Which Hecatoncheires was also known as Aegaeon?

The Hecatoncheires also known as Aegaeon was Briareus. In Homer’s Iliad, Briareus is the name used by the gods, while Aegaeon is the name used by mortals for the same immensely powerful being.

Briareus was one of three Hecatoncheires, the monstrous children of Uranus and Gaia. Each had one hundred arms and fifty heads. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Briareus is a loyal supporter of Zeus and the Olympians during the war against the Titans. His strength helped secure the Olympians’ victory.

The Homeric story gives Briareus a different but related role: the sea goddess Thetis summoned him to Olympus when Hera, Poseidon, and Athena plotted to bind Zeus. His overwhelming power discouraged the revolt. Later traditions connected Aegaeon with the sea and with the island of Euboea, and some stories treated him as an enemy of the Olympian gods. These variations explain why the names can appear in different mythological contexts, but Briareus is the standard identification.