blackbookoffaelore:

Leanan sídhe

Leanan sidhe are parasitic dark muses. Beautiful in appearance they will take human lovers, often met(not always by chance) near water. Being more beautiful than any mortal woman(or less often, man), the lowly artist who has retreated to the woods in search of inspiration is happy to fall in love with the leanan sidhe. The leanan sidhe gives inspiration, talent, and success to the human. But like all fae gifts, they do not come without a price and are always a trade. In exchange for inspiration, the leanan sidhe drains the life from her(or his) human lover. They always die young or are driven insane.

further reading:

http://grovesofannwyn.tripod.com/TypesOf.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leanan_s%C3%ADdhe

Cyclops

The cyclopes were giants with a single eye in the center of their foreheads.

 

The original cyclopes were spawned from the union of Uranus and Gaia, and were Brontes—thunderer, Steropes—flasher, and Arges—brightener. Uranus despised all of his children, and locked them away deep inside the earth. The titan Cronus freed them during his battle against his father, Uranus. But just as Uranus had feared his children would overthrow him, Cronus feared the same. The one of his offspring his wife spirited away, Zeus released the cyclopes from Tartarus, where Cronus had imprisoned them. Zeus’ actions were not altruistic, for the cyclopes were inventive folk and Zeus wanted their help. Disillusioned by their exile to hell, they aided Zeus in his war against the titans by supplying him with his thunderbolts, his brother Hades with his helmet of invisibility, and his other brother Poseidon with his trident. With these weapons, the Olympians were able to successfully defeat the titans. In gratitude for their assistance, Zeus let the cyclopes live on Olympus as his guards and attendants to Hephaestus. Until Apollo killed them. Apollo’s son, Asclepius—god of healing—rose a human from death. Zeus struck him down with his thunderbolt. Apollo, angry about the loss of his son, killed the three cyclopes who had forged the bolts.

The second generation of cyclopes were born to Poseidon. It’s this group that the most famous cyclops was part of: Polyphemus. Polyphemus lived in Sicily where he and the other cyclopes tended flocks of sheep. During his long trek back home, Odysseus landed on Sicily. Polyphemus trapped Odysseus and a group of his men in a cave when he led his sheep into the cavern for the night and blocked the entrance with a boulder. Upon discovering he had men in the cave as well, Polyphemus ate a few of them. The next night, Odysseus tricked Polyphemus into drinking himself into a stupor. Odysseus and his men blinded Polyphemus with a red hot stick.

In an attempt to keep the men inside the cave while he let his sheep out to pasture every morning, Polyphemus would run his hand over the coats over each animal as it left. Odysseus and his men bound themselves to the underside of the sheep and were let outside the cave undetected. But not for long, Polyphemus realized he had been fooled. As Odysseus sailed off, Polyphemus threw boulders toward him and cried for Poseidon to avenge his wounds.

Of course, modern scholars and scientists don’t believe cyclopes ever existed and that they were a myth created to explain the discoveries of mastodon skulls, which viewed from the front appear to have one large eye socket in the center of their heads. This is of course actually the nasal cavity and the eye sockets are located on the sides of the head.

further reading:

 http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/cyclopes.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclops

Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans by William Hansen

The Encyclopedia of Mythology: Gods, Heroes, and Legends of the Greeks and Romans by Eric Flaum