What Became Of The Giants

The giants had decided to invade Mount Olympus. They thought they could easily do this, for none of the gods could hurt them; the giants were immune to all their weapons. They believed that this wonderful place among the clouds was rightfully theirs simply because they were larger and stronger than the heroes. If the gods refused to give up their home with its palaces, the golden chariot of day, its stores of food such as mortals had never tasted, and its weapons of thunder and lightning, the giants would destroy the Mount. That would have been a pity, for with Mount Olympus would disappear some of the most beautiful foundations the world has ever known.

There was one of the gods,

Apollo, who held the light of the whole universe in his right hand. It was not only the light of the sun, but the light that shone in the hearts of the Greeks and made life brighter when they had wisdom, knew truth, and could appreciate beauty. There was no doubt that this light belonged to Apollo and came as a gift to men from Mount Olympus because of his great deeds.

On the green hillside of Parnassus in Greece there was a deep cavern. An ancient goat herder, passing by its mouth, had inhaled a strange fragrance that gave him the knowledge of a seer. Apollo decided to preserve this cave. The city of Delphi grew around it, and Apollo sent a priestess crowned with laurel to be its oracle and welcome those mortals who wanted to breathe its magic air. But a monster of darkness, the Python, placed itself in front of the oracle and allowed no one to approach Delphi. Apollo, with his shaft of light, drove away the Python and made it possible for anyone who wanted better eyesight, keener hearing, or more truthful speech to come to the oracle.

That was not all Apollo had accomplished for the good of men. He protected the Muses, the daughters of Jupiter and Memory, who could do all sorts of things to create happiness. They could sing, draw music from the strings of the lyre, write stories and poems, and paint pictures. It was also said that the laurel tree belonged to Apollo for making wreaths to crown those who had done great deeds or made dark paths bright. But the giants saw little value in Apollo's light. They thought mainly of how to wrest riches, nectar, and ambrosia from the gods, and they decided to try to kill Apollo and the Muses first.

Thessaly had the wildest forests and the most rocky coasts of any part of Greece. It was a fitting place for the giants to meet, and it must have been a terrible sight when they landed and formed their ranks for battle. They say that Tityus, one of their leaders, covered nine acres when he lay down for a nap on a plain. Others had a hundred arms, limbs made of huge serpents, and could breathe fire. The worst part about this race of giants was that their hearts were different from those of the celestials and mortals. They had hearts made of solid stone that could never beat or feel warm. That is why the giants prepared to climb the steep sides of Mount Olympus.

No one in all Greece dared to try to stop this war of the giants. They pulled up Mount Ossa and balanced it on top of Pelion to bridge the way from earth to sky. They armed themselves by tearing up great oak and cypress trees for clubs and carrying rocks as large as small hills. Then the giants climbed up and attacked the home of the gods. It seemed as if the giants were going to win, for even the gods were frightened and quickly changed their forms. Mighty Jupiter took the shape of a ram. Apollo became a crow, Diana a cat, Juno a cow, Venus a fish, and Mercury a bird. But Mars, the god of war, got out his chariot and went to meet the giants, and the others returned at last, for there was really no courage like theirs.

The battle still favored the giants, for no weapons could kill them. Mars threw his spears, and they rebounded from the stone hearts of the giants. No one knew what would happen, for some of the giants went back to earth and brought up hills to crush the homes of the gods. But just then a great idea came to Apollo. He believed that unseen forces were as powerful as the giants' trees, rocks, and hills in deciding the battle. So Apollo sent Mercury, the messenger with winged shoes, posthaste with a secret message to Helios, who lived in the palace of the sun, commanding him to close and lock the doors. There was no light for the giants to fight by, and they were known to be hulking, awkward creatures, very clumsy with their hands and feet. They needed light. They had even tried to steal summer from mortals to have more sunshine themselves, and they had partly succeeded, for winter came upon the earth every year with cold and shorter days.

But the giants had neglected to bring any sunshine with them, and suddenly it was as dark as night on Mount Olympus. The giants fumbled about, stumbled, and fell upon their own weapons. Taking advantage of this temporary rout, Jupiter sent a sky full of thunderbolts into their midst, and they tumbled back to earth. It was strange, but Apollo, whom the giants had thought so unimportant because he protected knowledge, the oracle of Delphi, and the tender Muses, had conquered with his own special weapon: light.

The giants were not particularly hurt by their fall; they were only driven out of the home of the gods and immediately began plotting how to start their war again. But they suddenly discovered they had nothing to eat. In their absence, Ceres had cut down and uprooted the herbs they needed to stay alive and preserve their strength.

Then, to ensure their destruction was complete, Jupiter covered each giant with a volcano. Each was imprisoned fast underneath a mountain, and all he could do was breathe through the top once in a while in a fiery way. That was the end of the giants. For a while they did some damage, especially the giant Enceladus, who required the whole volcano Aetna to cover and keep him down. But gradually even the volcanoes became quiet, and there was more peace on earth.

Mortals, for all time, have followed the example of the giants and tried to use their strength in battle for plunder. They have destroyed beautiful buildings, put out home fires, and interfered with teaching, music, painting, and writing because they could not see the light shining in these. But what usually happens to them in the end is just what happened to the giants who started out to destroy Mount Olympus. They find that they have pulled a volcano down over their shoulders.