Giants (Gigantēs), in Greek myth, monstrous beings of vast size, according to Hesiod sons of Gaia (Earth), conceived from the blood of Uranus that fell upon the earth when he was castrated. In post-Homeric legend they rebelled against Zeus and the Olympian gods, who, learning that they would not win unless they were assisted by a mortal, called in Heracles. The Giants were defeated at Phlegra (Pallēnē, the westernmost prong of Chalcidice), and were believed to be buried under volcanoes in various parts of Greece and Italy. The Battle of Gods and Giants was a very popular myth in Greece, especially among sculptors, and was sometimes thought of as symbolizing the fight of civilization against barbarism. The events of the three attacks on the Olympian gods made respectively by the Titans, the Giants, and Otus and Ephialtes were often confused by the poets. See also HECATONCHEIRES.