![]() Gigantomachy scenes such as this symbolize the struggle between the cosmic order of the Olympians and the forces of chaos and/or barbarian outsiders. ![]() The emotional faces and often contorted figures are exemplary of Hellenistic sculpture. Like in other scenes, the dying giant writhes in agony and his face is a mask of pain. Athena grabs the hair of the giant as Nike (the goddess of Victory) flies down to crown the goddess victorious. One of the scenes (pictured below) is of Athena battling the giant Alkyoneos. Some examples of representations of Gigantomachy are from the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon from the late 2nd century BCE. In such representations the giants are represented as warriors, madmen, or snake monsters. Zeus, Heracles, Poseidon, and later Athena were the main protagonists fighting against the Giants in representations of this epic battle. The gods therefore called Heracles to aid them, and they won the battle. According to the myth, the Giants attacked the gods, but the Olympians learned that they could only emerge victorious if a mortal helped them. “Gigantomachy,” one of the most popular myths in Greece, is a representation of battles between the Olympian gods and Giants in antiquity. ![]()
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