Titans (Hercules)

The **Titans** are supporting antagonists in the 1997 Disney animated feature film, *Hercules*. They are portrayed as four elemental monsters who terrorized Ancient Greece. They were each the physical manifestation of the element they controlled. Though based on Greek mythology, these "Titans" were original creations for the film. *Hercules: The Series* featured Titan characters from actual Greek mythology.

The Mountain King: A two-headed Titan made completely out of rock. He ripped through the gates of Mt. Olympus, and is the physical manifestation of earth. He appears to be a large two-headed boulder creature with glowing red eyes. The inside of his mouth is red as well. Since he is very large and heavy, Lythos has the ability to stomp on the ground and cause massive earthquakes. He was voiced by Corey Burton(right head) and Patrick Pinney(left head).

* **Rhea** - The wife of Kronos and mother of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.
* **Memory** - Titaness of memory and remembrance, she is the mother of the Muses. She was mentioned by Hermes in "Hercules and the Drama Festival".
* **Aurora** (a.k.a. **Eos**) - The goddess of dawn. She had been mentioned in "Hercules and the Jilt Trip".
* **Helios** - The god of the sun. He appeared as a cameo in the film.

## Appearances

### *Hercules*

The Muses tell the legend of the Titans through their song "The Gospel Truth". The Titans were the rulers of the world (or at least Greece) when it was first new and they caused mayhem and destruction wherever they went. In the animated series, it was also explained that they were led by their king Kronos. Then along came Zeus who used all his power to unleash a mighty thunderbolt that would imprison them beneath the seas of Tartarus where they would remain until the next planetary alignment. They were the children of Gaia and Uranus.

Hades plotted to release the Titans to overthrow Zeus and rule the world but was warned by the Fates that his plan would fail if Hercules intervened. After getting Hercules to surrender his super-strength in exchange for no harm coming to Megara, Hades frees the Titans, who were hungry for revenge against Zeus. The Titans begin a path of devastation, before being told by Hades that they're headed in the opposite direction of Mount Olympus. They overpower the gods in quick succession. However, he sends the Cyclops to take care of Hercules in Thebes. Despite not having his strength, Hercules is able to use his brains, throwing a torch in the Cyclops' eye, causing him to scream in pain, and then tying the Cyclops' legs together with a rope, causing him to fall off a cliff. In the course of the battle, Hercules regained his strength after Meg was mortally wounded, and proceeded to battle the Titans and free the gods. He then encounters and captures Stratos before using him to suck up Lythos, Hydros, and Pyros in his head and Hercules proceeded to throw the Titans into space, where the impact resulted in a spectacular cosmic explosion.

### *Hercules* (TV series)

The four Titans seen in the film make brief cameos in the series, usually they are almost freed by the actions of Hades but stopped by the intervention of Hercules. Aside from them, other Titans from Greek mythology also appear or are mentioned, including more neutral Titans such as Prometheus and Briares. In "Hercules and the Big Kiss", Hercules once swore upon his reputation as a hero, to help Cassandra against beasts, like invading Titans and zillion-headed Hydras, though expressed disappointment when it was only a vision of Cassandra kissing Icarus.

## Video games

### *Hades Challenge*

The Cyclops was the 1st obstacle that the player faced in the Underworld (indicating that he either may have survived the fall in the film and therefor the last remaining Titan, or he ended up in the Underworld following his defeat). His weakness is his eye (just a single hit there will instantly defeat him), but he'll usually cover it when the player shoots thunderbolts at it even when he throws fireballs back. For an easy way to expose his eye, the player can use the power of stealth to fool him into doing so.

### *Disney's Arcade Frenzy*

The goal of the *Hercules* game is to use Pegasus to keep the Titans from reaching Olympus.

### *Kingdom Hearts* series

The Titans are the enemies encountered in the *Hercules* world, Olympus Coliseum. Prior to the series' third installment, only two of the four Titans (Lythos and Hydros) appeared.

In *Kingdom Hearts*, the Rock Titan appears as a boss and the final contender for the Hades Cup, and is defeated by the teamwork of Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The Ice Titan also appears as an optional boss in the Gold Match, where Sora has to defeat him alone.

In *Kingdom Hearts II*, the Rock Titan makes a cameo in the opening cinematic for Olympus Coliseum where he was thrown out of the Coliseum by Hercules.

In *Birth By Sleep*, The Ice Titan, or rather a copy of it, appears as the **Ice Colossus**. It is summoned by Hades in a duel against Aqua. Because the Colossus is only a replica, however, its strength was inferior to the real Ice Titan and is easily defeated by Aqua.

In *Kingdom Hearts III*, all four Titans appear in Olympus under the leadership of Hades. Lythos, Hydros, Pyros and Stratos have major boss battles against Sora.

## Trivia

* In the original myth, Titans are long-distant relatives of Hercules and Olympian Gods.
* The Titans' role in the film, as monstrous attackers who are prophesied to be defeated only if Hercules helps the gods in their battle, is inherited from actual Greek mythology surrounding the Giants, who were younger siblings to the Titans.
* The names of the four Titans―Lythos, Pyros, Hydros, and Stratos―are revealed in the book *The Art of Hercules, the Chaos of Creation*. The only Titan whose name is mentioned anywhere else is Lythos, whose name is on a Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom card.
	+ Lythos, the Rock Titan's name. comes from the Greek *λίθος* (lithos), translated as "stone". This is obvious since the titan itself is made of stone.
	+ Pyros, the Lava Titan's name, comes from the Greek *πῦρ* (pyr), translated as "fire". Strangely, the titan himself is not made from fire. However, both lava and fire are known to emit heat. Also, there is a potential where something can catch fire when making direct contact with lava.
	+ Hydros, the Ice Titan's name, comes from the Greek *ὕδωρ* (hudor), translated as "water". Strangely, like Pyros, the titan himself isn't made from water. However, ice is basically solidified water. He is also the only one of the four whose name comes from a Greek mythological deity, though Hydros was a Protogenos rather than a titan.
	+ Stratos, the Tornado Titan's name, does not comes from Greek, but from the Latin *strātus*, which means "to spread out". This can refer to the fact that this titan is mainly made of air. And since air is a type of gas, it spreads out easily.