Cyclopes - Revision history

Irlandos: /* Polyphemus */

2007-02-18T16:18:52Z

Polyphemus

Irlandos: /* "Cyclopean" walls */

2007-02-18T16:18:19Z

"Cyclopean" walls

Irlandos: /* Hesiod's Cyclops */

2007-02-18T16:17:53Z

Hesiod's Cyclops

Irlandos at 16:16, February 18, 2007

2007-02-18T16:16:54Z

Irlandos at 16:16, February 18, 2007

2007-02-18T16:16:38Z

New page

In [[Greek mythology]] a '''Cyclops''', or '''Kyklops''' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''{{polytonic|Κύκλωψ}}''), is a member of a primordial race of [[giant (mythology)|giants]], each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. The plural is '''Cyclopes''' or '''Kyklopes''' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''Κύκλωπες''). The name means "round-" or "wheel-eyed".

There are two distinct groups of Cyclopes. In [[Hesiod|Hesiod's]] ''[[Theogony]]'', Zeus releases the Cyclopes, the sons of [[Uranus]] and [[Gaia]], from [[Tartarus]], and receives his characteristic weapon, the thunderbolt, from them; in one of the most famous passages of [[Homer|Homer's]] ''[[Odyssey]]'', the hero [[Odysseus]] encounters the Cyclops [[Polyphemus]], the son of [[Poseidon]] and [[Thoosa]], who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country. The connection between the two groups has been debated in antiquity and by modern scholars.<ref>As Robert Mondi says: "Why is there such a discrepancy between the nature of the Homeric Cyclopes and the nature of those found in Hesiod's ''Theogony''? Ancient commentators were so exercised by this problem that they supposed there to be more than one type of Cyclops, and we must agree that, on the surface at least, these two groups could hardly have less in common." (R. Mondi, 1983. "The Homeric Cyclopes: Folktale, Tradition, and Theme," ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 113 (1983), pp. 17-18.)</ref>

==Hesiod's Cyclops==
In the ''[[Theogony]]'', the Cyclopes—[[Brontes]] (''thunderer''), [[Steropes]] (''flasher'') and [[Arges]] (''brightener'')—were the sons of [[Uranus (god)|Uranus]] ("Sky") and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] ("Earth"). Like their brothers, the [[Hecatonchires]] ("hundred-handed ones"), they were primordial sons of Sky and Earth. They were [[giant (mythology)|giants]] with a single eye in the middle of their forehead and a foul disposition. According to [[Hesiod]], they were strong, stubborn, and "abrupt of emotion". Collectively they eventually became synonyms for brute strength and power, and their name was invoked in connection with massive masonry and especially well-crafted weapons.

Uranus, fearing their strength, locked them in [[Tartarus]]. [[Cronus]], another son of Uranus and Gaia, later freed the Cyclopes, along with the Hecatonchires, after he had castrated and overthrown Uranus. But Cronus then placed them back in Tartarus, where they remained, guarded by the she-dragon [[Campe]], until freed by Zeus. They fashioned thunderbolts for Zeus to use as weapons, and helped him [[Titanomachy|overthrow Cronus]] and the other [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]]. The thunderbolts, which became Zeus' signature weapons, were forged by all three Cyclopes: Arges added brightness, Brontes added thunder, and Steropes added lightning.

These Cyclopes also created [[Poseidon]]'s [[trident]], [[Artemis]]' bow and arrow, and the helmet that [[Hades]] gave to [[Perseus]] on his quest to kill [[Medusa (mythology)|Medusa]]. According to a hymn of [[Callimachus]],<ref>''To Artemis'', 46f. See also Virgil's ''Georgics'' 4.173 and ''Aeneid'' 8.416ff.</ref> they were [[Hephaestus]]' helpers at the forge. The Cyclopes were said to have built the "cyclopean" fortifications at [[Tiryns]] and [[Mycenae]] in the [[Peloponnese]]. The noises proceeding from the heart of [[volcano]]es were attributed to their operations.

It is said that these Cyclopes were later killed by [[Apollo]] after Zeus killed his son, [[Asclepius]], with a Cyclopes-forged thunderbolt.

==Homer's Cyclopes==
The Cyclopes were a race of huge one-eyed monsters that resided on an island with the same name. Commonly, the term "Cyclops" refers to a particular son of [[Poseidon]] and [[Thoosa]] named [[Polyphemus]] who was a Cyclops. Another member of this group of Cyclopes was [[Telemus]], a seer.

===Polyphemus===
In Book 9 of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', a scouting party led by [[Odysseus]] lands on the Island of the Cyclopes and discovers a large cave. They enter into the cave and feast on food they find there. This cave is the home of [[Polyphemus]], who soon returns and traps the trespassers in the cave. He proceeds to eat several crew members, but Odysseus devises a cunning plan for escape.

To make Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gives him a skin of very strong, unwatered [[wine]]. When Polyphemus asks for Odysseus' name, he tells him that it is 'Outis', Greek for 'no man' or 'nobody'. Once the giant falls asleep drunk, Odysseus and his men take the spit from the fire and drive it through Polyphemus' only eye. Polyphemus' cries of help are answered by the others of his race; however, they turn away from aiding him when they hear that "Nobody" is the cause of his woes.

In the morning, Odysseus ties his men and himself to the undersides of Polyphemus' sheep. When the Cyclops lets the sheep out to graze, the men are carried out. Since Polyphemus has been blinded, he doesn't see the men, but feels the tops of his sheep to make sure the men aren't riding them. As he sailed away, Odysseus shouts "Cyclops, when your father asks who took your eye, tell him that it was Odysseus, Sacker of Cities, Destroyer of Troy, son of [[Laertes]], and King of Ithaca," which proves to be a catastrophic example of [[hubris]]. Now knowing his attacker's name, Polyphemus asks his father [[Poseidon]] to prevent Odysseus from returning home to [[Ithaca]], or to at least deprive him of his ship and crew.

This tale from the ''Odyssey'' is more humorously told in the only surviving [[satyr play]], entitled ''[[Cyclops (play)|Cyclops]]'' by [[Euripides]].

The Sicilian Greek poet [[Theocritus]] wrote two poems circa [[275 BC]] concerning Polyphemus' desire for [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], a sea [[nymph]]. When Galatea instead was with [[Acis]], a Sicilian mortal, a jealous Polyphemus killed him with a boulder. Galatea turned Acis' blood into a river of the same name in Sicily.

==Origins==
Walter Burkert among others suggests<ref>''Greek Religion'',III.3.2</ref>that the archaic groups or societies of lesser gods mirror real cult associations: "it may be surmised that smith guilds lie behind [[Cabeiri]], [[Dactyl|Idaian Dactyloi]], [[Telchines]], and Cyclopes." Given their penchant for blacksmithing, many scholars believe the legend of the Cyclopes' single eye arose from an actual practice of blacksmiths wearing an eyepatch over one eye to prevent flying sparks from blinding them in both eyes. The Cyclopes seen in Homer's ''Odyssey'' are of a different type from those in the ''Theogony''; they were most likely much later additions to the pantheon and have no connection to blacksmithing. It is possible that legends associated with Polyphemus did not make him a Cyclops before [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]''; Polyphemus may have been some sort of local daemon or monster originally. The [[Triamantes]] in Cretan legend have been suggested - they were a rural race of man-eating ogres who had a third eye on the back of their head. Other than the detail of the eyes, they sound very similar to the Cyclopes of Homer.

Another possible origin for the Cyclops legend is that prehistoric dwarf elephant skulls - about twice the size of a human skull were found by the Greeks on [[Crete]] and [[Sicily]]. Due to the large central nasal cavity (for the trunk) in the skull, it might have been believed that this was a large, single, eye-socket. The smaller, actual, eye-sockets are on the sides and, being very shallow, hardly noticeable as such. Given the paucity of experience that the locals likely had with living elephants, they were unlikely to recognize the skull for what it actually was. [http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/cyclops02.htm]

=="Cyclopean" walls==
:''Main article: [[Cyclopean masonry]]''.
After the "Dark Age" Hellenes looked with awe at the vast dressed blocks, known as [[Cyclopean structures]] that had been used in [[Mycenaean]] masonry, at sites like [[Mycenae]] and [[Tiryns]] or on [[Cyprus]], he then concluded that only the Cyclopes had the combination of skill and strength to build in such a monumental mobile.

==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
==External links==

*[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aid%3Dcyclopes Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'' (1898)]
*[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0004&layout=&loc=Cyclopes Perseus Encyclopedia: Cyclopes]
*[http://www.theoi.com/Ouranos/Kyklopes.html Theoi.com: Cyclopes]

==Further reading==
*Robert Mondi, "The Homeric Cyclopes: Folktale, Tradition, and Theme" ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' '''113''' Vol. 113 (1983), pp. 17-38.

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:Giants]]
[[Category:Greek legendary creatures]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:16, February 18, 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	In [[Greek mythology]] a '''Cyclops''', or '''Kyklops''' ([[Ancient Greek\|Greek]] ''~~{{polytonic\|~~Κύκλωψ}}''), is a member of a primordial race of [[giant (mythology)\|giants]], each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. The plural is '''Cyclopes''' or '''Kyklopes''' ([[Ancient Greek\|Greek]] ''Κύκλωπες''). The name means "round-" or "wheel-eyed".	+	In [[Greek mythology]] a '''Cyclops''', or '''Kyklops''' ([[Ancient Greek\|Greek]] ''Κύκλωψ''), is a member of a primordial race of [[giant (mythology)\|giants]], each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. The plural is '''Cyclopes''' or '''Kyklopes''' ([[Ancient Greek\|Greek]] ''Κύκλωπες''). The name means "round-" or "wheel-eyed".

	There are two distinct groups of Cyclopes. In [[Hesiod\|Hesiod's]] ''[[Theogony]]'', Zeus releases the Cyclopes, the sons of [[Uranus]] and [[Gaia]], from [[Tartarus]], and receives his characteristic weapon, the thunderbolt, from them; in one of the most famous passages of [[Homer\|Homer's]] ''[[Odyssey]]'', the hero [[Odysseus]] encounters the Cyclops [[Polyphemus]], the son of [[Poseidon]] and [[Thoosa]], who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country. The connection between the two groups has been debated in antiquity and by modern scholars.<ref>As Robert Mondi says: "Why is there such a discrepancy between the nature of the Homeric Cyclopes and the nature of those found in Hesiod's ''Theogony''? Ancient commentators were so exercised by this problem that they supposed there to be more than one type of Cyclops, and we must agree that, on the surface at least, these two groups could hardly have less in common." (R. Mondi, 1983. "The Homeric Cyclopes: Folktale, Tradition, and Theme," ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 113 (1983), pp. 17-18.)</ref>		There are two distinct groups of Cyclopes. In [[Hesiod\|Hesiod's]] ''[[Theogony]]'', Zeus releases the Cyclopes, the sons of [[Uranus]] and [[Gaia]], from [[Tartarus]], and receives his characteristic weapon, the thunderbolt, from them; in one of the most famous passages of [[Homer\|Homer's]] ''[[Odyssey]]'', the hero [[Odysseus]] encounters the Cyclops [[Polyphemus]], the son of [[Poseidon]] and [[Thoosa]], who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country. The connection between the two groups has been debated in antiquity and by modern scholars.<ref>As Robert Mondi says: "Why is there such a discrepancy between the nature of the Homeric Cyclopes and the nature of those found in Hesiod's ''Theogony''? Ancient commentators were so exercised by this problem that they supposed there to be more than one type of Cyclops, and we must agree that, on the surface at least, these two groups could hardly have less in common." (R. Mondi, 1983. "The Homeric Cyclopes: Folktale, Tradition, and Theme," ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' 113 (1983), pp. 17-18.)</ref>

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 In Book 9 of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', a scouting party led by [[Odysseus]] lands on the Island of the Cyclopes and discovers a large cave. They enter into the cave and feast on food they find there. This cave is the home of [[Polyphemus]], who soon returns and traps the trespassers in the cave. He proceeds to eat several crew members, but Odysseus devises a cunning plan for escape.
-To make Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gives him a skin of very strong, unwatered [[wine]].  When Polyphemus asks for Odysseus' name, he tells him that it is 'Outis', Greek for 'no man' or 'nobody'.  Once the giant falls asleep drunk, Odysseus and his men take the spit from the fire and drive it through Polyphemus' only eye. Polyphemus' cries of help are answered by the others of his race; however, they turn away from aiding him when they hear that "Nobody" is the cause of his woes.
+To make Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gives him a skin of very strong, unwatered wine.  When Polyphemus asks for Odysseus' name, he tells him that it is 'Outis', Greek for 'no man' or 'nobody'.  Once the giant falls asleep drunk, Odysseus and his men take the spit from the fire and drive it through Polyphemus' only eye. Polyphemus' cries of help are answered by the others of his race; however, they turn away from aiding him when they hear that "Nobody" is the cause of his woes.
 In the morning, Odysseus ties his men and himself to the undersides of Polyphemus' sheep. When the Cyclops lets the sheep out to graze, the men are carried out.  Since Polyphemus has been blinded, he doesn't see the men, but feels the tops of his sheep to make sure the men aren't riding them. As he sailed away, Odysseus shouts "Cyclops, when your father asks who took your eye, tell him that it was Odysseus, Sacker of Cities, Destroyer of Troy, son of [[Laertes]], and King of Ithaca,"     which proves to be a catastrophic example of [[hubris]].  Now knowing his attacker's name, Polyphemus asks his father [[Poseidon]] to prevent Odysseus from returning home to [[Ithaca]], or to at least deprive him of his ship and crew.

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 =="Cyclopean" walls==
-:''Main article: [[Cyclopean masonry]]''.
 After the "Dark Age" Hellenes looked with awe at the vast dressed blocks, known as [[Cyclopean structures]] that had been used in [[Mycenaean]] masonry, at sites like [[Mycenae]] and [[Tiryns]] or on [[Cyprus]], he then concluded that only the Cyclopes had the combination of skill and strength to build in such a monumental mobile.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Hesiod's Cyclops==
-In the ''[[Theogony]]'', the Cyclopes&mdash;[[Brontes]] (''thunderer''), [[Steropes]] (''flasher'') and [[Arges]] (''brightener'')&mdash;were the sons of [[Uranus (god)|Uranus]] ("Sky") and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] ("Earth"). Like their brothers, the [[Hecatonchires]] ("hundred-handed ones"), they were primordial sons of Sky and Earth. They were [[giant (mythology)|giants]] with a single eye in the middle of their forehead and a foul disposition. According to [[Hesiod]], they were strong, stubborn, and "abrupt of emotion". Collectively they eventually became synonyms for brute strength and power, and their name was invoked in connection with massive masonry and especially well-crafted weapons.
+In the ''[[Theogony]]'', the Cyclopes&mdash;[[Brontes]] (''thunderer''), [[Steropes]] (''flasher'') and [[Arges]] (''brightener'')&mdash;were the sons of [[Uranus]] ("Sky") and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] ("Earth"). Like their brothers, the [[Hecatonchires]] ("hundred-handed ones"), they were primordial sons of Sky and Earth. They were [[giant (mythology)|giants]] with a single eye in the middle of their forehead and a foul disposition. According to [[Hesiod]], they were strong, stubborn, and "abrupt of emotion". Collectively they eventually became synonyms for brute strength and power, and their name was invoked in connection with massive masonry and especially well-crafted weapons.
 Uranus, fearing their strength, locked them in [[Tartarus]]. [[Cronus]], another son of Uranus and Gaia, later freed the Cyclopes, along with the Hecatonchires, after he had castrated and overthrown Uranus. But Cronus then placed them back in Tartarus, where they remained, guarded by the she-dragon [[Campe]], until freed by Zeus. They fashioned thunderbolts for Zeus to use as weapons, and helped him [[Titanomachy|overthrow Cronus]] and the other [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]]. The thunderbolts, which became Zeus' signature weapons, were forged by all three Cyclopes: Arges added brightness, Brontes added thunder, and Steropes added lightning.
-These Cyclopes also created [[Poseidon]]'s [[trident]], [[Artemis]]' bow and arrow, and the helmet that [[Hades]] gave to [[Perseus]] on his quest to kill [[Medusa (mythology)|Medusa]]. According to a hymn of [[Callimachus]],<ref>''To Artemis'', 46f. See also Virgil's ''Georgics'' 4.173 and ''Aeneid'' 8.416ff.</ref> they were [[Hephaestus]]' helpers at the forge. The Cyclopes were said to have built the "cyclopean" fortifications at [[Tiryns]] and [[Mycenae]] in the [[Peloponnese]]. The noises proceeding from the heart of [[volcano]]es were attributed to their operations.
+These Cyclopes also created [[Poseidon]]'s trident, [[Artemis]]' bow and arrow, and the helmet that [[Hades]] gave to [[Perseus]] on his quest to kill [[Medusa]]. According to a hymn of [[Callimachus]],<ref>''To Artemis'', 46f. See also Virgil's ''Georgics'' 4.173 and ''Aeneid'' 8.416ff.</ref> they were [[Hephaestus]]' helpers at the forge. The Cyclopes were said to have built the "cyclopean" fortifications at [[Tiryns]] and [[Mycenae]] in the [[Peloponnese]]. The noises proceeding from the heart of volcanoes were attributed to their operations.
 It is said that these Cyclopes were later killed by [[Apollo]] after Zeus killed his son, [[Asclepius]], with a Cyclopes-forged thunderbolt.