Antaeus- Greek GiantGiant

The Wrestler of Libya

Antaeus was a giant who dwelt in Libya, son of Poseidon and Gaia. His territory lay around Tingis and Irasa, where he ruled the roads as a savage lord, compelling every traveler to wrestle him to the death. He had never lost, and no one who entered the match had walked away alive. Each time any part of his body touched the earth, his mother Gaia sent fresh strength surging through him — he could be thrown and pinned, but never exhausted, never weakened, so long as the ground was beneath him. The skulls of his victims roofed a temple to his father Poseidon.

Heracles in Libya

Heracles encountered Antaeus while passing through Libya on his quest for the golden apples of the Hesperides. The giant demanded his usual match, and the two locked together. At first Heracles attacked as any wrestler would, driving his opponent toward the ground. But every time he threw Antaeus down, the giant sprang up stronger than before, the earth flooding fresh power into his limbs. At one point Antaeus threw himself flat, pressing his whole body to the earth to drink in its strength. Heracles grew weary while his opponent only grew more vigorous.

Then Heracles understood. He seized Antaeus around the waist and lifted him bodily into the air, locking the giant in a crushing hold. Cut off from Gaia, Antaeus weakened with every heartbeat. He thrashed and kicked, reaching for the ground he could not touch. Heracles squeezed until the giant's ribs cracked and he died, suspended helplessly above the only thing that could have saved him.

Centuries later, the Roman general Sertorius opened a mound near Tingis that local tradition identified as Antaeus's tomb. Plutarch says he found bones of enormous size.