CYCLOPS (giant smith with a single eye)

They lived by their craft, earning the name Gasterocheires, and did not plant or plough, trusting in providence for wild wheat, barley, and grapes.^11,12 They produced wine from wild grapes grown by sun and rain without tillage, and their diet consisted of milk, cheese, and the flesh of sheep.^12,13 Their society lacked established laws, public assemblies, or any administration of justice, as each individual was lord and master in his own family.^12,14

The Cyclopes were responsible for forging the heavenly fire and crafting thunder, lightning, and a thunderbolt for Zeus.^{15,10,16,17,18} Using iron hammers, they beat out the final ray of the bolt, lifting their sinewy arms in a rhythmic swing that produced a heavy groaning sound.^19,20,7 They also fashioned arrows and a well-bent bow for Artemis, and their construction work included fortifying the city of Tiryns with massive unwrought stones.^21,22,23 They squared the city-walls of Mycenae using red plumb-lines and mason's tools, producing works characterized by strength, might, and skillful craftsmanship.^24,25,3

Polyphemus, the king of the Cyclopes, was a huge, wild, and cannibalistic man who loved Galatea with intense, fatal frenzy.^26,27,28 While trapped in his cave, the giant killed and consumed several of the narrator's companions, including Antiphus, whom he cooked as his last dinner.^29,30,31 He seized two men, smashed them to the ground, tore them apart, and ate their flesh, bones, and entrails for supper, considering strangers the daintiest meat.^32,33,13 The giant blocked the cave entrance with a stone too heavy for many wagons to move, but eventually removed it after feeling for it with his hands.^{29,34,35,36,30,32} After becoming heavily intoxicated on wine offered as a drink-offering, the monster vomited wine and human flesh, and his beauty was spoiled when Odysseus blinded him in the eye.^1,6,30,37,26

The fate of the Cyclopes was sealed when Apollo struck them in anger after Zeus killed his son Asclepius, killing them in retaliation for the death of this figure.^18,15,38,9 They were rovers who obeyed no other person, possessing a spirit that was overbearing and indifferent to the regard of the gods unless they were in the mood.^13,3,39 They claimed to be significantly stronger than the blessed gods, a strength that was considered much greater than that of the divine.³⁹ They remain an accursed and bestial brood, pitiless and indifferent to divine regard, defined by their savage lawlessness and inhuman size.^1,39,40,5,6