The Greek Mythology of the Kyklops

In Greek mythology, Cyclopes (Greek: , kuklops) were large, one-eyed giants. They lived in solitary and insular communities, with no government or social structures; they were thought to be prone to violence, and some of them were known for stealing cattle from their neighbors.

They were the children of Uranus and Gaia, and they fought with Zeus against the Titans in the ten-year war known as the Titanomachy. In return for their release from Tartarus, they fashioned the lightning bolts that Zeus used as his signature weapon.

Their origins are uncertain; some scholars argue that they may be a version of the Triamantes, a rural race of man-eating ogres from Cretan legend. Other writers believe that they were a different breed altogether.

The Cyclopes were renowned for their strength and ability to craft metalwork. They built the walls of great cities such as Mycenae and Tiryns, in what was believed to be an impossible feat for normal human men.

They also forged Poseidon’s trident and the helmet of Hades, which made them invisible to humans. They were feared by Uranus and Cronus, and later were imprisoned in Tartarus.

Polyphemus, the most famous of all Cyclopes, appears in Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid. He entrapped Odysseus and his crew on an island near Ithaca, and ate six of them.

On his way back to Ithaca, Odysseus intoxicated Polyphemus and pierced his eye; the next day, he led the Cyclopes’ sheep away from their cave, so that they could escape. The Cyclopes eventually returned to their mountain homes, but for a decade they held a grudge against Odysseus and refused to let him reach Ithaca.