Giants. Earth united with Heaven produced Oceanos and the giants with fifty heads and a hundred hands - by which is meant, the personification of the great powers of nature - as their names signify: Cottos (eruption), Briareos (hurricane), and Gyes (earthquake). In fables the giants are beings of monstrous size, with dragons' tails and fearful countenances. They attempted to storm heaven, being armed with huge rocks and the trunks of trees, but were killed by the gods with the assistance of Hercules, and were buried under Mount Aetna and other volcanoes. In Scandinavian mythology they are described as evil genii of various forms and races, enemies of the gods. They dwelt in a territory of their own, called Giant-land. They had the power of assuming divers shapes, and of increasing or diminishing their stature at will.
