In Greek and Roman Mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Greek: Γίγαντες, Gígantes, singular: Γίγας, Gígas), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Gigantomachy (Gigantomachia), their battle with the Olympian gods. According to Hesiod, the Giants were the offspring of Gaia (Earth), born from the blood that fell when Uranus (Sky) was castrated by his Titan son Cronus.
Archaic and Classical representations show Gigantes as man-sized hoplites (heavily armed ancient Greek foot soldiers) fully human in form (i.e. Goliath). Later representations (after c. 380 BC) show Gigantes with snakes for legs. In later traditions, the Giants were often confused with other opponents of the Olympians, particularly the Titans, an earlier generation of large and powerful children of Gaia and Uranus.
The Gigantomachy was probably the most important battle that happened in Greek mythology. It was a fight between the Giants or Gigantes, sons of Gaea and Uranus, and the Olympian gods who were trying to overthrow the old religion and establish themselves as the new rulers of the cosmos.
According to the most detailed source for this battle, what started the war was the Giant Alcyoneus stealing the cattle of god Helios. A prophecy had it that the Giants would only be defeated if a mortal was to help the gods. To protect her children, Gaea tried to find a plant that would shield the Giants from any harm; however, Zeus stopped Eos (Dawn), Selene (Moon) and Helios (Sun) from shining, and took every single plant for himself. When the battle began, Heracles fought Alcyoneus; however, the Giant would not die as long as he stepped on the soil of his homeland. With Athena’s advice, Heracles dragged Alcyoneus away from his homeland, and killed him. The other Giants had similar fates; Dionysus killed Eurytus; Athena buried Enceladus under Sicily; Hermes killed Hippolytus; and so on. Many of the Giants were buried under islands. In fact, it was believed that the earthquakes and the volcanic eruptions were caused when the Giants moved in their tombs.
Odysseus battle against the suitors makes it clear that the suitors’ crimes are not merely financial. They are crimes of honor against Odysseus and his wife and son, and the suitors cannot compensate Odysseus for honor lost. Only vengeance – the mechanism of justice – can wipe out the dishonor they have brought upon his family. The punishment defines the crime, and the crime separates the guilty from the innocent. In this way, Penelope, Telemachus, and Odysseus restore their innocence.
Now step into the action-packed scenes above, with the biblical story of David and Goliath, where the underdog (looser), a young shepherd named David, defeated the mighty warrior Goliath to become king. David was able to win with only a rock and a sling and no armor, while Goliath had a shield, armor, and sword. Look for clues that tell you which character is David and which one is Goliath.
Think about a time when you felt like David the underdog, the person who is not expected to win. How did you feel? What did you do?
I have created an action-packed story from my imagination and something that happened to me almost a decade ago and still goes on. I tell the story using pictures, music, videos, literature, and poetry as an artist.
As an independent thinker who wonders logically, I ask this simple question: If I am an underdog, a looser, a Mr. Nobody and have Prometheus Orthogonality, a giant, a winner, a Mr. ultimate somebody must have a Nobel Prize level Οrthogonality, isn’t it so?
In mathematics, a geometric progression, also known as a geometric sequence, is a sequence of non-zero numbers where each term after the first is found by multiplying the previous one by a fixed, non-zero number called the common ratio. For example, the sequence 2, 6, 18, 54, … is a geometric progression with common ratio 3.
Examples of a geometric sequence are powers rk (exponentiation) of a fixed non-zero number r, such as 2k and 3k. The general form of a geometric sequence is
a , a r , a r 2 , a r 3 , a r 4 , …
where r ≠ 0 is the common ratio and a ≠ 0 is a scale factor, equal to the sequence’s start value.
The distinction between a progression and a series is that a progression is a sequence, whereas a series is a sum.
