Alcyoneus

Alcyoneus (Alkyoneus) was one of the Giants, the sons of Gaea (Earth) who fought the gods in the Gigantomachy. Apollodorus names him with Porphyrion as the greatest of them and says that he could not die as long as he fought on the land where he was born. Heracles killed him by dragging him out of Pallene, on the advice of Athena.

Birth and Family

The Giants were born of Gaea. In Hesiod they came from the drops of blood that fell on the Earth when Cronus cut off the genitals of his father Uranus (Hesiod, Theogony 183–187). Apollodorus says that Gaea, vexed on account of the Titans, brought forth the Giants whom she had by Uranus, and that they were born in Phlegra or, as others said, in Pallene (Apollodorus, Library 1.6.1). Alcyoneus was thus a son of Gaea and, in Apollodorus’ account, of Uranus.

Alcyoneus in the Gigantomachy

Apollodorus describes the Giants as matchless in the size of their bodies and invincible in strength, with long hair hanging from head and chin and the scales of dragons for feet. They hurled rocks and burning oaks at the sky. Porphyrion and Alcyoneus surpassed the rest, and Alcyoneus was immortal as long as he fought in the land of his birth (Library 1.6.1). The same passage adds that he drove off the cattle of the Sun from Erytheia (Library 1.6.1).

The gods had an oracle that none of the Giants could be killed by gods, but that with the help of a mortal they would be destroyed. Gaea therefore sought a herb to protect the Giants even from a mortal, but Zeus forbade Dawn, Moon and Sun to shine, cut the herb himself before anyone else, and through Athena called Heracles to help (Library 1.6.1).

The Death of Alcyoneus

Heracles first shot Alcyoneus with an arrow. When the Giant fell on the ground, he revived somewhat. On the advice of Athena, Heracles dragged him outside Pallene, and the Giant died there (Apollodorus, Library 1.6.1). By taking him off the soil of his birth, Heracles removed the protection that made him immortal.

Alcyoneus in Pindar

Pindar tells of Alcyoneus in a different setting. In the Nemean ode for Timasarchus, Heracles and Telamon destroyed Troy and the Meropes and “the great and terrible warrior Alcyoneus”, though the Giant first killed twelve chariots and twice as many horse-taming heroes by hurling a rock (Pindar, Nemean 4.25–30). In the Isthmian ode for Phylacidas, Heracles takes Pergamos with Telamon’s help, slays the Meropes and the herdsman “huge as a mountain”, Alcyoneus, whom he found at Phlegra, and does not spare his bowstring (Pindar, Isthmian 6.31–35).

Alcyoneus and Dionysus

In Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, Alcyoneus appears as an enemy of Dionysus rather than of Heracles: he leaps on Dionysus armed with Thracian crags and hurls a cloud-high peak of Haemus at him, but the god, who cannot be wounded, is unharmed (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48). In the same poem a warrior of enormous size is described as “equal to Alcyoneus” (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 14).

See Also: Gigantes, Uranus, Gaea, Gigantomachy, Heracles, Athena, Porphyrion, Zeus