herd of beautiful cattle that he loved to gaze upon as he made his daily trek across the sky from dawn to dusk.

Except one day, they weren't there anymore.

Alcionius was a giant, a massive, powerful warrior who was literally undefeatable.

He was blessed by a magic spell that made it impossible for him to die on his homeland.

I guess that made him a little cocky because he saw this herd of really nice cattle and just decided to claim them for his own.

Helios pleaded to Zeus.

Zeus went to Gaia, and Gaia went to Alcionius and instructed him to return the cattle.

But her son refused.

In some versions of this story, it is Gaia who starts this war as revenge for the defeat of the Titans years ago.

Either way, Alcionius wouldn't back down, and so there was war.

Over some cows.

Not a very good reason to go to war, in my opinion, but it was as good as any, I guess.

In 1325, a war broke out between the Italian states of Bologna and Modena over a bucket.

It is called the War of the Oaken Bucket.

It killed over 2,000 people and was started because some Modenese soldiers took the bucket from Bologna's town well.

That was probably a worse reason.

Huh.

Well, I guess the cow thing doesn't seem so bad by comparison, but regardless, there was war.

It was a war between some very powerful beings, and at first, it looked like the Olympians might have been outmatched.

There were over a hundred gigantes hurling rocks into the sky towards Mount Olympus, and there was a prophecy that said the gods would need the help of a mortal if they were going to defeat them.

This seemed like good news for the gigantes, but Gaia wasn't taking any chances.

She knew of a magic plant called Pharmacon that could protect the giant soldiers from any harm, so she sent them out in the fields and forests searching for this special flower.

But Zeus wasn't about to allow that.

When the winds told him of Gaia's plans, he knew he had to act immediately, and he called out to Helios for help.

The sun god immediately landed his chariot, plunging the world into total darkness.

Then he called out to Selene, the moon goddess, and told her not to ride either.

Eos, the goddess who brought the dawn, was instructed to stay put until she got word from Helios.

In this total darkness, Gaia and the Gigantes were unable to find the plant they were looking for and Zeus instead was able to harvest all of it for himself.

Once done, Eos and Helios were able to resume their duties and daylight return to the world.

The city of Tromso, Norway, is more than 200 miles into the Arctic Circle and experiences a period called polar night from November to January.

During this time, the sun does not rise at all.

Of course, the return of daylight meant that the fighting could begin for real.

The Gigantes began their assault on Olympus and the gods were ready to respond.

Hermes, the messenger of the gods, used his speed and quickness to, literally, run circles around the giant Hippolytes.

But he couldn't get close enough to the monster to strike a fatal blow.

The giant swung his axe from side to side over and over again, and Hermes could not get through.

After a few moments, the god ran away, but not in defeat.

He ran all the way to the underworld and returned in an instant, wearing the helm of Hades.

This enchanted helmet made anyone who wore it invisible.

And in this way, Hermes was able to sneak close enough to Hippolytus to bring him down.

It seems like magic, but but in today's world, invisibility is possible.

Scientists have devised materials and devices that can bend light around an object, effectively causing it to disappear.

However, this technology is currently far from perfect and still has a long way to go.

Meanwhile, the mighty Poseidon was locked in battle with another one of the Gigantes, Palibotes.

The two warriors traded blows, Poseidon stabbing and swinging his trident at the giant, while Polybotes parried and lashed out with his mighty club.

The fight raged on for hours and eventually, the exhausted pair found themselves at the edge of the sea near the island of Kos.

This rejuvenated Poseidon.

With each touch of the waves, he suddenly had new life and new energy.

And seeing this, Polybotes staggered away, hoping to escape.

Poseidon chased the giant through the surf for miles, each throw of his mighty trident bouncing off the thick-skinned giant.

With growing frustration, Poseidon summoned the strength of all the waves and the tides and actually broke off a piece of the island itself and flung it at Polybotus, trapping the giant beneath the rocks for all eternity.

Kos is an island in the southeastern Aegean Sea.

It is the third largest island in the Dodecanese island chain, after Rhodes and Carpathos.

By this time, all of the Olympians were engaged in battle.

Even Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods, was forced to put down his work and join the fight.

Among other things, Hephaestus was the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, and any manufacturing tasks.

He made all of the weapons for Olympus and was married to Aphrodite.

Mimus, one of the scarier Gigantes, attacked Hephaestus in his workshop.

The blacksmith fought back valiantly, discarding his hammer and tools for a sword and shield, keeping the fierce giant at bay.

But Mimus was ferocious and strong.

And Hephaestus wasn't really a warrior.

Before long, his sword was broken, his shield was bent, and Hephaestus was forced to retreat back into his workshop.

The only weapons around were half-finished axes and swords.

So Hephaestus picked up his hammer and looked around for anything else he could use to fight the giant.

And at that moment, Hephaestus remembered who he was.

He wasn't a warrior.

He was a blacksmith, and he needed to do what he did best.

As soon as Mimus burst through the doorway, the blacksmith swung his hammer and knocked the giant back.

Then, he began to speedily craft small spears of molten metal and hurl them at Mimos.

The giant screamed in pain

as Hephaestus speedily forged one red-hot missile after another and shot them at the giant, piercing his armor and forcing him to collapse in agony, defeated.

The goddess Athena came face to face with Enceladus of the Gigantes, and this was another epic battle.

He was a cunning and devious warrior with the strength of hundreds of men.

But again and again, Athena was able to cut him with her sword sword and block him with her shield.

She wore enchanted armor, including a breastplate made of goat skin, a gift from Zeus, that the giant could not seem to penetrate no matter how hard he tried.

Enceladus is the sixth largest moon of Saturn.

It is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most reflective bodies of our solar system.

With Athena's friend Nikkei, the goddess of victory, by her side, and her familiar owl screeching and swooping from above, Athena forced the giant to retreat.

Realizing he had no chance at victory, Enceladus swung his club hard, knocking the goddess down.

It didn't hurt her much, but it gave him a head start as he turned tail and ran.

Athena could not allow this.

Her enemy wouldn't even do her the honor of surrendering to her face?

She was furious and decided to take a page from her uncle's book.

As Poseidon had done, Athena lifted the earth itself, this time part of the island of Sicily, and brought it down upon the fleeing giant.

The rock pile that rested on top of Enceladus eventually became known as Mount Etna.

Mount Etna is a real mountain on the island of Sicily.

It is an actual active volcano.

And locals sometimes used to call its eruptions the breath of Enceladus.

The volcano started erupting again in February, 2021 and continued to erupt for months.

Okay, wow, look at the time.

Where has the episode gone?

We're going to take a short break and we'll be back on the other side with more Greaking Out.

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The Olympians seemed to be doing well against the Gigantes, but still, there was the small matter of getting help from a mortal.

A prophecy could not be ignored, of course, so Zeus asked Athena to go and fetch fetch Heracles.

The mighty Heracles was still part mortal at this time, so I guess he qualified.

He arrived in his lion's skin cloak with his bow and his club and was immediately challenged by Alcionius himself, the undefeatable giant who had stolen the cattle that started all of this in the first place.

Athena warned Heracles to be careful.

She told him of the enchantment on the giant, but Heracles was too proud to listen.

Look at the little mortal, the giant laughed, mocking the hero.

This is the mighty Heracles.

Come and get me, little man.

Let's see how mighty you truly are.

Heracles couldn't stand taunting like that, and he immediately sprang into action, quickly firing three arrows into the giant and then rushing to attack.

Each arrow hit home directly into the chest of the giant, but Alcionius laughed and plucked them out of his skin as if they were toothpicks.

Heracles swung his club as hard as he could, but when Alcionius raised his shield, the club bounced off as if it was made of rubber.

The giant responded with his axe, and the blow sent Heracles flying.

It appeared that the stories of the enchantment were true.

Alcionius was invincible.

But Heracles wasn't one to give up easily.

He attacked relentlessly, trying sword and spear and arrows, but none of it had any effect on Alcionius and the arrogant giant mocked him every time he was denied.

And this just made Heracles even more angry.

Anger can sometimes cause humans to make poor decisions and act irrationally, but there are things that can help control your temper.

For example, when you start feeling angry or frustrated, experts suggest you stop what you're doing, take a few very deep breaths, and count to 10, or 100, or 10,000 if you're an angry demigod wearing a lion skin.

Yeah, Heracles was definitely reacting out of anger.

And it seemed like the harder he tried to attack Alcionius, the more he failed.

And this just made him more angry, and the process repeated itself.

Finally, Athena intervened.

She couldn't watch this any longer.

Heracles was down again, sprawled out on the ground, gasping for breath when the goddess appeared to him.

Remember his enchantment, she said.

He cannot be defeated on his home soil.

Yeah, I get that, Heracles replied, sounding a little annoyed.

So how do I fight him?

He cannot be defeated at home, Athena said again.

But that does not mean he cannot be defeated at all.

And then she vanished.

Heracles rolled his eyes and sighed heavily as he pulled himself up.

The gods always had this mysterious and annoying way of not telling you things directly, especially Athena.

She always wanted you to figure it out on your own.

Heracles was so exhausted, he couldn't think straight.

Alcionia stood a few yards away across the open field, pacing back and forth, waiting for the hero to charge at him yet again.

For the first time in a very long time, the mighty Heracles felt a little vulnerable and weak.

He was so tired, he knew that he'd be no match for the giant.

Alcionias could run over here and lay him out with one swing of his battle axe.

So why didn't he?

Why wasn't the giant attacking Heracles?

And that's when the light bulb went on.

Heracles suddenly understood.

This is inaccurate.

The light bulb was not invented until the early 1800s.

Thomas Edison filed for a patent on the invention in 1879.

Heracles would not have seen a light bulb, perhaps a torch or lamp.

Whatever, I just mean that he got it.

He knew what Athena was telling him to do.

With the last bit of his strength, Heracles charged again at Alcionius, much to the giant's delight.

But at the last second, Heracles threw down all of his weapons and simply grabbed the giant by his legs and brought him down to the ground.

Then, he grabbed the giant by the ankle and dragged him across the field.

Seeing what was happening, Alcionius suddenly became afraid.

What are you doing?

Let me go, he said.

Put me down and fight me like a real warrior.

Oh, I will, Heracles replied.

I think I'd just like a change of scenery.

And with that, he actually flung the giant forward across the open field.

He picked up his sword and charged.

This time, the fight went very differently.

Now that he was no longer standing on his own land, the enchantment didn't work.

Alcionius was just a normal giant, and Heracles was ready for some payback.

In no time at all, Alcionius was the one who was exhausted and out of breath as the hero pummeled him again and again until eventually, Heracles stood victorious over the defeated giant.

As he looked to the sky, Heracles saw an owl soaring overhead, watching the scene unfold.

He smiled a small smile and waved thank you to the owl as it flew out of sight.

The owl of Athena was a little owl popular in ancient Greek art.

Literally, Athenae noctua, or the owl of Minerva, as it is also called, is a small owl, six to eight inches tall, with a flat-topped head, a plump, compact body, and a short tail.

Minerva was the Roman name for the goddess Athena.

The Gigantes were on the edge of defeat, but there was still one more battle that needed to be fought.

Zeus was locked in combat with Porphyrian, the mightiest and fiercest of all the Gigantes.

And it was not going well for the Olympian king.

He was exhausted, and the Gigantes were making one last push to overtake Olympus.

Porphyrian, who had exquisite bronze armor and a massive shield that could deflect almost any attack, was also obsessed with defeating Zeus.

Sure, a lot of that had to do with becoming king of the gods and ruling from Mount Olympus, but there was also the matter of Zeus' wife, Hera.

The giant was kind of obsessed with her.

He thought that if he defeated Zeus, he could persuade Hera to be his wife, so he was extra motivated to fight.

Zeus knew this and it enraged him.

He didn't just want to win the war, he wanted to destroy Porphyrian and he refused to let Herod join the battle.

As the Gigantes began closing in on Olympus, Heracles joined the battle by his father's side and the two fought back wave after wave of Gigantes.

Sometimes Porphyrian would lead the charge, sometimes he would send others, but every time he appeared on the battlefield, Zeus would hurl a thunderbolt at him and Heracles would fire his bow.

And each time, their attacks would be repelled.

The battle raged on and things were looking grim.

Zeus was down to his last thunderbolt, and Heracles had just one arrow left in his quiver.

They knew the Gigantes were preparing to attack again, with Porphyrian leading one final assault on Mount Olympus.

Heracles wasn't sure they could stop them this time, and even Zeus seemed unsure.

And then,

Hera attacked.

Wearing custom armor and wielding a shining sword, the goddess leaped down from the mountaintop right into the camp of the Gigantes.

The giants immediately snarled and pounced, but Hera rolled away quickly and they began to chase her.

Where are you, Ron?

A terrible scream echoed off the mountain.

At first, Heracles thought it was his father, but Zeus was only staring wild-eyed at his wife as she fought off the giants.

The scream had come from Porphyrian.

Father, Heracles said, we should help.

Let us go.

But Zeus shut him down.

No, the god said.

I see what she is doing.

We need to wait.

It was only moments, but it seemed like forever.

Hera was surrounded by Gigantes, but she fought them off bravely, holding her ground.

She was waiting, too.

Hera knew how Porphyrian felt about her, and she knew that her sudden presence on the battlefield would distract him at least a little, perhaps enough to get him to make a mistake.

And that is exactly what happened.

Porphyrian charged forward through his own men, pushing them aside and shouting, thinking of nothing but capturing the queen of the gods.

For a few precious seconds, his shield was down and his armor was exposed as he reached for Hera.

She looked the giant dead in the eyes as he bore down upon upon her.

And then she looked away at something behind him, nodding her head slightly to something over the giant's shoulder.

Porphyrian turned to look, and that was his mistake.

He was greeted at once by a thunderbolt from Zeus

and an arrow from Heracles, and the giant fell to his doom.

Upon seeing this, Gaia accepted defeat and the Gigantes yielded the day to the Olympians, who remained rulers of the universe, sky, and sea.

Strangely, there is no mention of what happened to the cows.

What cows?

The cattle of Helios, the sun god.

The reason for the entire fight?

Oh, right.

Yeah,

I'm sure you got them back.

Well, then, all of that death and destruction was obviously worth it.

Do I detect sarcasm, Oracle?

A chasm is a deep fissure in the earth, rock, or another surface.

No, no, I said sarcasm.

Stargazing is the activity of studying the stars as an astronomer or astrologer.

Not stargazing.

You know what?

Actually, never mind.

That's all for today, but don't worry, we have a new episode coming out next week, and this one has a princess in distress and a hero who comes to help.

Listen, and you'll see it freaking

out.

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes and hosted by Kenny Curtis, with Tori Kerr as the oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Diane Klein is our subject matter expert and Emily Everhart is our producer.