Cyclops

Odysseus and the cyclops Polyphemos (right)

A Cyclops (Ancient Greek: Κύκλωψ, Kyklōps; plural Κύκλωπες, Kyklōpes) is a member of a race of giants in Greek mythology, each with a single eye in the center of their forehead.

The most famous of these beings is the cyclops Polyphemus, featured in Homer's Odyssey.

Hesiod

Elder Cyclopes

In Hesiod's Theogony, the Elder Cyclopes – Brontes (Greek: Βρόντης - "thunderer"), Steropes (Greek: Στερόπης - "lightning") and Arges (Greek: Ἄργης - "bright") – were one of three races of beings born to Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky).

Homer

The Elder Cyclopes are not featured in either of Homer's works. In the Odyssey, Homer describes another race of cyclopes as being the sons of Poseidon, god of the sea. They feature as herdsmen and shepherds with a taste for human flesh. The account is in Book 9 of Homer's Odyssey.