The Cyclops in Basque Myth

Although universally known as the Tártaro in northern Spain, the Cyclops has been the

subject of quite a few myths in that part of the country. The legends are told in the area of País

Vasco1, a region unconquered by any power since its creation and where the locals know

themselves as Euskaldunak2. These men and women are fiercely independent and boast to have

been able to maintain independency since time immemorial.

It is in this land that the legends of the Tártaro were developed. The legends I write of

are based on a book published in 1877 and which states that at the time, the very stories told

have rarely been put down to writing. 3 The stories have been largely passed down verbally,

preserving their original names and sacred meaning from generation to generation of pastores 4

of the highlands of the Basque Country.

Basque Country and Language

The Basque Country is in Europe, astride the Pyrenees, with one foot in South-Western

France and the other in North-Easter Spain. It lies beside the Bay of Biscay. In the distant past,

the Basque language covered a larger area than it does at present: all Aquitaine (the great region

of Bordeaux) is supposed to have spoken Basque or some language related to it. 5

Basque is a sonorous and sweet-sounding language, with five clearly defined vowel

sounds and an extraordinarily regular verb system. It is also an island-language, devoid of

Germanic ones. Several hypotheses are put forward as to its origin: some say that Basque is the

old Iberian language, while others associate it with Caucasian languages. A writing sample

reads thus:

Haltzak ez dü bihotzik,
Ez gaztanberak hezürrik.
Ez nian uste erraiten ziela aitunen semek gezurrik.

Andozeko ibarra,
Ala zer ibar lüzia!
Hiruretan ebaki zaitan armarik gabe bihotza.

Bereterretxek oheti
Neskatuari eztiki:
6
«Abil, eta so egin ezan gizonik denez ageri».

The alder has not pith,

The valley of Andoze,

Berterretche from his bed

Plots and Main Characters in Basque Tártaro Legends

As a pastoral people the Basque developed the same mythos in regards to the one-eyed

giants that roamed the land that we have seen in many Greek and other stories. These giants are
6
Bereterretxeren Cantorea, Anonimous poem, XV century. From http://www.basquepoetry.net/index-e.htm
7
Bereterretxeren Cantorea, Anonimous poem, XV century (English translation) also from
http://www.basquepoetry.net/index-e.htm
usually assailed by dumbfounded or foolish pastores 8 who are either caught in their traps or

tricked into challenging the beasts to a duel of wits, which the fool always wins. There are three

major characteristics in all Tártaro legends: A Tartaro, a fool or anti-hero 9, and some impossible

wager that has to be fulfilled. The plot may also include a witch, sidekick to the Cyclops; or a

king who sets up our hero for failure, although the fool always comes back victorious despite

the lose/lose situation in which he has been placed. Our main character seems to always come

out on top thanks to his “madness”; or is it his cleverness?10

The Tártaro

The Tártaro is always described much like a French Ogre or a Greek Cyclops. Although

descriptions vary slightly from version to version he usually represented as “a Colossus, with

only one eye in the middle of his forehead. He was a shepherd and a hunter, but a hunter of

men.”11 Also the character is depicted as a cannibal who eats all people and animals that come

by his forest.12 His usual dwelling is a house in an unknown tree thicket or the “corner of the

mountain”13, which is located “far, far, far” 14 away from any village or town the protagonist of

the story may come from.

8
Castilian Spanish Lit. Sheperds
9
In the interest of time and space there will not be a section on the hero character included in this paper, as the
focus is the Tártaro himself. Suffice it to say that the usual fools or anti-heroes that defeat the monsters they are
set up against do so with either divine help or because the Tártaro is simply too dumb to figure out what is going
on. There is an appendix section with the original section intended for the hero which I can provide if needed.
10
Is Odysseus mad in his attempt to solve the problems he is faced with or simply resourceful in his ability to
overcome immediate danger? We could easily argue either way.
11
Webster, pp.4
12
Webster, pp.14
13
Webster, pp. 7, 17
14
Webster, pp.6, 11, 16, 18, 24, 49, 59, 79, 85, 96
 The most widely told story told of the coming of being of the Tártaro reveals that he is

the son of royalty gone wrong. This is the rendition as told by Estefanella Hirigarray:

“Once upon a time there was the son of a king who for the punishment of some fault become[s] a
monster. He could become a man again only by marrying. One day he met a young girl who
refused him, because she was so frightened at him. And the Tártaro wanted to give her a ring,
which she would not accept. However, he sent it [to] her by a young man. As soon as the ring was
upon her finger it began to say, “Thou there, and I here.” It kept always crying out this, and the
Tártaro pursued her continually; and, as the young girl had such a horror of him, she cut off her
finger and the ring, and threw them into a large pond, and there the Tártaro drowned himself.” 15

The similarities between this story and others like our modern Disney’s “Beauty and the

Beast” cannot be ignored. In this case however, the prince is never discovered as he, too dumb

to understand or (apparently) swim, rushes into the “large pond” only to drown. This is a most

interesting version of the myth, as we learn who the Tártaro is and how he came to be the beast

we have come to recognize. Greek myth will have us believe that the Cyclops is the son of a

God born hideous. However, Basque legend maintains that there is a wrong the Tártaro has

committed in order to become the hideous monster no one wants, and the ring is a symbol of

liberation which, if used by the Tártaro, will free him from his curse.

Why our Basque Cyclops keeps offering men the ring that could set him free is a bit of a

mystery that may denounce or condone homosexuality during the time these legends were

passed along. However, it is not uncommon to see that it is the mother of the Cyclops 16 who

hands off the ring to the fool of the story as “a remembrance of [his] scape.” 17 On another

occasion this women receives our hero only to warn him that he should quickly escape,

15
Webster, pp.4
16
Usually also a witch of some sort hence the ring’s enchanted nature. (Webster pp.5)
17
Webster, pp.5
although no ring is offered.18 This may denote that submission to womanhood by the Cyclops

has rendered him unable to make his own decisions and has landed him into the pursuit of the

wrong sexual partner. Yet another comical situation in which the Tártaro comes up the

inevitable loser. If indeed the monster is in search of a love partner, it is interesting to denote

women and men alike are more than willing to cut off their finger rather than have the Tártaro

locate them. Interestingly, the hero has to set out a journey to find fame, maturity or some other

quality that would help identify his status in life. What he seems to find however, is that there is

only danger outside of the realm of family life.

The Foolish Hero

The usual protagonist of these legends is a youth who needs to learn the ways of life or

is simply mad. The story of “Errua, the Madman” reads thus:

Like many others in the world, there was a man and a woman who had a son. He was
were wicked, and did nothing but mischief, and was of a thoroughly depraved disposition. The
parents decided that they must send him away, and the lad was quite willing to set off. 19

It is in common in Greek tradition for a wandering hero to be the jet-setter Errua is here. The

need for the young man to set on a journey of discovery in which he encounters the real issues

of life is a common theme through ancient myth which is addressed across cultural boundaries

as we have seen in Greek mythology with Odysseus. Likewise, our Basque anti-hero sets off to

conquer new worlds and face overwhelming odds in hopes of obtaining sanity or fame, usually

kicked out of the home by his parents or seeking to become rich through foreign exploits.
18
Webster, pp.17
19
Webster, pp.6
 The young man, again after much travelling, arrives at an unknown kingdom or specific city

in which someone jealous of him (whether because he seeks the hand of a beautiful princess or

seem to do his job quite well) challenges him directly or has the local ruler send the fool away to

trick the Tártaro.20 Our anti-hero however, seems to be successful every time he is sent, and

returns with the deeds complete, or tokens in hand, for what it was asked of him; 21 Although

the fool is only successful due to the Tártaro’s utter stupidity. The legend of Petit Perroquet 22

has all of these elements, as the hero is sent to steal the monster’s horse, then a diamond, and

finally the beast himself. In that particular story, our foolish hero marries the local princess and

“as they lived well, so they died happily.”23

Thus the Cyclops’ nemesis is the resourceful idiot who seems to have nothing going for him

except his outbursts of genius, during which the unlucky Tártaro usually ends up the victim of

great mischief. However, the main situations in which the Tártaro is defeated are wager

situations in which the hero, mostly with advice from a wise, external source, wins the day.

Wager Plots

Although the main short story shown in above displayed a fairytale-like plot and

characters, the main plots of most of these stories is the impossible wager that our anti-hero

20
Webstger, pp.16
21
Webster, pp. 18
22
Webster, pp.16
23
Webster, pp.19
usually enters in with the Tártaro in an attempt to get out of a sticky situation or prove that he is

the better for being able to defeat him. These wagers are designed to show the utter stupidity of

the beat while also enlightening us about the abilities of our wandering hero.

The story that represents the waging war between Tártaro and Fool the best is “Errua,

the Madman”.24 After frustrating his master for a time by fulfilling his assigned tasks in the

absolutely most incorrect way possible, Errua is sent to face the Tártaro. Immediately the beat

offers a wager to see who will throw a stone the farthest. Of course Errua accepts rashly, and

later realizes there is no possible way he can win this bet. However, “while he was in his

prayers, and old woman appeared to him” asking him what is wrong. The young man explains

the situation, to which the woman replies by giving him a bird. The next morning the Tártaro

throws the stone far, but when Errua throws the bird it never falls down. The Tártaro fails to

recognize the trick and declares the fool the winner of the wager. 25

Wanting to prove himself, the Tártaro raises the stakes by seeing who will throw a bar of

iron the farthest. The rash Errua accepts, only later realizing that no mere bird will get him out

of this bind. The wise woman appears to the fool during his prayers once more and tells him to

say “Altchaala palenka, hemen eta Salamanka.”26 The Tártaro once more throws quite the

distance; however, Errua goes to the end of his bar and utters the words. The Tártaro

immediately stops him telling the fool that he wins, because his Tártaro parents live in

Salamanka and he does not want to risk the bar of iron hitting one of them.27

24
Webster, pp.6
25
Webster, pp.7
26
Basque Lit. Bar of Iron, rise up from here to Salamanca
27
Webster, pp.8
 After a series of lost wagers in the same fashion, the Tártaro allows Errua to take the

pigs he owns. Our anti-hero, fearing the Tártaro will come after him kills one of the pigs he has

and puts his entrails inside his shirt. Then he sees two men coming from the other side of the

road and he realizes how he may plot the monsters’ death. As he approaches the two men,

Errua is running at what it seems to be his full speed, however, he sticks a knife into his shirt,

point at which the gut contents of the pigs he had stuck in there fall out and he proceeds to run

faster than before. Shortly thereafter, the Tártaro arrives and asks the two men if they had seen

another with pigs. They replied in the affirmative, and added that he was running quite fast, but

when he stabbed his own gut with a knife and spilled its contents he was all the faster. Without

a moment’s hesitation, the Tártaro pulls out a knife, stabs his own gut, and dies in place. 28

Such then is the illustration of the wagers that the Tártaro is most often a victim of

during the course of the Basque legends that speak his name. The meaning we can derived from

these situations is vague at best, but one thing is certain: a fool, no matter how fool, can always

overcome a Tártaro.

Conclusion

In the end, the Cyclops of Basque legend is much less dramatic than the somewhat

poetic monster of the Odyssey or Euripides’ play. I have been unable to find any legends that

showed the Tártaro drunk, and perhaps there is a point to that. The beast was, simply put,

dumb as a bag of rocks, and having him drink his life away would have deterred from that

28
Webster, pp.9
argument and somewhat excused his behavior. The underline theme of the monsters of our

lives that seem terrible but can be conquered is seen through every story we have reviewed.

While the message of the Cyclops in the Odyssey may be lack of xenia 29, and in Euripides his

utter drunkenness and misunderstanding of the business position of Odysseus a sign of his

uncivilized behavior; here in the Basque Legends I see a universal truth: that no matter the

situation or the size of a problem, the biggest fool can conquer them if he applies himself a little.

29
Greek principle of guest-friendship
 Bibliography

Rev. Webster, Wentworth, Basque Legends, Vinson, Julien M. Essay on The Basque Language (1877)
Griffith and Farran

Fabié y Escudero, Antonio Mª, El País Basco, Euskalerria (1897) Madrid, Feria del Libro