See More Titanomachy Pictures >. The Titanomachy, in Greek mythology, was the great war that occurred between the Titans, the old generation of Greek gods, and the Olympian gods, led by Zeus.
noun, plural adversaries. 1. a person, group, or force that opposes or attacks; opponent; enemy; foe. 2. a person, group, etc., that is an opponent in a contest; contestant. 3. the Adversary, the devil; Satan.
The phrase often used is adversity builds character and conveys the key idea that if one does not avoid difficulties in life one learns to handle them and becomes inured to difficulty. Thus character is identified with a kind of emotional toughness, and an uncomplaining personality used to little charity. The cartoonist Watterson who created the Calvin and Hobbes comics loved by many had an amusing take on this. If you have not read them you have missed an essential part of modern civilization :-).