Significance of Cyclopes

Cyclopes (singular: Cyclops) are monstrous one-eyed giants from Greek mythology. Some of the Cyclopes are friendly to the gods and demigods, and help to work the forges that provide armor and weapons for the gods. These are the elder Cyclopes, which were born to Gaia and Ouranos but locked up until the Olympian gods freed them. Some Cyclopes were also the children of Poseidon. Other Cyclopes are more barbaric and cruel, such as the Northern Cyclopes who attack Jason, Piper and Leo, and the Southern Cyclopes who live in the Sea of Monsters. They like to eat human flesh.

For the ancient Greeks the name "Cyclopes" meant "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes", derived from the Greek kúklos ("circle") and ops ("eye").