Otis and Ephialtes
Shortly after the gods returned from Africa, they were still dazed by their confrontation with Typhon and tried to act as if nothing had happened. They were trying to act normal one day when they heard the distant shrieks of mortals, followed by a pounding of the earth. At first, the gods thought the mortals were just having another war and didn't mind it, until it became louder and louder and they could feel the palace shaking under their feet. They looked out the throne room through the palace’s towering column walls to see two giants stacking mountains on top of each other to reach Olympus. They gawked at the sight.
“Who should go out and stop them?” Hera asked absentmindedly.
None of the gods looked up, all wanting to avoid getting embarrassed again like with Typhon.
“Someone big and muscular should go,” Athena suggested, “and maybe with lots of weapons.”
They all stared at Ares, the gore-loving god of war. Ares was reluctant, but with all the gods staring at him, he had no choice but to put on a confident smile and prepare his chariot for battle.
The giants, twins by the names of Otis and Ephialtes, had seen an attack coming and took their positions out of sight of the war god. As Ares came charging down the mountain, he was ambushed and knocked off his chariot. He crumpled into a heap and was dragged by his legs to the twins’ cave. There, the twins tied Ares’s limbs with chains and threw him in an urn in hopes of gaining ransom from the gods.
The gods, however, did not care for Ares. He was too violent and impulsive, and his love for battle sometimes hurt them.
For 13 months, Ares lay in the urn losing all hope of escaping. The giants grew impatient and threatened to kill Ares, with no response from the gods.
Finally, Hermes, who felt bad for Ares, snuck into the giants’ cave and sprung him. The imprisoned god had had nothing to eat or drink for over a year and was hopelessly frail. Returning back to Olympus, Ares ate all he could to regain his strength, and the other gods were ashamed of their behavior toward their fellow god.
When the twins realized that Ares was gone, they started to build their mountain siege tower once again, calling up to the gods.
“Once we take Olympus, Hera will be my wife,” Ephialtes proclaimed.
“And Artemis will be mine!” Otis added.
Zeus was infuriated at the threat on his wife and was about to attack when the twins laughed, “Only we can destroy each other. You gods have no power over us. You cannot destroy us!”
Artemis, the wild goddess of the hunt, was a sworn maiden and had no desire for any man, much less one of these repulsive giants, but she kept her cool. Then she came up with an idea.
“Hey Otis,” Artemis cried. “Bring me the Ceryneian hind and I shall be yours. We don’t need things to get messy.”
The twins laughed and started their search for the hind in hopes of winning over Artemis.
The other gods looked at Artemis in dismay, but Artemis just smiled. She changed into the form of the Ceryneian hind and set off after the twins.
The twins had been searching all day when the hind appeared right behind them. Otis saw it first.
“Hey Ephie! Turn around slowly. It’s right behind you,” he whispered urgently.
Ephialtes swung slowly around and tried to get behind the hind to corner it between the two of them. Otis drew his spear, taking aim and preparing to capture the hind. With Ephialtes behind it, there was nowhere it could run. Otis threw the spear with all his might, sending the spear directly at the stomach of the hind.
As the spear drew closer to the hind, which was Artemis in disguise, Artemis shrunk. The spear passed right over her, hitting Ephialtes square in the chest. Immediately afterward, Artemis changed back to her godly form, facing Ephialtes. Enraged, Ephialtes ripped the spear out of his own gut and threw it back at her. She simply sidestepped, sending the spear into Otis’s chest. Now both giants, fatally wounded by each other, stumbled about before finally collapsing to the earth.