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Braiden Wills

Mrs. Dietrich

Honors English 10

March 6, 2017

Cyclopes

Imagine seeing a humongous, formidable, terrifying, one-eyed beast snatch up a human

being from the ground, hoist him high into the air towards the beast’s mouth, and make a meal

out of him right in front of your very own eyes. In The Odyssey by Homer, the main character

Odysseus had this experience with a one eyed creature, which was called a Cyclops. Cyclopes

are prevalent characters in many Greek myths and have relations to Greek gods and goddesses.

Their unique, monster-like persona makes the Cyclopes stand apart from many other

mythological characters. In Greek mythology, there are two generations of Cyclopes that are

very different, both in their occupation and role in Greek mythology and in their demeanors.

The race of the Cyclopes evolved and changed from the earliest Cyclopes to the Cyclopes

that are mentioned in later myths. There were two generations of Cyclopes mentioned in Greek

mythology, which were the first three smiths and the sons of Poseidon. The first generation of

Cyclopes were born of Gaia and Uranus (Sears 39). Gaia was the goddess of the earth, who was

born out of the great empty void known as Chaos (Leadbetter). She gave birth to Uranus, who is

the god of the sky, as well as Pontus, the god of the sea (Leadbetter). Gaia took her son Uranus

as her husband and gave birth to the first generation of Cyclopes. These first three Cyclopes were

very different from the second generation. Although all Cyclopes are described as having an

immensely large physical stature and a gruesome, terrifying demeanor, there was a major
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difference in the first three Cyclopes born of Gaia and Uranus and the Cyclopes that are

mentioned in later Greek myths. These first three Cyclopes were not vicious, flesh eating

monsters. They were known as the blacksmiths of Greek Mythology (Sears 39). The first three

Cyclopes were named Brontes, Arges, and Steropes. (Sears 39). They are known as the storm

deities. Brontes was known as “Thunderer”, Arges’s nickname was “Brightener” and Steropes

was called “Flasher” (Baldwin). They used their skill with metalworking to create many

important objects and artifacts for various gods and goddesses. They crafted Zeus’ powerful

thunderbolts, Hades’ helmet of darkness, and Poseidon’s trident (Baldwin). Although the

Cyclopes were skilled craftsmen and were influential, positive characters, their father Uranus

feared their strength. As a result of this fear, he imprisoned these Cyclopes along with their

cousins and Uranus’s other sons, the Hecatonchires and the Titans. He kept them deep within

Gaia, or the earth, where they could not escape (Baldwin). However, the Cyclopes were freed

from this prison when a Titan by the name of Cronus rose against his father Uranus and defeated

him (Baldwin). Unfortunately for the Cyclopes, like his father, Cronus was paranoid and came to

fear the strength of the Cyclopes whom he had released from prison in Gaia. Like his father,

because of his fear of the Cyclopes power, he imprisoned them in Tartarus, in the underworld

(Baldwin).

Just as Cronus, a son of Uranus freed the Cyclopes the first time they were imprisoned,

this time, a son of Cronus by the name of Zeus rose up and defeated his father to free the

Cyclopes (Baldwin). However this time, the Cyclopes played a critical role in the overthrow of

Cronus and the Titans. They used their skill and craftsmanship to provide Zeus with thunderbolts

which he used in his battle against Cronus. Without the Cyclopes, Zeus could not have won this

battle. (Baldwin). As a reward for helping him to defeat Cronus, Zeus allowed the Cyclopes to
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live in Olympus with him and be his armorers. (Baldwin). The death of the first generation of

Cyclopes occurred as a result of Apollo’s wrath. Zeus killed one of Apollo’s sons Asclepius

because he raised a man from the dead. Apollo intended to punish Zeus by killing his armorers,

the Cyclopes, which he did (Baldwin).

The second generation of Cyclopes did not inherit the same metalworking skills and

craftsmanship that the first generation of smiths possessed. Instead, they were shepherds that

tended to sheep and other animals. The second generation resided in Sicily, and lived in close

proximity with other Cyclopes (Baldwin). They had no formal government, and had no respect

for the gods or the importance of hospitality, which was paramount to the Greeks. “Next we

reached the land of the Cyclopes, those lawless, one-eyed giants, who disdain the gods”

(Waterfield 267). Their lack of hospitality is most evident in The Odyssey when Odysseus and

his men enter the Cyclops Polyphemos’ cave. Expecting a gift from the Cyclops, Odysseus and

his men occupy his cave. When the Cyclops returns, instead of making them a meal or giving

them a gift like they expected, the Cyclops captured them, and ate two of the men. “He

proceeded to then scoop up two of my men and eat them, washing his gory meal down with fresh

ewe’s milk” (Waterfield 267). Unlike the first generation of Cyclopes, this generation was

bloodthirsty and fed on human flesh. There was another major difference between the two

generations of Cyclopes as well, and this was intelligence. The first generation was very

intelligent and clever. This is evidenced by the works they created as craftsmen. The second

generation lacked this cleverness, which is obvious to see in the altercation between Odysseus

and Polyphemos in The Odyssey. Odysseus, being extremely cunning himself, devised a plan to

escape the Cyclops’s cave and avoid being eaten. Polyphemos’s first mistake was drinking too

much of the wine Odysseus gave him, and eventually passing out drunk. “He gulped it eagerly
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and took more again, bowl after bowl until he passed out on his side by the fire” (Waterfield

267). However, before the Cyclops passed out, Odysseus told him that his name was “Nobody”

which would become a crucial detail in Odysseus’ plan. While the beast was asleep, Odysseus

and his men prepared a weapon which they planned to use to kill the Cyclops. They found a long

wooden beam and sharpened the end to a point. “We thrust that end into a fire, turning and

hardening it in the blazing coals” (Waterfield 267). Once the weapon was prepared and the beast

was in a vulnerable position, Odysseus’ men helped him to shove the hardened spike straight into

the Cyclops’ eyeball. The beast woke up and cried out to his fellow Cyclopes living near him in

pain (Waterfield 267). When they asked him what is the matter, Polyphemos replied that

“Nobody” had attacked him, so they ignored his cries and went back to sleep (Homer). After

fleeing the cave and returning to their ship, The Cyclops hobbled out of his cave to curse

Odysseus for what he had done to him. He raised up a prayer to his father Poseidon asking that

he harm Odysseus on his journey home (Homer). The story of Odysseus’ interactions with

Polyphemos offers information about what the second generation of Cyclopes acted like and how

they lived their lives. Compared to the first smiths, the descendants of Poseidon were less skilled,

less civilized, less intelligent and a great deal more bloodthirsty and vicious.

The first generation of Cyclopes differed greatly from the second generation. The first

generation consisted of three Cyclopes, Brontes, Arges, and Steropes. They were the sons of

Gaia and Uranus, and they were gifted metalworkers who were credited with designing Zeus’

iconic thunderbolts. Unlike the second generation, the first generation was not known for eating

men and terrorizing humans. The second generation of Cyclopes were an unorganized,

unhospitable, disrespectful group of shepherds who lived on the island of Sicily. The most

popular Cyclops of the second generation is Polyphemos, who captured Odysseus and his men in
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his cave until Odysseus put his iconic, brilliant plan into action to save himself and his crew,

which exposed the unintelligence of the second generation of Cyclopes. Although the two

different generations of this beast are both known as “Cyclopes” the two generations had many

differences, including both their role in Greek mythology and their mannerisms.