Ephialtes
Domains:
Aloadae
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Greek Name | Transliteration | Latin Spelling | Translation |
Αλωαδησ Αλωαδαι | Alôadês, Alôadai | Aload, Aloadae | Sons of Aloeus |
THE ALOADAI (Aloadae) were two giants who attempted to storm the home of the gods by piling three mountains--Olympos, Ossa and Pelion--one on top of the other.
Ares tried to stop them but was defeated and imprisoned for thirteen months in a bronze urn. Artemis later raced between them in the guise of a deer. They both cast their spears but missed and instead struck each other dead.
Curiously the pair were also attributed with introducing the cult of the Mousai (Muses) to Mount Helikon in Boiotia.
The Aloadai giants were depicted in ancient art as a pair of youthful hunters with caps and hunting spears. They were sometimes confounded with or included in lists of the Gigantes who waged war on the gods.
The name Aloadai, was derived from the Greek verb aloaô meaning "to crush" or "thresh." Individually they were named "nightmare" (Greek ephialtês) and "doom" (from oitos) or "horned-owl" (Greek ôtos).