The Greek god saved from the Cyclopes. Are modern people capable of creating metas for themselves? Cyclopes in Mythology: Homer's Odyssey

antiquity in general and ancient Greek mythology in particular, we are accustomed to imagine as the realm of perfect beauty. Next to the beautiful Aphrodite, the ideal hero Hercules and other no less perfect characters, we meet there with such bizarre creatures that one involuntarily wonders what kind of perverted fantasy could give birth to them? These include the Cyclopes, or Cyclopes - if we call them in Greek, and not in the Latinized form, as we are used to.

Huge, strong giants with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads ... initially there were three of them - Bont (which means "thunderous"), Sterop (sparkling) and Arg (shining). They were born at the time of the youth of the world from Uranus and Gaia (ie Heaven and Earth, thus representing the original natural forces). As we remember, the power of the Greek mythological characters passed from father to son through murder - and each time during the next "divine revolution" the fate of the Cyclopes made a sharp turn: Father Uranus imprisoned him in Tratarus, the titans who overthrew him freed him, Kronos chained him again, and finally Zeus - at the suggestion of Gaia - freed and attached to the case. The Cyclopes turned out to be wonderful craftsmen - even Hephaestus and Athena learned their crafts from them - and the Cyclopes themselves worked for the benefit of the Olympic gods: Hades was made a helmet, Poseidon - a trident, and Zeus was supplied with lightning, being Hephaestus's henchmen - until they were interrupted by Apollo, taking revenge for the murder of his son Asclepius (strictly speaking, it was Zeus who had to take revenge, and not those who made the murder weapon ... but the Greek gods always had their own logic, which we mortals did not quite understand).

However, the history of the Cyclopes does not end there. Homer in his Odyssey tells of a whole tribe of Cyclopes! Whether these Cyclopes are somehow connected with those three - one can only guess, but if these are their streams, then they are definitely degraded: they live in caves, they do not know any crafts (as opposed to the three sons of Uranus and Gaia), they also do not engage in agriculture - they eat something that the earth itself will give birth, however, they are engaged in cattle breeding (cattle breeding in general is often associated with primordial "savagery" - either idealized (Arcadian shepherds), or - as in this case - awesome). They also have no laws, no worship of the gods ... in general, only their appearance is related to those Cyclopes.

However, some representatives of this people may even be related to the gods. So, the Cyclops Polyphemus turns out to be the son of Poseidon himself. However, the beautiful nymph Galatea, with whom Polyphemus fell in love, was not impressed by his origin, she preferred the son of Pan Akida. Enraged, Polyphemus crushed the happy rival with a piece of rock - and Galatea turned the blood of her lover into the Akid River (now Atsi). According to another version, the lovers managed to escape by turning into fish, according to the third - the nymph generally answered Polyphemus in return and gave birth to Galat, Celt and Illyria from him, which gave rise to the corresponding peoples ... But the most famous history from the life of Polyphemus is, of course, a meeting with Odysseus. The Cyclops took him prisoner along with all his companions and began to devour one after another, but Odysseus managed to save himself and his surviving comrades by gouging out the eyes of the sleeping giant.

Where could such an image come from? one-eyed giants? On the one hand, everything is quite consistent with the logic of the myth: gigantic growth is always associated with the elemental forces of nature, before which ancient man at first he felt small and defenseless - like a dwarf in front of a giant. One-eyedness is typical for many characters of different mythologies as a "mark" of connection with the other world... initially, such a connection was attributed to one-eyed people: after all, such a person has one "dead" eye, which means he can see the other world... But it is quite possible that this myth also had more realistic basis.

Once upon a time on the islands mediterranean sea- in particular, in Cyprus, Sardinia, Crete - pygmy elephants lived. On the islands, this is a common thing: there is less food than on the mainland, so those who need less of it survive - i.e. individuals of a smaller size, this is how dwarf populations are formed on the islands ... however, these elephants were dwarf in relation to their ancestors, but a person who met them would not call them dwarfs! True, the ancient Greeks could no longer meet with them, but the skulls of these elephants were probably found - and they wondered: who did this very impressive skull belong to? Probably, some giant ... at the same time, they might not pay attention to the relatively small eye sockets, and the huge nasal opening in the middle of the skull could be mistaken for the only huge eye socket. Here's the one-eyed giant!

However, one-eyed creatures do exist, but you can’t call them giants: the size of these crustaceans does not exceed 5.5 mm, and they were called cyclops because of their single eye.

They are full of stories about immortal chthonic monsters that inhabited the world even before the Olympic gods began to rule over the world.

Mother Earth Gaia gave birth to them in great numbers. Titans, hundred-armed giants, hecatoncheirs, sea giants, cyclops.

Little is known about the latter, despite being mentioned in Homer's greatest work, The Odyssey. And all because numerous sources give different versions of the origin of these ferocious one-eyed giants.

The name Cyclops comes from ancient Greek and means "round-eyed", since the giants were distinguished by a feature - they had only one spherical eye in the middle of the face.

Cyclopes - children of Gaia

According to Hesiod, the immortal giants of the Cyclopes, or Cyclopes, gave birth to Gaia, their father was Uranus. There were three brothers - Arg ("shining"), Bront ("thunder") and Sterop ("sparkling").

Uranus, seeing the ugly appearance of his children, got angry and threw them into Tartarus, from where they were released by Kron to fight with their common father. But he imprisoned them in the underworld after the overthrow of Uranus, from where he released them already on the advice of Gaia.

The Cyclopes were not like the mindless, cruel and greedy for flesh giants described by Homer.

The children of Gaia possessed blacksmithing skills, had dexterity, strength and power sufficient to forge Zeus an invincible weapon for the battle with Kron and the titans - lightning, thunder and thunderbolts.

Also, according to legend, they created a trident, Hades - an invisibility helmet, and Artemis, the patroness of hunting, a silver bow and arrows.

Hephaestus and they taught crafts, the patrons of which these gods later became.

After the Olympian gods came to power over the earth, these titans remained to serve the new gods, worked in the forge of Hephaestus, helped the god of fire, forged the weapons of the gods.

According to the most popular legend, he killed them, being upset by the death of his son Asclepius.

After all, it was with the thunderbolt created by the Cyclopes that Zeus struck down the future god of medicine.

Cyclopes in the Odyssey

Despite the similarity in appearance, the Homeric Cyclopes are not similar to their divine counterparts, first of all, in character traits and way of life.

Homer describes whole island, inhabited by greedy, rude and ferocious one-eyed monsters. He also had a divine origin, Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon and the nymph Phoosa.

A whole people lived on the island, but the round-eyed giants did not communicate with each other, they lived in deep, dark, scary caves and engaged in sheep breeding.

Their whole life on the island revolves around getting their own food. They are not interested in world events, so Polyphemus is not aware of a major ten-year war with, they do not comply with the laws of hospitality, seeing in visitors only a means of subsistence.

They have no aspirations for knowledge and development, no culture, they are not interested in sciences and arts.

Thus, Homer contrasts the educated, flexible mind Odysseus with the stupid, striving only for enrichment, inert Polyphemus, showing that such creatures have no future, they will always be deceived by those who strive for something more - for fame, for education, for love. .

And the fact that Polyphemus is of divine origin and incredibly superior in bodily power to the hero only enhances this contrast.

Homer shows that heroes can defy the divine, at the expense of powerful mental strength.

Polyphemus, in a fit of blind rage, kills the young man, and Galatea turns him into a river. beautiful legend, but even here the Cyclops acts as an antagonist, as an evil creature, contrary to the bright feeling of love.

Children of Poseidon

There is a version that the Cyclopes were born together with Gaia by her son Poseidon, wanting to remove Zeus from the throne, who was inferior to the god of the seas in the right to inherit the throne.

He did not want to know that the other gods supported the wiser Zeus, did not want to see Poseidon on the throne because of his violent temper and impatience.

While Poseidon was waiting for the birth of his children, Zeus arranged the world, including creating people together. And when the Cyclopes appeared, powerful, ferocious, unprincipled and not striving for good, who only know how to destroy and kill, Poseidon compared them with the world created by Zeus.

I saw beautiful people herding horses and cows, loving friend friend building beautiful dwellings. And then the god of the seas realized that he could not be compared in creativity with his brother.

He sent the Cyclopes to small island, where he left them to live, and he himself went into the depths of the seas.

Cyclopes symbolize the extreme degree of unreasonableness of the forces of nature, capable of destroying everything for no reason. But there is no creativity in them, and therefore there is no future.

The character of the mythology of the ancient Greeks. The Cyclopes are either a separate race, or the children of the goddess of the earth, Gaia, and the ancient god Uranus, who personified the sky. The meaning of the word "cyclops" can be translated from ancient Greek as "round-eyed."

Origin story

The image of the Cyclops could be formed on very real grounds. There is such a malformation as cyclopia, which occurs in vertebrates. This phenomenon develops in the early stages of pregnancy. The eyes of the fetus are formed fused and placed in one eye socket on the midline of the face. This violation occurs incredibly rarely, but in ancient times, when humanity did not yet know science, even single similar cases could form the basis of a myth.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, paleontologists proposed a different version. The skulls of Maltese pygmy elephants, which people found in antiquity, could fire their imagination and give rise to the myth of the Cyclopes. On such a skull there is a central nasal opening, which can easily be mistaken for a huge eye socket. On the Mediterranean islands of Crete, Cyclades and others, where the ancient Greeks lived, these elephants were just found. There also lived semi-wild tribes of shepherds, who could also become the prototype of the people of the Cyclopes.

Image and character

The description of the most famous Cyclops Polyphemus in the culture is as follows. This is a giant with a single eye in the middle of his forehead that lives in a cave. By nature, ferocious and cruel, prone to cannibalism.

The king, returning home from the Trojan War, lands on the way to the island and, out of ignorance, along with his companions, stops in the cave of the Cyclops. Polyphemus, finding them there, takes Odysseus and his comrades prisoner. Before Odysseus can figure out how to get out, Polyphemus manages to devour six of the team.

Armed with a stake, Odysseus gouges out Polyphemus' only eye as the ogre falls asleep. After that, Odysseus and his team hide among the sheep, who spend the night in the same cave and come out every morning. The blinded Polyphemus, who has fallen into a rage, feels the sheep with his hands before releasing them from the cave, but does not see the Greeks hiding under the stomachs of the animals. So Odysseus and his comrades manage to escape.

Polyphemus is vengeful. Having learned the name of Odysseus, the sightless Cyclops calls on his father Poseidon to pursue Odysseus and take revenge on him. According to another myth, Polyphemus kills with a stone the beloved Nereid Galatea, who rejected him.

Screen adaptations

In 2013, the film "Percy Jackson and the Sea of ​​​​Monsters" was released, where Cyclops Tyson is the brother of the protagonist. The role is played by actor Douglas Smith.

Another Cyclops in the film is the mythological Polyphemus, who is here assigned as a guard to the Golden Fleece. This Polyphemus uses the fleece to lure satyrs into his own lair, which he then eats. Satyrs, according to the scenario, are naturally attracted to the golden fleece, probably on the principle of commonality: the mythological fleece is a golden ram's skin, and the satyr is a forest deity with goat legs.

The main characters need the fleece as an artifact that will allow them to solve a certain problem. The role of Cyclops Polyphemus in the film is played by actor Robert Maillet.

The Cyclops character also appears in the action-adventure Wrath of the Titans, which was released in 2012. The Cyclops accompanies the main characters to the god they wish to meet. The role is episodic, performed by Martin Bayfield.

In 2008, the fantastic thriller "Cyclops" was released on American television, where the action takes place in the time ancient rome. In the film, a Cyclops monster kills merchants who are trying to steal a goat. Then the cyclops is caught by a squad of soldiers and delivered to the capital, where the character is locked in prison. Emperor Tiberius comes up with a new fun - to release the Cyclops for gladiator fights. The Cyclops kills the slaves who are forced to fight against him, until one person comes into contact with the monster. Having taught the Cyclops to speak, the slave realizes that he can be used in the fight against the emperor.

In 1958, the American adventure film The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was released, where the famous Sinbad the Sailor finds himself on the island of the Cyclopes, having lost his course in the fog. On the island, the heroes rescue a wizard who was being pursued by a cyclops. The wizard, however, lost something while fleeing and wants to return to the island to retrieve it.

ancient greek mythology

According to Homer, which is set out in the poem "Odyssey", the Cyclopes are a separate people. The ferocious one-eyed monster Polyphemus, blinded by Odysseus, is one of them. This is the most famous Cyclops in culture, the son of the god of the sea Poseidon.

The elders among the Cyclopes are the sons of Uranus and Gaia, the three giant brothers Arg, Bront and Sterop, whose names are translated as “Shining”, “Thundering” and “Sparkling”. Father Uranus tied the Cyclopes and threw them into Tartarus - deepest abyss which is under the realm of the dead. He did this immediately after the sons were born. When ancient god Uranus was overthrown, the Titans freed the Cyclopes, but later they were again chained by the god of time Kronos.

The next time the Cyclopes escaped from Tartarus, when the god of thunder started to fight for power with his own father Kronos and the Titans. Mother Gaia advised Zeus to release the Cyclopes in order to connect them to the war on the side of the Olympian gods. The Cyclopes really turned out to be useful - they forged thunder and lightning for Zeus, which he used as a weapon: metal and hit the titans. The Cyclopes provided weapons for the other gods as well. received a helmet from the Cyclopes, and a trident. The goddess and the blacksmith god Hephaestus learned crafts from the Cyclopes.

When the war with the Titans ended with the victory of the Olympian gods, the Cyclopes remained in the service of Zeus and continued to forge weapons in the cave of Hephaestus. One of these blacksmiths is known by name - Piragmon.

When the god of wine made an Indian campaign, the Cyclopes were among those who went with him. And of the Cyclops Bronte it is said that he cherished on his knees the huntress when she was a girl.

The archer god became the culprit for the death of the Cyclopes. Zeus killed the son of Apollo, the healer Asclepius, and did it with lightning, which was forged by the Cyclopes. Apollo, in revenge, destroyed those who created this weapon. After the Cyclopes died, the god Hephaestus himself began to forge weapons for Zeus.

The sons of Uranus and Gaia, one-eyed giants who made lightning-arrows for Zeus, with the help of which he defeated the titans. They are considered assistants of the god Hephaestus in his forge, builders of powerful "cyclopean buildings" in Mycenae and Tiryns. In the Odyssey, the Cyclopes are depicted as a wild tribe living in caves on remote island and does not recognize the power of the gods.

Cyclopes are famous mythological creatures who, according to Hesiod, were giants with a single, round eye in the middle of their foreheads, were strong, stubborn and violent. Greek legends tell us about two generations of Cyclopes.

The first generation descended from the supreme deities of Uranus (heaven) and Gaia (earth). These were three brothers: Bront, Sterops and Args. These names of the Cyclopes are associated with the highest skill in blacksmithing, as they were extremely skilled blacksmiths of the gods of Olympus. These were talented metallurgists, and it was they who created the lightning of Zeus, the trident of Poseidon, as well as the invisibility helmet, which Perseus later used to defeat Medusa. But, the Cyclopes brothers spent most their lives in isolation from the rest of the world. Uranus hated all his offspring, including the cyclops, and along with the titans and hekatonkheires (hundred-armed monsters), kept them deep in the bowels of the earth. The titan Cronus rebelled against his father Uranus and overthrew him, which gave the Cyclopes freedom for a short time.

However, Cronus, like Uranus, was afraid of the Cyclopes and tried to get rid of them by throwing them into Tartarus (the abyss is a place of punishment in underworld), where they remained imprisoned until Zeus (the son of Cronus and the Supreme God of Olympus) released them, demanding in return their help in the fight against the titans. With the help of the Cyclopes and their lightning strikes, Zeus overthrew Cronus and the Titans and became the ruler of the cosmos. As a gratitude to the Cyclopes for their help, he allowed them to remain on Olympus as his gunsmiths and assistants to Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths. Cyclopes Bront, Sterops and Args are present in most myths sporadically, playing one of the main roles only in the myth of Apollo's retribution. The gist of this story is as follows. For the resurrection of people from the dead, Zeus struck Asclepius, the son of Apollo, with a thunderbolt. Apollo, being offended, and wanting to punish Zeus, killed the Cyclopes responsible for the deadly lightning strike. It is believed that to this day the ghosts of Brontes, Sterops and Args live in Etna, active volcano, the eruption of which is the result of the work of their red-hot stamping presses.

Island of the Cyclopes

The second generation of Cyclopes descended from Poseidon, and if we analyze the legends about them, we can conclude that it differed in a lower level. mental development and particular malice. These Cyclopes often showed violence against people and killed them in order to demonstrate their power over them. The most famous example is the cannibalistic Cyclops Polyphemus, described in Homer's Odyssey. The second generation of Cyclopes lost their knowledge in the field of metallurgy and was engaged in sheep breeding. According to legend, they lived in Sicily. It was on the island of the Cyclopes that Odysseus and his team landed, not knowing what other date. dangerous story they hit. Here lived Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and the sea nymph Tusa. Odysseus and several of his companions were in the cave of Polyphemus at the moment when he drove his sheep into the corral. They were trapped, as Polyphemus blocked the entrance with a huge stone.

Expensive price travelers paid for this visit to the Cyclops - he turned out to be a cannibal and ate many of them for dinner. The inventive Odysseus still found a way to defeat the evil Cyclops. On the second night, hiding under the pseudonym "Nobody", Odysseus got Polyphemus drunk. big amount wine and blinded him with a red-hot firebrand. The giant screamed in pain and began to call for help from another cyclops from the same island. When asked who his opponent was, Polyphemus, due to his weak mind, answered that "Nobody" tried to kill him. Naturally, no one understood him and no one came to help. After some time, Polyphemus removed a stone from the entrance to lead the sheep to graze, and Odysseus and his remaining comrades, hiding under the belly of the outgoing sheep (which, obviously, were significantly larger than modern ones), got out and fled to the ship. When they retired to a fairly safe distance from the island, Odysseus called out his real name to Polyphemus. In impotent fury, the Cyclops began to throw huge stones towards the ship that was leaving the island of the Cyclopes, but, unable to do anything, turned to his father Poseidon to avenge him.

Cyclopes (Cyclopes) in the cosmogonic epic

Cyclopes or cyclops (ancient Greek “round-eyed”, from “round” and “eye”) in the cosmogonic epic of Hesiod (VIIIVII century BC) were considered the offspring of Uranus and Gaia, the titans. Three immortals belonged to the Cyclopes one-eyed giant with eyes in the form of a ball: Arg ("flash" or "shining"), Bront ("thunder" or "thunderous") and Sterop ("lightning" or "sparkling"). According to Hellanicus of Mytilene (485 - c. 400 BC), the son of Uranus was one giant, Cyclops.

Immediately after the birth, the Cyclopes were thrown by Uranus into Tartarus (the deepest abyss), along with their violent hundred-handed brothers or hekatonheirs (hecatenheirers), who were born shortly before them. According to Pseudo-Apollodorus* ("Mythological Library" 1,2), the Cyclopes were freed by the rest of the Titans after the overthrow of Uranus, and then again thrown into Tartarus by their leader Kronos. Hesiod (VIII-VII centuries BC) wrote in Theogony that Kronos defeated Uranus through the mediation of the Cyclopes.

When the leader of the Olympians, Zeus, began a struggle with Kronos for power, he, on the advice of their mother Gaia, freed the Cyclopes from Tartarus to help the Olympian gods in the war against the titans, known as the Gigantomachy.

Zeus used lightning bolts made by the Cyclopes and thunder arrows, which he threw at the titans. In addition, according to Apollodorus (c. 180 BC after 120 BC), the Cyclopes, being skilled blacksmiths, forged a trident and a manger for Poseidon for his horses, Aida - an invisibility helmet, Artemis - a silver bow and arrows, and also taught Athena and Hephaestus various crafts.

After the end of the Gigantomachy, the Cyclopes continued to serve Zeus and forge weapons for him. In the Eighth Book of Virgil's "Aeneid" (70-19 BC), the Cyclopes Bront and Sterop are mentioned forging iron in the grotto (bowels of Etna) of the blacksmith god Hephaestus. As henchmen of Hephaestus, the Cyclopes forged the chariot of Ares, the aegis of Pallas and the armor of Aeneas. Another Cyclops blacksmith in the grotto of Hephaestus was Pyragmon (Pyrakmon).

Nonnus Panopolitansky in the "Acts of Dionysus" (450-470) mentions that Bront and Steropes were participants in the Indian campaign of Dionysus. And Callimachus (310-240 BC) wrote that Bront cherished the little Artemis on his knees.

Killing of the Cyclopes (Cyclopes) by Apollo

According to Apollodorus (c. 180 - after 120 BC), when Zeus struck the son of Apollo, Asclepius, with a thunderbolt, Apollo, angry with the Cyclopes for forging this thunderbolt for Zeus, killed them. According to another version, this perun struck the son of Helios, Phaethon. According to other sources, it was not the Cyclopes who were killed by Apollo, but their four sons.

Cyclopes (Cyclopes) as a people (Cyclops in Homer's Odyssey)

In the VI and IX songs of Homer's "Odyssey" (approx. VIII century BC), other cyclops are already mentioned - giants with one eye on their foreheads, who made up a whole people. The Cyclopes of Odyssey were of divine origin and, possessing immortality, were not afraid of other gods who could not harm them. They were distinguished by extraordinary strength, unbridled and cruel character; they were ignorant of the laws and relations of social life. Cyclopes usually lived separately (alone or with their wives and children), in caves, were engaged in cattle breeding and were unfamiliar with agriculture.

The ferocious son of Poseidon and the nymph Phoosa (daughter of the sea elder Phorkis), the Cyclops Polyphemus, had a terrible voice and gigantic growth; his strength was such that he easily lifted and threw huge boulders and fragments of rocks, which could hardly move 22 carts. His cruelty and treachery were also boundless: besides, he was a cannibal.

Cyclopes (Cyclopes) - sea deities

The connection of the Cyclopes with Poseidon and their similarity with other sea giants - the son of Poseidon and the nymph Euryale (one of the three Gorgon sisters) or Gaia, Orion, who was blinded by Oinopion, as well as with the son of Poseidon and the Nereid Amphitrite, Triton, characterizes the Cyclopes as sea deities.

According to Duremberg and Salio, Triton fought shoulder to shoulder with his father Poseidon during the Gigantomachy, and the sounds of his shell caused the enemies to flee in terror.

On Isthma, sacrifices were made to the Cyclopes along with Poseidon, Palemon and other sea deities. According to the "Description of Hellas" by Pausanias (c. 115180 AD), the altar of the Cyclopes was in Corinth. The name of another Cyclops Gerest can be compared with the Euboean city of Gerest, in which the cult of Poseidon existed.

IN Greek mythology Gerest is a cyclops, on the grave of which, in connection with the pestilence that began in Athens, the daughters of Hyakinthus brought from Sparta (Antheida, Egleida, Aiteya and Orpheus) were sacrificed to Persephone. The sacrifice had no effect, and the oracle ordered the Athenians to bear the punishment that Minos, the Cretan king, one of the three sons of Zeus and Europe, would lay on them.

Greek mythology is not a set of fairy tales about the adventures of gods and heroes. comprehended the world differently from the modern one. His thinking was more figurative than logical. The forces of nature were humanized and thus let into the world of people. And the myth of the Cyclopes is, to put it in a modern way, multi-part.

Worldview metas

Their story begins from the moment when the Olympian gods, having defeated the hundred-armed giants, gathered to share power and worlds among themselves.

There were three brothers: the elder Poseidon, the middle Hades and the younger Zeus. In battle, they all showed themselves with dignity and were in no way inferior to each other. And here (an interesting detail) the moral qualities of the three brothers come to the fore. The lesser gods and petty gods did not want to see either the gloomy Hades or the formidable and impatient Poseidon as the ruler of heaven. According to the rules of inheritance, Poseidon should have ruled the heavens, but it turns out that other immortals also had a voice.

Cyclopean quantities and cyclops

Poseidon held a grudge and took some action to overthrow his younger brother, namely: he went and by force entered into marriage with the wife of Kronos and the mother of all things. It was an act of presenting their rights to the highest power among the gods. Subtlety - Zeus did nothing of the sort. His power rested not only on his power, but also on agreement with all subordinate gods. While Poseidon was raping the mother of all things, Zeus, along with the rest, was equipping the world. He, among other things, helped the titan Prometheus create people. And then the moment came when Gaia began to give birth to the heirs of Poseidon - huge, ugly and one-eyed. Here is the first answer to the question of who the Cyclopes are.

Without embellishment

Joyful Poseidon rushed to the island of the Cyclopes in order to go with them to Olympus and change, in his opinion, the usurper.

And if it doesn’t work out peacefully, then overthrow it. And they walked in a beautiful, freshly created world. And he saw harmonious people, saw grazing horses, oak forests, full of coolness and bliss. And he was ashamed of the ugliness of his children. The lesser gods did not dare to openly laugh at the older brother of Zeus, but Poseidon heard laughter behind his back. And he abandoned his claims, because he realized what the strength of Zeus as a ruler is in the beauty of the world he created. And he returned his children to their island, and he plunged into the depths of the ocean to surpass his younger brother in creativity.

almost gods

The modern population does not fully understand the very meaning of the word "cyclops". People simply moved away from nature and perceive the myth as an entertaining story in which there is only uncontrollable fantasy, and nothing more. But over their herds and fields, "round-eyed" (translated from Greek, the direct meaning of the word "cyclops") passed with heavy ones in which lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. These are mighty titans and their younger ones either play or fight among themselves. These forces of nature, if they were not curbed by the gods, would end human life on Earth. They are unable to create. They can only rage.

Cyclopes symbolize the extreme form of the unreasonableness of forces that many times exceed the conceivable aisles of human awareness of power as such. And this, if we shift the mythology into the modern logical language of science, is really so. In one year, thunderstorms in the middle latitudes of planet Earth consume more energy on electrical discharges alone than all of humanity has spent in the last 100 years.

Pedigree

But some titans have taken the path of humanization and therefore are able to become, like people, gods. After all, the very word "god" has a common pedigree with the word "to be." That was Prometheus. He understands who the Cyclopes are, and moves away from his close relatives, becomes a teacher of people. Prometheus is no longer an inert force and enters the gods. Zeus punishes him out of envy and completely different from the rest of the megagiants. He, immortal, is lifted up on a rock and chained. And his liver is pecked by an eagle, but it is restored overnight so that the torment lasts forever. But a man comes, and a mortal, and sets him free. Later, Hercules was lifted up on a golden chariot to Olympus, where he sat down at the banquet table along with the gods.

This is how ancient people understood their existence on Earth. There is no death. And there is inertia, which every person is able to overcome in himself and become a god. Therefore, the principle - know yourself.

Homer describes the copper age

Two centuries have passed - golden and silver. People became powerful, but the balance in their nature was disturbed. Heroism has become a priority of their existence. They began to measure their strength with incredible enthusiasm. They, mortals, defy even the gods. The petty river god prays for Achilles' mercy, the goddesses of a higher rank ask Paris to resolve the dispute that has arisen between them, Ajax throws down a daring challenge to Poseidon himself, the pacifying titan named Ocean and ruling over him.

If we understand the meaning of the word "cyclops" as the ancients understood it, then it becomes clear what a great difference there is between a hero and a man. Heroes got to the Cyclopes, not people. And Odysseus is the mightiest of those heroes. His mortal nature does not prevent him from feeling unequal to the gods. Opportunities for Odysseus are not commensurately smaller than for the same Poseidon, but their souls are equal. And they argue with each other as equals.

It is noteworthy how Homer draws the Cyclops Polyphemus. After all, he is not just a monster, but the son of Poseidon, exactly the one with whom the hero Odysseus is arguing. The incredible bodily power is inferior to the human, but also to the truly divine qualities that the hero's soul possesses. And cunning is not the most important of them. The flexibility of the creative mind is what distinguishes Odysseus from the inert forces of nature.

Divine principle or the personification of insane inertia

It is impossible to imagine, and Homer does not give any hint that the Cyclops Polyphemus, the personification of insane inertia, could learn anything. In it, this divine principle is simply absent. The guests came back from the ten-year war, the fame of which rolls around the world.

But he just doesn't care. He is reminded by Odysseus of the law of hospitality. "We'll tell you a lot of things," says the hero. But the Cyclops is only interested in the meat that strayed into his home. And the hero punishes the madman.

"Nobody! Nobody hurt me!" - Polyphemus yells at the whole ocean, and his relatives do not understand him and disperse, leaving him alone with trouble. And Odysseus begins to mock him. And blind fury rears the sea. But even Poseidon did not respond to the call of the ugly son. The law of hospitality, the law of striving for knowledge and development is a divine law. And the lord of the Ocean recognizes the justice of the hero's victory.

Are modern people capable of creating metas for themselves?

This is a very important question. Understanding who the titans and who the cyclops are is far from easy, but it is necessary for modern people if they really believe in their personal immortality. With all their boundless power, the inert forces of nature can never become gods. They have no creativity. And in people, at least in many, it is. To strive for power, forgetting who the cyclops are, it means turning into cyclops.

The powerful forces of nuclear and thermonuclear secrets only seem to be subject to man. Truly they are able to curb the creative, divine beginning. But in a different way - a dead end in which they do not honor the laws of hospitality, do not honor justice, do not like the truth and rightness. In such a world, there can only be cyclops, not heroes. Heroes are waiting for Olympus, Cyclopes - punishment.