Episode 158: Dark Fae: Cyclops

The folklore of cyclops in a nutshell, translated to Afrikaans, and how I reimagined it for my writing.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2025 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about cyclops in folklore here.

Get the transcript here.

Learn more about the author and her writing here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With over a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Dark Court Sisters book series. Available in ebook, paperback and audiobook. Three sisters. Three destinies. Three ways to destroy the world. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/darkcourtsistersseries for more.

You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion. Go to buymeacoffee.com/ronel to support me.

We’re continuing our exploration of Dark Fae.

Today’s Faery: Cyclops

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

According to Hesiod, the cyclopes are three in number, children of Gaia and Uranus, who were thrown into Tartarus along with the other Titans. They then helped Kronus to overthrow their parents and the Titans ruled, only for Kronus to throw the cyclopes into Tartarus again. They were freed by Zeus and fought alongside them to overthrow the Titans. They made the lightning bolts Zeus so fancied, the trident for Poseidon, and the helmet of invisibility for Hades. They had a special forge beneath Mount Etna. At some point, they had four sons – don’t ask me how – and these were killed by Apollo because his favourite son was killed by a lightning bolt thrown by Zeus but made by the cyclopes, so he took his revenge on them.

The second type of cyclopes are the ones encountered in Homeric poems, the ones who love goats and live in caves. These cyclopes are lawless and destructive creatures, not doing much except eating.

At some point, all the cyclopes were turned into the assistants of Hephaestus and lived in volcanoes which serve as excellent forges.

Cyclopes are viewed as giant, sturdy men with one eye in their forehead instead of two like a human. Their name apparently means “round-eyed”, describing their one bulbous eye. They are incredibly strong and talented metal smiths and builders – some walls were credited as being built by them.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an Origin of the Fae: Cyclops

Singular: Cyclops. Plural: Cyclopes

Flesh eating monsters with a single eye in its forehead, more brawn than brain, and huge compared to humans and most fae. Though some enjoy being craftsmen, making weapons, cutlery, glass work, and even statues, others prefer herding sheep and goats. They do not tolerate interruptions to whatever they are busy with and lash out violently. Though they do not participate in agricultural pursuits outside of their herds of goats and sheep, they do enjoy the occasional side dish of fruit, vegetable or grain. They make sure there is always enough meat to eat, but if human or fae encroach on their territory – even accidentally – they will become part of the menu. Cyclopes live in small tribes and detest too much noise and activity. Their limbs seem to move differently than that of a human, almost like their joints go together in other ways than one would assume.

As a little bonus, let’s look at this faery translated to Afrikaans: Sikloop

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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You can now support my time in producing the podcast (researching, writing and everything else involved) by buying me a coffee. This can be a once-off thing, or you can buy me coffee again in the future at your discretion.

You can now own the backlist seasons as audiobooks. All proceeds go to hosting the podcast. Exclusively available from Ronel’s store.