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Cyclops (Play)
The satyr-play The Cyclops was written by Euripides, one of the great Greek tragedians, in 412 or 408 BCE. Like many of his fellow tragedians, Euripides centers his play on a well-known story from Greek mythology. The Cyclops is based on...

Definition
Cyclops (Creature)
A cyclops (meaning 'circle-eyed') is a one-eyed giant first appearing in the mythology of ancient Greece. The Greeks believed that there was an entire race of cyclopes who lived in a faraway land without law and order. Homer, in his Iliad...

Definition
Odysseus
Famed for his courage, intelligence, and leadership, Odysseus (Roman name: Ulysses) was one of the great pan-Hellenic heroes of Greek mythology. His resourcefulness and oratory skills were instrumental in the Greek victory in the Trojan War...

Definition
Odyssey
Homer's Odyssey is an epic poem written in the 8th century BCE which describes the long voyage home of the Greek hero Odysseus. The mythical king sails back to Ithaca with his men after the Trojan War but is beset by all kinds of delays and...

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Odysseus Blinding the Cyclops
A polychrome Krater fragment (mid 7th century BCE) depicting the blinding of the Cyclops Polyphemus, one of Odysseus' many adventures on his long voyage home to Ithaka following the Trojan War. (Argos Archaeological Museum, Greece)

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Odysseus blinding the Cyclops
Attic black-figure skyphos depicting Odysseus blinding the sleeping Cyclops Polyphemus, by the Theseus Painter, from Boeotia (Greece), 490-480 BCE. (Altes Museum, Berlin)

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Cyclops Polyphemus & Galatea Mosaic
Mosaic with the Cyclops Polyphemus and the nymph of the sea Galatea, discovered in 1959 during excavation work under the Plaza de la Corredera in Cordoba, Spain. The mosaic dates to the 2nd century CE and is now on display in the Salón de...

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Roman Cyclops Mask
A stone mask in the form of a cylops. Roman Arausio (Orange), France. 1st century CE. (Archaeological Museum, Orange)

Definition
Greek Mythology
Greek mythology was used as a means to explain the environment in which humankind lived, the natural phenomena they witnessed and the passing of time through the days, months, and seasons. Greek myths were also intricately connected to religion...

Article
A Visual Who's Who of Greek Mythology
Achilles The hero of the Trojan War, leader of the Myrmidons, slayer of Hector and Greece's greatest warrior, who sadly came unstuck when Paris sent a flying arrow guided by Apollo, which caught him in his only weak spot, his heel...