Cyclopes

Cyclopes (1) (Singular: Cyclops; Round-eyed) Greek Three sons of Uranus and Gaia, large and strong, each with one eye in the middle of his forehead; siblings of the Hecatoncheires, hundredhanded giants, and the younger Titans. Their names were Brontes (Thunder) Steropes (Lightning), and Arges (Thunderbolt); they were best known most for making lightning and thunder. Their father, Uranus, hated them, and banished them to Tartarus, the deepest pit below the underworld, but Gaia convinced Uranus to free their sons. However, after Cronus, a Titan and the youngest of their siblings, revolted against and defeated Uranus, he once again banished back to Tartarus these three fearsome brothers, sometimes referred to as the Uranian Cyclopes. When his time came to overthrow Cronus, Zeus, having learned in a prophecy that he could not win his battle against his father and the Titans unless he had the aid of the Cyclopes, freed Brontes, Steropes, and Arges. In return, they helped Zeus defeat Cronus. The three then forged great treasures for the Olympian gods: thunder and lightning, which they gave to Zeus; a helmet of invisibility, which they gave to Hades; and a great trident, which they gave to Poseidon. From that time forward, these one-eyed brothers were greatly admired and respected by the Olympians. Brontes, Steropes, and Arges died at the hands of Apollo, who killed them for making the thunderbolt which Zeus had used to kill Appolo's son Asclepius. Later Greek mythology tells of a group of oneeyed beings who lived under Mount Aetna and helped the smith god Hephaestus forge thunder, lightning, and armor for the gods. Some sources consider these to be the three sons of Uranus and Gaia. Other sources suggest that they are a separate group of Cyclopes. Cyclopes (2) (Singular: Cyclops) Greek The poet Homer describes the Cyclopes in the Odyssey as a tribe of gigantic, one-eyed shepherds who lived on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Some sources suggest the tribe is made up of the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and a water Nymph. These Cyclopes are cannibals, wild and ruthless, and pose a great threat to humans stranded on their shores. The most famous among them was Polyphemus, who captured Odysseus and his men and held them in a cave, then began eating some of them each day. (See "Odysseus and the Cyclops" under Odyssey). Cyclopes (3) (Singular: Cyclops) Greek A race of very strong men, who were known to be master builders, perhaps having come from Thrace, a region on the northern shores of the Aegean Sea. These Cyclopes served King Proetus of the city Tiryns. For him, they built the great walls of the city. They built similar walls around the city of Mycenae and the famous Lion Gate there. The stones they used were so massive that the term "cyclopean" has come to mean gigantic. They were also called "belly-hands" for they worked for their livings.