| Popis: |
Choose a dozen members of the general public and ask them which physical feature they associate with a creature called ‘Cyclops’. They will all give the same answer: he has just one eye. But in the ancient sources monocularity is by no means the only aspect of a Cyclops’ appearance to attract attention. Other attributes regularly mentioned are hugeness, hairiness (often associated with ‘wildness’), and ugliness. In this chapter Aguirre and Buxton look at each of these characteristics in turn. In each case they begin by situating the characteristic cross-culturally, then analyse its representation in Graeco-Roman antiquity, and finally investigate its relevance to texts and images relating to the Cyclopes. Given the attention that has been paid, in previous scholarship, to the symbolism of the single eye, the authors devote a good deal of space to that topic—not forgetting that there are many examples of Cyclopes with two or three eyes. |
