Cyclops

Names

Purpose/ Known for
• Cyclopes are master smiths.
• They helped Zeus overthrow his father.
• They made many tools for different
Gods.
(Leeming 90)

Purpose/ Known for
• The Cyclops gave Zeus his thunder, lightning, and thunderbolts for battle.
• They made a helmet of invisibility for
Pluto.
• They made a trident for Poseidon.
(Robin 164)

Birth Myth
• Ouranos, the first ruler of the universe, married
Ge.
• She gave birth to the
Hundred- Handers,
Titans and the
Cyclopes.
• Ouranos then hurled the Cyclops and the
Hundred- Handers into
Tartaros, or eternal darkness.
• Another myth says that the Cyclops were born from Uranus (sky) and
Gaia (earth).
(Robin 164)

Myth #1: Odysseus & Cyclops
On their way home from the Trojan war,
Odysseus and his crew stumbled upon the land of the Cyclops.
(Robin 164)

They found some sheep.
• Odysseus and his crew found sheep and a lot of water which they desperately needed. They decided to wait in a cave until they found the owner.
(Robin 164)

Uh Oh! Here comes the owner!
• The owner turned out to be a Cyclops named
Polyphemus.
Polyphemus ate about six of Odysseus’ men before he was full.
• (Robin 164)

Odysseus gets Cyclops drunk!
Odysseus then proceeded to give
Polyphemus drink after drink of alcohol. He became very drunk.
(Robin 164)

Odysseus = Nobody! Clever!
When
Polyphemus asked
Odysseus for his name, he replied
“Nobody”.
Polyphemus told Odysseus that he would eat him last and then fell asleep.
(Robin 164)

Odysseus gets Revenge!
While asleep Odysseus sharpened up a weapon and stabbed Polyphemus in his single eye.
(Robin 164)

Tricky name saves Odysseus!
When his other Cyclops friends came and asked him who was hurting him, he replied
“Nobody”. His friends then left thinking he was alright.
(Robin 164)

Odysseus Sneaks Out of the Cave!
(Robin 165)
• Knowing that Polphemus would feel the tops of the sheep as they left the cave to check if the men were escaping, they tied themselves to the undersides of the sheep and got away.

Odysseus’s Pride Ruins Escape!
Odysseus then rushed away with some of
Polyphemus’ ships barely escaping the huge boulders that Polyphemus had thrown in after him.
(Robin 165)

Cyclops’ Family
• Three Cyclops were born from Gaia and
Uranus. Their names were Argos,
Steropes and Brontes.
(Gill)

Lots of Family!
• The Cyclops, Titans and Hundre- Handers were all offspring of Gaia and Uranus.
(Leeming 90)

Uranus is a bad father!
• Even though Uranus was their father, he kept his children imprisoned. Not only did he keep them imprisoned, but he kept them imprisoned inside of his wife Gaia.
(Leeming 90)

Uranus is overthrown!
• Gaia was getting sick of Uranus’s ways. One main
Titan, assisted by the Cyclops, Titans and Hundred-
Handers overthrew
Uranus.
(Gill)

Cronus puts them in Prison!
• Cronus, the father of Zeus, then imprisoned them all in Tartarus.
(Leeming 90)

The Cyclopes are set free!
• Zeus then overthrew Cronus and set his friends the Cyclops, Titans and Hundred-
Handers free.

The Cyclopes thanks Zeus!
• In return for this act of kindness, the
Cyclops made Zeus lightning, thunder and his thunderbolts which he could use as weapons.
(Gill)

Family/ Friends/ Enemies
• Father – Uranus, Ouranos
• Mother – Gaia, Ge
• Siblings – Hundred- Handers and Titans
• Enemies – Apollo, killed the Cyclops after they struck his son Ascelpius with a lightning bolt and killed him.
(Gill)

Modern Day Relevance
Monsters Inc’s
Mike Wazowski
Elephant skull
Zimmerman

Symbol
• A symbol of the Cyclops is its single eye. It is what they are recognized for.
(Gill)