Hekatoncheries, ancient giants of immense strength

Hekatoncheries were three giants of incredible strength and power. Their names were Briareus (Obriareos), Gyes and Cottus. and It is said, In Hesiod's Theogony, that they were born to Uranus (heaven) and Gaea (earth), who also gave birth to the first generation of Titans and three Cyclopes. They were described having fifty heads and one hundred hands on their strong limbs, being unsurpassed in size and might. Alternatively, according to Hyginus' Fabels and Apollodorus' Library, their parents were Aether (sky) and Gaea.

Imprisoned at Birth

Because of their physical attributes, Uranus hated them from the beginning and imprisoned them in Tartarus, a special place beneath the earth, as soon as they were born, because he feared that they would exceed him in size and strength upon reaching manhood. The result of such action was Uranus being castrated and dethroned by Cronus and the Titans with the help of his wife Gaea. Cronus, however, was no better than his father, and left Hekatoncheries imprisoned. Having dwelt in cruel bonds in the pits of Tartarus for a long time, they became afflicted with anguish, and great grief took hold of their hearts.

Alliance with Zeus and the Olympians

During the war of the Titans and Olympian gods, Zeus released Hekatoncheries from bonds and brought them up from the depths of the earth into the light again. When he provided all three brothers with nectar and ambrosia, their spirits were revived and they agreed to help Olympians in the war. When the battle began, they stood against the Titans in grim strife, holding huge rocks in their strong hands. Cottus and Briareos and Gyes started launching three hundred rocks, one after another from their strong hands and overshadowed the Titans with their missiles, and eventually buried them beneath the earth. The Titans were conquered, put in bonds, and imprisoned deep into Tartarus. After the war they were appointed as guards of Tartarus, to watch over the imprisoned Titans. It it said that they continued to live as trusty warders of Zeus at the gates of Bronze, fixed by Poseidon at the entrance of this forsaken pit.

Briareus

It is said, in Pausanias' Descriptions of Greece, that Briareus was involved in a dispute between Helios and Poseidon about the land in Attica. He acted as an arbiter and gave Poseidon the city of Isthmus and its nearby lands. To Helios he gave the sky above the City and a mountain Acrocorinthus but the sun god later gave it away to Aphrodite. According to Hesiod, Poseidon wedded his daughter Cymopolea to Briareus, making him a son in law.

Cottus

According to Hesiod's Theogony, it was Cottus who negotiated alliance with Zeus and the Olympians after being released. In the dialogue with Zeus, he acknowledged the suffering they have endured and on behalf of their brothers, after deliberate counsel, agreed to aid the Olympians in the war.

Gyes

Nothing specifically is said about Gyes in classical sources. His fate was the same as of all three Hekantocheries, from being imprisoned at birth, having endured the agony of Tartarus, to being released and helping Olympians defeat the Titans and finally become wardens at the gates of Tartarus.