In Greek mythology, a Cyclops is traditionally depicted with one eye.
The name Cyclops comes from Greek words associated with a “circle” or “round” eye, matching the creature’s defining feature. Cyclopes are generally portrayed as enormous beings with a single eye set in the middle of the forehead, rather than two ordinary human eyes.
Greek mythology contains more than one group of Cyclopes. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges are three divine craftsmen who forge Zeus’s thunderbolt, Poseidon’s trident, and Hades’ helmet of invisibility. In Homer’s Odyssey, the Cyclopes are wild, cave-dwelling shepherds, including Polyphemus, who imprisons Odysseus and his crew.
A common mix-up is treating Polyphemus as the only Cyclops. He is the best-known individual example, but “Cyclops” can refer to the broader group. Later traditions also associate Cyclopes with the massive walls at Mycenae and Tiryns, often called Cyclopean masonry.