Adamastor

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For the warship, see Adamastor (warship).

Adamastor is a Greek-type mythological character invented by the Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in his epic poem Os Lusíadas (first printed in 1572), as a symbol of the forces of nature Portuguese navigators had to overcome during their discoveries. Camões gave his creation a history as one of the Gigantes of Greek mythology who had been spurned by Thetis, now appearing in the form of a threatening stormcloud to Vasco da Gama and threatening ruin to anyone hardy enough to pass the Cape and penetrate the Indian Ocean, which was Adamaster's domain. Adamastor became the Spirit of the Cape, a hideous phantom of unearthly pallor:

"Even as I spoke, an immense shape

Materialised in the night air,

Grotesque and enormous stature

With heavy jowls, and an unkempt beard

Scowling from shrunken, hollow eyes

Its complexion earthy and pale,

Its hair grizzled and matted with clay,

Its mouth coal black, teeth yellow with decay. —Camões, The Lusiads Canto V.

Adamastor represented the dangers Portuguese sailors faced when trying to round the Cape of Storms, henceforth called, in consequence of the resultant success in despite thereof, Cape of Good Hope.

Adamastor has figured in much poetry of the Cape. In The First Life of Adamastor, a novella by André Brink, the writer refashioned the Adamastor story from a 20th-century perspective.

A popular gathering place in Lisbon is also known by the name 'Adamastor' because of the large stone statue of the mythical figure which presides over the space, which is officially called the Miradouro de Santa Catarina. This vista point offers visitors some of the most breathtaking views of the Tagus river, the 25th of April Bridge and the Cristo Rei monument.

Adamastor is also mentioned in the opera L'africaine (1865)about Vasco da Gama by the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. The slave Nelusko sings a song about Adamastor while he deliberatedly steers the ship into a storm and it sinks.

It is mentioned by Voltaire in his Essai sur la poésie épique. It also appears in the works of Victor Hugo : Les Miserables (III, Marius, chap III) and in a poem dedicated to Lamartine (Les Feuilles d'automne, chap IX). Alexandre Dumas refers the giant six times: Le Comte de Monte Cristo (chap. XXXI), Vingt ans après (chap. LXXVII), Georges (chap I), Bontekoe, Les drames de la mer, (chap I), Causeries (chap. IX) and Mes Mémoires (chap. CCXVIII).

Etymology

The name Adamastor may have been made as:-

• An inaccurate attempt at Greek for "Untamed" or "Untameable" (which would be correctly Adamastos).
• An inaccurate attempt at Latin for "imitative rival of Adam" (which would correctly be Adamaster).

External links

• Cyril Coetzee, "Myth of Adamaster revisited"

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Last updated on Tuesday February 12, 2008 at 03:51:10 PST (GMT -0800)
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