The Cyclopes

It was at the beginning of time that Gaia (Mother Earth) and her husband Uranus (the Heavens) began producing children of semi-human form. The first of their offspring to come into existance were the Hecatoncheires or Hundred-handed Ones. These three brothers known as Briareus, Gyges and Cottus were not only gigantic in size but each bore fifty heads and one hundred arms. They were soon followed by another curious looking set of siblings named Arges, Brontes and Steropes, best known to the world the three original Cyclopes. Each of the brothers had but one solitary eye positioned in the center of his forehead.

All were great in stature and possessed immense power and strength. Though they were born with explosive tempers, the Cyclopes were known to be master smiths as well as expert builders.

The brothers are credited for constructing the massive enclosures at Tiryns and Midea, as well as the stone fortress that surrounds the mighty city of Mycenae. Stories of the Cyclopes range from Thrace to Crete to Lycia. According to the Roman poet Virgil, their thunderbolt forge could be found in Vulcan's blacksmith shop, among the caves of Mount Aetna.

The Cyclopes played a role in the fall of both their father Uranus and his son Cronus. It seems that after Uranus fathered the Titans with Gaia, he no longer looked favorably upon his first born children. He viewed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires as nothing more than rebellious monsters, and to rid himself of embarrassment had the brothers imprisoned in the dark depths of Tartarus.

Angry over the treatment of her children, Gaia appealed to her son Cronus, the youngest of the seven Titans. She petitioned him to sneak up upon his sleeping father and attack him with a flint sickle. She added that upon the death of Uranus, Cronus would be able to assume the position of king.

Naturally, the thought of having dominion over heaven and earth appealed to the young Titan and he readily agreed to his mother's proposition. Cronus waited, and when he was sure Uranus had fallen into a deep sleep slowly approached and castrated him, throwing both his father's genitles and the flint sickle into the sea.

As Uranus lay dying, some of his fresh blood dripped down and flowed into Mother Earth. She at once gave birth to the three Furies; Alecto, Tisiphone and Megaera. These terrifying sisters were given the task of avenging crimes of perjury and paricide. Immediately, the Cyclopes and the their Hundred-handed brothers were released from their prison cells and Cronus accepted his role as king of the universe.

Much to Gaia's dismay, her son's first act as sovereign was to return her beloved children to their prison cells in Tartarus, then taking for himself his sister Rhea as his bride. Though it was not long before Rhea became pregnant, she would not be allowed to experience the joys of motherhood. For it had been prophesied to her new husband that just as he had defeated his own father he would also fall at the hands of his own children. Cronus insisted that after giving birth Rhea take the newborn baby and place it before him. He would then swallow the child whole, thus protecting both himself and his title as king. One by one Rhea watched as her husband devoured her children, until finally she could take no more.

After giving birth to her youngest son Zeus, the distraught mother hid the child safely away on the island of Crete. She then disguised a stone by wrapping it in a baby's blanket and handed the bundle to Cronus to swallow.

Zeus quickly grew to manhood, and with the help of the Titaness Metis, was able to trick his father into drinking a magic potion. The elixer caused Cronus to become very sick and in a few moments he began to vomit. As the Titan wretched, out popped Rhea's missing children; Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. The group joined together with Zeus, hence bringing about the great war between the Olympians and the Titans.

Mother Earth promised Zeus victory, but only if he would first agree to release her monstrous children from their bondage and accept them on his side as allies. Desperately wanting to defeat Atlas and his army of Titans, Zeus crept into Tartarus and killed the old guard Campe. He removed the cell keys from her belt and released both the Cyclopes and the Hectoncheires from their chambers.

Before adding them to the ranks of the Olympians, Zeus first made sure to build up their strength by filling them with the divine food of the gods. To show their gratitude, the Cyclopes presented Zeus with the mighty thunderbolt. The god immediately adopted the weapon as his own, making it forever a symbol of his personal power. The giants also awarded Hades with a helmet of invisability and Poseidon with a trident. Armed with their new gifts, the three Olympian brothers held a meeting and together formatted a plan. Hades placed the helmet of darkness upon his head and entered unseen into the presence of Cronus.

As Poseidon caused a distraction by threatening his father's life with his trident the lord of the dead carried off the Titan's weapons. With Cronus' attention finally diverted, Zeus took aim and struck him down with a thunderbolt. The Hectoncheires began to throw rocks at the remaining Titans and to add extra fear the god Pan let out one of his famous shouts, causing the defeated army to run for their lives.

The Olympians followed close behind and it was not long before the Titans were finally captured and placed in Tartarus. It is there they remain to this day under the watchful guard of the Hectoncheires. For his role as commander and leader, Atlas suffered a much different punishment. He was made to stand and bear the weight of the heavens upon his shoulders for all eternity. There are other variations as to the fate of Cronus. One tells us that he escaped to Italy and was given the privilege of ruling over the Golden Age. Another claims that after leaving Olympus, the Titan went on to become king of the Island of the Blessed.

This was a place located in the realm of Hades where men who were once favored by the gods traveled to after their death. Because of the help given to Zeus by Rhea and Metis, the two Titanesses remained free and received no punishment.

The Cyclopes went on to forge Zeus' weapons until they were killed by Apollo in retaliation for Zeus causing the death of his son Asclepius. It is said that their ghosts can still be found lurking about the volcanic caves of Mount Aetna.

Brontes and Artemis

When Zeus granted the goddess Artemis dominion over the woods and mountaintops, the first thing she did was to seek out attendents to accompany her. She traveled to Crete and then continued farther on to the banks of Ocean. Here she chose an entourage of nine year old nymphs to be her companions.

During the course of her travels, the goddess was invited by Hephaestus to visit the island of Lipara and see the forge of the Cyclopes. When she arrived, Artemis found the three giants busily hammering away at a horse trough that they were making for the god Poseidon.

Brontes, who had been told by Hephaestus to fashion for the maiden goddess anything she desired scooped up his lovely guest and placed her upon his knee. Artemis, who was far from interested in the giant found his behavior less than desirable, and to show her disgust reached over and ripped a handful of hair from his chest. This left a bare patch that would remain with him until the day he died.

The attending nymphs were terrified at the appearance of the Cyclopes, but Artemis stood her ground. She instructed the three to set aside the horse trough for the moment and fashion for her a silver bow and a quiver full of arrows. For this she promised the brothers a feast prepared from the first kill brought down with her new arms.

The Cyclopes saw to it that the wishes of the maiden goddess were fulfilled. Soon she and her attendents were on their way to Arcadia, equipped with exquisite weapons crafted by the same hands that forged the great thunderbolts of Zeus.

Polyphemus

Probably the most famous of all the Cyclopes is Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon and the sea nymph Thoosa. He along with his relatives lived on the island of Sicily. Because Zeus valued the skillful talents of these giants, he greatly blessed their homeland, causing the vineyards and cornfields to produce massive quanities of fruit without ever once having to be sown or plowed. It is for this reason that the Cyclopes raised flocks of sheep and goats but never once had to tend to the soil. Polyphemus fell in love with the nereid Galatea. Unfortunately, Galatea found the giant repulsive to look at and would have no part of him.

To make matters even worse, the shallow maid had instead fallen in love with the handsome Acis, a son of Faunus and the nymph Symaethis. It was at this time that a seer named Telemus tried to warn Polyphemus that in the near future he would lose the sight of his eye at the hands of a passing stranger named Odysseus.

The lovesick Cyclopes paid no attention to the advice, and with his mind filled with only thoughts of Galatea replied that he had already lost it to another. One day Polyphemus came upon his heart's desire as she peacefully slept in the arms of her young lover. Filled with jealousy and rage, the Cyclopes tore a great boulder from the side of Mount Aetna and crushed the body of his slumbering rival.

This failed to help the heartbroken giant's situation, for his actions only caused Galatea to hate him more than ever before. With all hopes of ever winning her love gone, Polyphemus listened as the mournful nereid cried out to the immortals for help. Finally her prayers were answered and Acis was transformed into a river god.

After the passing of many years, the island of Sicily was visited by a crew of lost sailors trying to make their way home from the Trojan War. Just as predicted by the seer Telemus, the leader of the group was known as Odysseus. Not realizing the danger that was awaiting them, the sailors made their way across the beach.

They traveled on until they finally arrived at what appeared to be an inhabited cave surrounded by a massive fence. Odysseus, who was accompanied by twelve of his men and a goatskin of very potent wine set off to explore the cave in hopes of maybe finding some food to help fill their empty stomachs.

Finding the gate open, the unsuspecting men quickly let themselves inside the living quarters of the Cyclopes Polyphemus. Though they found no one there, it was apparent to the group that they were in the home of a very prosperous person. The cave was surrounded with pens containing countless baby goats and lambs and the walls were lined with racks of cheese and metal pails that were overflowing with milk.

The famished sailors could not believe their eyes, and in an instant they began to enjoy the hospitalities of their absent host. After feasting for some time, the visitors began to feel the ground tremble. Turning to see what was causing the commotion, they watched in horror as a huge and hideous giant appeared in the entrance way of the cave. As he pulled the heavy slab of a door closed behind him, Polyphemus saw that his home was being invaded by strangers. Demanding to know who dared to enter without permission, the Cyclopes bellowed "Are you traders or pirates?" Frozen with fear, the sailors stood speechless in front of their unfriendly host.

Odysseus stepped forward stating that they were shipwrecked warriors returning home after fighting a ten year battle against the city of Troy. He boldly added that as was the law with all beggers, he and his men fell under the protection of Zeus and could not be harmed.

Polyphemus proclaimed loudly that he cared nothing for Zeus or for any other god. With that he reached out and wrapped his massive hand around the waist of one of the sailors before promptly bashing his head upon the ground. Everyone watched in terror as the monster made a feast of their companion's brains. When he was finished with his meal, Polyphemus, who was feeling quite satisfied, stretched himself out across the cavern and took a nap.

The men could not believe their eyes. It was apparent that they had gotten themselves into a hopeless situation, for Polyphemus was the only one strong enough to move the slab and clear the front door. If he were killed, all would be doomed to forever remain prisoners inside the cave.

Odysseus thought long and hard throughout the night. He knew he must devise an escape plan before every last man became a meal for the giant. When dawn approached, the Cyclopes awoke happily anticipating a big breakfast. With the pangs of hunger churning in his stomach, he helped himself to two more of his captives. When he was finished, he gathered up his flocks and headed out to pasture, but not before making sure the doorway was sealed shut with the enormous boulder.

Odysseus spent the better part of the day trying to come up with an idea. Finding some enormous timber next to one of the pens, he cut himself off a piece and together with his men sharpened it into a fine point. He then placed the tip into the fire where it remained until the wood was good and hard.

When they were finished the men hid their new weapon and waited for the giant to return home for his evening meal. Just as before, he chose another one of the crew members to be his dinner, but this time when he was finished eating Odysseus offered him a sip of wine to wash down his meal.

Polyphemus happily took the cup and drank. When it became empty, the greedy giant shook the goblet upside down and demanded it to be filled again. Odysseus complied and continued to pour the wine until the drunken Cyclopes was overcome with sleep. When they were sure Polyphemus was unconscious, Odysseus and his men withdrew the pointed stake and placed the point into the fire until it glowed red in color.

After gathering up all the courage that they had and offering a prayer to the gods, the men thrust the burning spear into the eye of their sleeping captor. As he jumped to his feet Polyphemus let out a scream of agony so deep that the walls of the cave began to shake.

He frantically removed the tip from his eye and began to blindly stumble about in search of his tormentors. Polyphemus reached out into the darkness but the sailors were easily able to avoid his grasp. Finally the Cyclopes pushed open the door and stumbled out into the yard. He sat himself down just beyond the cave's entrance in hopes of catching his prisoners as they were making their escape. But Odysseus had already thought up the perfect plan that would allow he and his men to avoid capture. He instructed each man to select three heavy fleeced rams and tie them together with strong strips of bark.

In the morning when the flocks were being let out to pasture they hid underneath the rams as they exited through the doorway that led to freedom.

Polyphemus thinking that the men may be riding on top felt the ram's backs as they passed by but never thought to run his hands under their bellies. All arrived safely back at the ship, but as the vessel made its way into the water Odysseus taunted the Cyclopes by calling out "You have been justly punished for how you have treated guests in your house."

With that Polyphemus tore off a piece of the mountain and hurled it in the direction of the ship. When Odysseus saw that they were a safe distance from the island he called out again saying "Cyclopes, it was I, Odysseus, wrecker of cities who put out your eye, and do so tell anyone that asks." As these words echoed across the vast blue waves Polyphemus bowed his head and knew that the words of Telemus had indeed come true.

Medea's Lair Of Greek Mythology © 1999-2009.