"Come, try me, immortals, so all of you can learn.
Hang a great golden cable down from the heavens,
lay hold of it, all you gods, all goddesses too:
you can never drag me down from sky to earth,
not Zeus, the highest, mightiest king of kings,
not even if you worked yourselves to death.
But whenever I'd set my mind to drag you up,
in deadly earnest, I'd hoist you all with ease,
you and the earth, you and the sea, all together,
then loop that golden cable round a horn of Olympus,
bind it fast and leave the whole world dangling in mid-air—
That is how far I tower over the gods, I tower over men."
— Zeus
These words, spoken by Zeus to the heroes of the Trojan War, could be considered the point of origin for the entity ‘Typhon’. Besides that which was instilled into him at his creation, this challenge drove Typhon to become one of the Evils of Man.
Though originally developed as a simple weapon of Gaia, Typhon eventually came to develop a sense of self. Created as a weapon, Typhon was an nigh-mindless Divine Beast. The change came when Zeus made his declaration. Though secreted deep underground, Typhon heard the words, carried to his ears by the Authority that he had inherited from Gaia, which he shared with Zeus. Rather than functioning as an extension of Gaia’s will and a tool of vengeance against the gods, from then on Typhon devoted himself to answering Zeus’ challenge.
Finding a mate in Echidna, Typhon fathered many monsters. Looking upon the actions of his offspring, he understood a truth of the universe: survival of the fittest. The strong would always hunt the weak.
The turning point in this view came when the first of his offspring fell, slain by a human, no less. This moment of inspiration, that those who were weak could become those that are strong. As more of his children fell to heroes, Typhon came to another understanding. None would challenge Zeus, for he was almighty.
If, however, Zeus’ might could be undone… Humanity could develop, grow stronger. If that was indeed the case, all that was needed was to replace the tyrannical king of the gods with one that understood the truth, and desired to foster those that he ruled.
Eventually, Typhon took action. Rising from the earth and darkening the land with his shadow, the father of monsters strode towards Olympus. Seeing his approach, the gods themselves panicked and fled. Only Zeus remained to face Typhon.
The almighty Zeus faced Typhon down, and the two joined in battle. Though Typhon was injured in the battle, Zeus’ thunderbolts inflicting grievous wounds upon his body, the monster proved victorious in the end. Ripping Zeus’ tendons from his body, Typhon cast the crippled god down from the heavens.
With Typhon’s victory, he would come to rule over all mortals and immortals, and the once-proud Zeus could do no more than watch how a true king ruled. As the almighty god had been toppled and replaced with a monster, Typhon eagerly awaited his first challenger.
He failed to account for the gods that had fled, however. Together, the gods of Olympus found Zeus and hatched a plan. Some of their number slunk back to Olympus, where Typhon reigned, the mountain itself serving as his throne. He had hidden Zeus’ tendons and thunderbolts in the ruins of the gods’ home, but was far from watchful of them. The gods distracted him, putting Typhon under a musical spell while some of their number found and retrieved Zeus’ tendons.
Their prize retrieved, the gods fled once again. Awaking, Typhon noticed the theft, and wrought devastation in his anger. And as his fury boiled, Zeus rose again to challenge him.
Now understanding the magnitude of the foe he faced, Zeus kept his distance, pelting Typhon with his thunderbolts and keeping the monster from closing the distance between them. In response, Typhon responded in kind, uprooting mountains and hurling them at Zeus. The battle for supremacy seemed like the end of days, such was the destruction wrought by their attacks.
As the combatants moved, Typhon eventually came to Etna, picking up the greatest mountain in the land. Before he could hurl it, however, Zeus aimed his thunderbolts at Typhon’s arms. Typhon’s grip failed, and the mountain he had lifted above his head crashed on top of the monster, burying Typhon underground.
As he lay stunned, the gods sprang to action, fashioning all manner of bindings upon Typhon, sealing him underneath Mount Etna.
Since that day, the mountain has spewed smoke and fire as Typhon roars his fury, and the island of Sicily itself shakes as he struggles to free himself from his bindings.