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Polybotes

{{Short description|Giant in Greek mythology}}

File:Poseidon Polybotes Cdm Paris 573.jpg on his shoulder, battling a Giant (probably Polybotes), red-figure cup c. 500–450 BC (Cabinet des Medailles 573).Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/CDC9F027-FABA-47F1-BE28-7C465993509F 204546]; Cook, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/n55/mode/2up Plate III, A].]]

File:Aristophanes, kylix attica con gigantomachia, 410 ac ca. 02.JPG cup late fifth-century BC (Antikensammlung Berlin F2531)]]

In Greek mythology, Polybotes ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɒ|l|ɪ|ˈ|b|oʊ|t|iː|z|}}) ({{langx|grc|Πολυβώτης}}) was one of the giants, the offspring of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky). He fought Poseidon during the Gigantomachy, the war between the giants and the gods.Arafat, pp. 16, 25.

Mythology

Polybotes was one of the Gigantes (Giants), the offspring of Gaia, born from the blood that fell when Uranus was castrated by their son Cronus.For the birth of the Gigantes see Hesiod, Theogony [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+185 185]. Hyginus, Fabulae [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae1.html Preface] gives Tartarus as the father of the Giants. According to the mythographer Apollodorus, during the Gigantomachy, the cosmic battle of the Giants with the Olympian gods, Polybotes was crushed under Nisyros, a piece of the island of Kos broken off and thrown by Poseidon:Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.6.2 1.6.2]. Compare with Homer, Odyssey [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0136:book=4:card=481&highlight=aias 4.499–4.511] where Poseidon breaks off a piece of the island Gyrae with his trident, sending the boasting Greek Hero Ajax the Lesser to the bottom of the ocean, where he drowned.

:Polybotes was chased through the sea by Poseidon and came to Cos; and Poseidon, breaking off that piece of the island which is called Nisyrum, threw it on him.

The first-century BC geographer Strabo also records the story of Polybotes buried under Nisyros (or Kos itself):Strabo, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+10.5.16 10.5.16].

:They say that Nisyros is a fragment of Cos, and they add the myth that Poseidon, when he was pursuing one of the giants, Polybotes, broke off a fragment of Cos with his trident and hurled it upon him, and the missile became an island, Nisyros, with the giant lying beneath it. But some say that he lies beneath Cos.

The mention of a millstone, in a poem fragment by the seventh-century BC poet Alcman may be an early reference to the island of Nisyros.Alcman fragment 1 Poetarum melicorum Graecorum fragmenta, see Ferrari, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oXbG_4TRs8QC&pg=PA28 28], [https://books.google.com/books?id=oXbG_4TRs8QC&pg=PA151 151 ff.]; Hanfmann, pp. 476; Vian and Moore 1988, p. 192.

The second-century AD geographer Pausanias mentions seeing at Athens a statue of Poseidon battling Polybotes:Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160:book=1:chapter=2&highlight=polybotes 1.2.4].

:Not far from the temple is Poseidon on horseback, hurling a spear against the giant Polybotes, concerning whom is prevalent among the Coans the story about the promontory of Chelone.

File:Poseidon Polybotes Louvre F226.jpg neck amphora c. 550–500 BC (Louvre F226).Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/4B2E43A0-A64C-46DB-95F5-4E5566E41312 301546]; LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-749261cdcd573-3 16853 (Gigantes 269c)]: [https://www.iconiclimc.ch/limc/imageview.php?image=594d42d490934362b71351d9b5776b1f&total=3&term=%22Gigantes+269c%22 image 3 of 3].]]

In another version of the story, after being struck by Zeus, Polybotes swam away, Poseidon threw a trident at him but missed and the trident became the island of Nisyros or Porphyris.Cook, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/14/mode/2up pp. 14]; Carvounis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BPAlYIAmw-kC&pg=PA250 p. 250 note 29].

Polybotes is named on two sixth-century BC black-figure pots.Getty 81.AE.211 (Moore, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Gd81AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 pp. 30–31]; Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/79B9C21C-CF52-40F6-85C1-E00C4BBC5D60 10047]) and Louvre E732 (Gantz, p. 451; Cook, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/14/mode/2up p. 14]; Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/55A90360-6C37-47D9-A4DA-8A81196212C5 14590], LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73a49a0ddfe9b-f 52 (Gigantes 170)]: [https://www.iconiclimc.ch/limc/imageview.php?image=e603f862b5e941d7a30b32a15a1693c3&total=4&term=%22Gigantes+170%22 image 4 of 4]). Polybotes was possibly also named on a sixth-century BC black-figure cup: Akropolis 1632 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/5F5F01AD-810D-4DBB-9356-E562BA2D5A4D 15673], LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73e88da481d30-d 4867 (Gigantes 110)]). On one, a fragmentary dinos (Getty 81.AE.211), he is opposed by Zeus, identified by an inscription. On the other, an amphora (Louvre E732), he is opposed by Poseidon who is carrying the island of Nisyros on his left shoulder, ready to hurl it against the Giant. The scene depicted on the amphora: Poseidon with trident in his right hand and the island on his left shoulder, moving from left to right, fighting a Giant (mostly unnamed but usually presumed to be Polybotes, although one fifth-century BC example names the Giant Ephialtes) is a frequent occurrence in sixth and fifth-century BC Greek vase paintings.Gantz, 453; Cook, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/14/mode/2up pp. 14–18]; Frazer (Vol II), note to Pausanias 1.2.4 "Poseidon on horseback hurling a spear at the giant Polybotes" [https://books.google.com/books?id=PGpiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA48 pp. 48–49]. Examples of Poseidon with Nysyros on his shoulder versus an unnamed Giant include: Munich 1437 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/DF0A34E9-F104-4085-914E-5B96E45738AA 745]; LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-752505942ff88-7 27194 (Gigantes 126])), Munich 1485 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/6BA7826F-3FBE-4581-A4F0-551E315A11D1 302287]), Metropolitan Museum 98.8.11 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/14BA79AF-1E6A-4665-AC07-A53DD8868FF5 301545]; LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-743cbb3ccd030-9 10812 (Gigantes 269a)]: [https://www.iconiclimc.ch/limc/imageview.php?image=ed327663a28444eb9375b386301628b6&total=2&term=%22Gigantes+269a%22 image 1 of 2]), Williams 64.9 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/D3772D78-A860-4DE8-B747-9F0EF4D45F47 275166]), Vatican 84 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/69133A94-1046-46E5-BD61-DF801BCC9E6D 202472]; Cook [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/14/mode/2up Plate II]), Berlin F2293 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/FF922369-A326-4645-870F-1DEBDFEB9D0C 203909]; Cook, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/n51/mode/2up p. 15 fig. 3]). For Poseidon versus Ephialtes see Vienna 688 (Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/F12F7E42-06F7-4E22-92C3-2F7E2AB12A76 202916]; LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-744761e049a7d-7 11561 (Gigantes 361)]: [https://www.iconiclimc.ch/limc/imageview.php?image=f788829e270f4be8823314031cc5d36f&total=2&term=%22Gigantes+361%22 image 2 of 2]; Cook, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/14/mode/2up pp. 14–18], [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/n57/mode/2up p. 17 fig. 5]).

Polybotes is also possibly named on a late sixth-century early fifth-century BC red-figure cup (Akropolis 2.211).Arafat, p. 15; Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/456B29EA-83E7-41ED-B485-FDF976EBAEF8 200125]; :LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-74a3442aa7344-8 18051 (Gigantes 299)]: [https://www.iconiclimc.ch/limc/imageview.php?image=c937051791534a3c8007c31b8677403a&total=2&term=%22Gigantes+299%22 image 1 of 2]. A late fifth-century red-figure cup (Berlin F2531) shows on its interior Poseidon (without Nisyros) attacking Polybotes with his trident, in the presence of Gaia rising from the ground on the left.Beazley Archive [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/46E5041B-1D5E-482A-8D61-D896ECDDF3DA 220533]; Arafat, pp. 24, 25, 186; Cook, p. 56, [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/n103/mode/2up Plate VI]; LIMC [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-743a4d0d2fb5e-a 10641 Gigantes 318]: [https://www.iconiclimc.ch/limc/imageview.php?image=3eb4b95bc85e435d9fa23025aec7fc26&total=4&term=%22Gigantes+318%22 image 3 of 4]; Perseus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Berlin%20F%202531&object=Vase Berlin F 2531 (Vase)]

Notes

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References

  • Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=C431BA809CA4DEA22A15DA9C666F3400?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0022%3atext%3dLibrary Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
  • Arafat, K. W., Classical Zeus: A Study in Art and Literature, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1990. {{ISBN|0-19-814912-3}}.
  • Carvounis, Aikaterini, "Final Scenes in Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 14" in Quintus Smyrnaeus: Transforming Homer in Second Sophistic Epic, Manuel Baumbach, Silvio Bär editors, Walter de Gruyter, 2007. {{ISBN|9783110942507}}.
  • Cook, Arthur Bernard, Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion, Volume III: Zeus God of the Dark Sky (Earthquakes, Clouds, Wind, Dew, Rain, Meteorites), Part I: Text and Notes, Cambridge University Press 1940. [https://archive.org/stream/zeusstudyinancie03cook#page/n5/mode/2up Online version at openlibrary.org]
  • Frazer, J. G., Pausanias's Description of Greece. Translated with a Commentary by J. G. Frazer. Vol II. Commentary on Book I, Macmillan, 1898. [https://books.google.com/books?id=m_RYAAAAYAAJ Google Books].
  • Ferrari, Gloria, Alcman and the Cosmos of Sparta, University of Chicago Press, 2008. {{ISBN|9780226668673}}.
  • Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
  • Hanfmann, George, M. A., “Studies in Etruscan Bronze Reliefs: The Gigantomachy”, The Art Bulletin 19:463-85. 1937.
  • Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
  • Hyginus, Gaius Julius, [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae1.html The Myths of Hyginus]. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
  • Moore, Mary B., "Giants at the Getty" in Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum Volume 2, Getty Publications, 1985
  • Pausanias, Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
  • Strabo, Geography, translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924). [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/home.html LacusCurtis], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198&redirect=true Books 6–14, at the Perseus Digital Library]
  • Vian, Francis, Moore, Mary B. (1988), "Gigantes" in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC) IV.1. Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich. {{ISBN|3760887511}}.

{{Gigantes}}

Category:Gigantes

Category:Children of Gaia

Category:Deeds of Poseidon