Cyclops (sĪˈklŏps) [key], plural Cyclopes sĪklōˈpēz, in Greek
mythology, immense one-eyed beings. They appear in at least two
distinct traditions. According to Hesiod the Cyclopes were
smiths, the sons of Uranus and Gaea. They were imprisoned in
Tartarus by their father and again by their brother Kronos. In
return for their freedom they gave Zeus the thunderbolt that
aided him in overthrowing Kronos. In Homer the Cyclopes are a
lawless, barbarous, and pastoral people, one of whom
(Polyphemus) Odysseus encounters in his wanderings. The Columbia
Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia
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