Ephialtes

"The Romans always wanted bread and circuses—food and entertainment! As we destroy their city, I will offer them both."

- Ephialtes Ephialtes is a Gigantes created by Gaea to destroy the Olympian gods during the first Giant War. His twin brother is Otis and they were created to be the banes of Dionysus/Bacchus.

History
During the first Gigantomachy, Otis and Ephialtes planned on reaching Olympus by stacking three mountains: Olympus, Ossa, and Pelion on top of each other. Ares planned on stopping them, but the twins managed to defeat the war god and placed him inside of a bronze urn for thirteen months where he remained until Hermes saved him.

The twins were later defeated by the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. Artemis transformed herself into a deer, which the two wanted to kill. They both took aim with their spears and struck each other as Artemis ran between them.

In the Series
After Otis and Ephialtes were defeated, they began to make a home under the Coliseum in Rome, transforming it into their own hypogeum so they could one day destroy Rome. They also formed a pact with the monster Arachne. For centuries, they aided her in killing or capturing children of Athena who were given a quest to find the Athena Parthenos. The two also performed various stunts in order to gain media attention (normally at Otis' expense), but failed every time.

The Mark of Athena
Prior to the events of the book, the twin giants had kidnapped Nico di Angelo. They held the demigod prisoner in a bronze jar, similar to what they did to Ares in the original myth. They planned to have him die on the Kalends of July, with Gaea returning the next month.

Ephialtes and Otis worked with Arachne to destroy both "child of Wisdom" of the prophecy, and falter the relationship between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter forever.

They are fought by Percy Jackson and Jason Grace in the Colosseum. Percy and Jason fought the twins, and they would have lost if Bacchus hadn't arrived, since the giant twins reforming each time they were turned into dust. The god of Wine tested the demigods' worthiness, and only struck the Gigantes down after they were almost defeated.

The House of Hades
It is mentioned by Hyperion and Krios, who are guarding the Doors of Death, that all the Giants who were killed have reformed and returned to the mortal world through the Doors of Death, which includes Ephialtes as well.



Personality
Ephialtes is shown to be more serious and controlling than his brother Otis, as he is shown constantly snarling at his brother, as well as ordering him around. While Ephialtes normally comes up with the plans to gain attention, once even making Otis hang inside a huge block of ice over the River Lethe, normally he is met with failure for one reason or another. He is also shown to be more irrational and sadistic than his brother, since rather than using Nico to lure the seven demigods to Rome, he wanted to kill him in more painful ways: suspending the bronze jar with Nico over a fire, or dissolving it in a pool of acid.

Much like his brother, he plans on taking over Bacchus' spot as the god of parties. However, his parties tend to be very over the top and unappealing. He also constantly becomes annoyed at his brother for pointing out his failures for attention or when his brother tries to add something to the plan, such as a ballet number. Normally the only thing stopping him, however, is a lack of time or planning.

Appearance
Ephialtes is only twelve feet tall, a respectable height for a Cyclops, but only half as tall as most Gigantes. He also looks somewhat more human than most of his brothers, since he has two snakes for legs (which he usually conceals under his black pants). His long purple hair is braided with golden and silver coins. He has his ten-foot spear strapped to his back. His looks are almost identical to his brother Otis, the only difference being their hair color.

Abilities

 * Prowess in Battle: In spite of being very short for a Gigantes, Ephialtes is a very strong and skilled warrior, stronger than his brother Otis. He successfully fought Percy Jackson, one of the strongest demigods in the world. However, he was eventually defeated by Percy and killed by Bacchus.
 * Giant Immortality: As a Gigantes, Ephialtes can only be killed by a god and demigod together, his armor and skin are regenerative and will heal during battle at an accelerated rate.

Trivia

 * Ephialtes and Otis are the only two Gigantes so far who share the same bane. Though that's most likely due to them being twin giants.
 * They are also the only giants who were born to defeat a demigod, as Dionysus was a demigod when he originally defeated them.
 * Ephialtes uses the stage name, "The Big F!" Otis thinks that Ephialtes should rethink that name, but Ephialtes thinks it is perfect.