
The Cyclops is a one-eyed monster originating from Greek myth.
Overview[]
Cyclopes (whose name means 'circle-eyed' or "round eye") are one-eyed giants who first appeared in Greek mythology. They were the children of the Earth (Gaia) and the Sky (Gaia's son Ouranos/Uranus) and are brothers to the Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handed Ones). The three original cyclops were named Brontes (Thunder), Steropes (Lightning), and Arges (Bright). Their father, Uranus, feared their strength and threw them into the pit of Tartarus with their brothers, the Hundred-Handed Ones, where they were imprisoned. They were later let out by Zeus and forged the thunderbolt for him. Some authors also said that they were the workmen of Hephaestus, and that Apollo slayed them for creating Zeus's thunderbolt, which Zeus used to kill Apollo's son, Asclepius.
Later in mythology, cyclopes were depicted as savage and not as civilized as the Greeks. The Greeks believed they lived in a faraway land without law and order. One famous cyclops is Polyphemus, who attacked and was blinded by Odysseus and his men.