Antaeus
Mythology: Greek and Berber
Half-giant son of Poseidon and Gaia. His wife was the goddess Tinge, and he had a daughter named Alceis or Barce.
According to myth, Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches, kill them, and collect their skulls, so that he might one day build out of them a temple to his father, Poseidon. He was indefatigably strong as long as he remained in contact with the ground (his mother earth), but once lifted into the air he became as weak as other men. Antaeus had defeated most of his opponents until it came to his fight with Heracles (who was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides for his 11th Labour). Upon finding that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing him to the ground as he would reheal due to his parentage (Gaia), Heracles discovered the secret of his power. Holding Antaeus aloft, Heracles crushed him in a bearhug.
The story of Antaeus has been used as a symbol of the spiritual strength which accrues when one rests one's faith on the immediate fact of things.
*Sorry about the picture, back then the Greeks loved nudity*
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Book of Shadows (MYTHICAL CREATURES A-Z)
RandomThis book is about all the mythical creatures around the world. I hope that you have fun exploring and learning about new creatures. I know its hard for people to find mythical creatures when writing a book or simply to read about, I tried. Finally...
