Cyclops

The Cyclops was a giant who had a single large eye on their forehead. Some were friendly to gods and men, while others were hostile.

The original Cyclopes were the sons of Uranus and Gaea. Originally there were only three Cyclops named Arges, Brontes and Steropes.

Because of their ugliness and their giant size, Uranus imprisoned the Cyclops in Tartarus along with his other sons, called Hecatoncheires or the Hundred-Handed.

They were renowned for their skills in building and working with metal. They made magnificent weapons for the Olympians, the younger gods who warred with the Titans. They made the thunderbolts for Zeus, a trident for Poseidon, and a Cap of Invisibility for Hades.

The Cyclops earned their freedom through the Olympians, and normally worked with Hephaestus, the god of fire and metalworking. Some claimed they worked under a mountain on the island of Lemnos.

See the Creation for more details about the war between the Titans and the Olympians.

Polyphemus

There were many younger generations of Cyclops, who were less civilised and more hostile to mankind. They mainly lived in Sicily, and were mostly shepherds, not metal-smiths like the three original Cyclops.

The most famous of these younger Cyclops was named Polyphemus (Πολύφημος). Polyphemus also lived in Sicily and was mainly a shepherd. Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon, the great sea god. His mother was the nymph Thoosa, daughter of the sea god Phorcys.

Polyphemus was more friendly and kinder when he was younger. Actually he was in love with a Nereid named Galatea. Galatea was a minor sea goddess and the sister of Thetis.

Polyphemus tried in vain to win Galatea's love by singing songs and love-poems to the beautiful goddess. Galatea's other sisters made fun of her about her "one-eyed lover". Though, Galatea did not love Polyphemus, she did pity him.

Galatea was in love with Acis, son of Faunus and the mountain-nymph Symaethis. When Polyphemus found out that Galatea was sleeping with Acis, he crushed the young man to death. Galatea fled in horror from the scene. Her pity turned into hatred for the hideous giant.

After this incident, Polyphemus became hostile to all gods and men. There was a seer named Telemus who foretold that he would one day lose his eye to a hero. Polyphemus would kill and devour any man who set foot on the island.

In the epic poem titled the Odyssey, when the hero Odysseus met the giant, Polyphemus killed and ate six of Odysseus' warriors. Odysseus escaped from Polyphemus' clutches by blinding his only eye with a large stake. Though Odysseus escaped with his six surviving men to the sea, his boast allowed the Cyclops to hear his name. Polyphemus cursed Odysseus and prayed to Poseidon to punish the hero. After that day, Odysseus became Poseidon's mortal enemy.

Polyphemus reappeared in the Roman epic called the Aeneid. The Trojan hero Aeneas landed his ships near Polyphemus' home. There, Aeneas discovered an Ithacan warrior named Achaemenides who was somehow left behind by Odysseus. Fortunately, Aeneas heeded Achaemenides' timely warning and was able to escape to open sea, before Polyphemus' brethren attacked them.