Tityos- Greek GiantGiant
Also known as: Tityus and Τιτυός
Description
When Tityos assaulted Leto on the road to Delphi, Apollo and Artemis cut him down with their arrows. His body, vast enough to cover nine acres, was pinned in the Underworld, two vultures set to devour a liver that grows back as fast as they can tear it.
Mythology & Lore
Birth and Crime
Zeus fathered Tityos upon Elara, then hid the pregnant woman inside the earth to keep the affair from Hera. The child grew underground, and Gaia brought him forth from the soil.
Apollodorus says Hera drove Tityos to attack Leto as she traveled through Panopeus toward Delphi. Apollo and Artemis killed him with their arrows.
Punishment in the Underworld
In the Odyssey, Odysseus sees Tityos stretched across nine acres of ground. Two vultures crouch on either side. They tear at his liver. The liver grows back. They tear it again.
Pausanias records that a tomb of Tityos was still shown at Panopeus, at the site where the assault on Leto occurred.
Relationships
- Associated with