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Adamastor
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{{short description|Mythological character created by the Portuguese poet LuĂs de CamĂ”es}} {{for|the warship|Adamastor (warship)}} {{Infobox character | name = Adamastor | series = [[Os LusĂadas]] | image = Adamastor no alto de Santa Catarina 1980.JPG | image_size = 250px | alt = Adamastor no alto de Santa Catarina | caption = Statue of Adamastor by JĂșlio Vaz JĂșnior, unveiled in 1927 at the Santa Catarina viewpoint, Lisbon, Portugal | creator = [[LuĂs de CamĂ”es]] | lbl21 = Description | data21 = Greek-type mythological character | lbl22 = Mentioned in | data22 = "Death with Interruptions" by [[JosĂ© Saramago]]<br>''The Year Of the Death of Ricardo Reis'' by [[JosĂ© Saramago]]<br>''The First Life of Adamastor'' by [[AndrĂ© Brink]]<br>''[[L'Africaine]]'' (1865 opera)<br>''Essai sur la poĂ©sie Ă©pique'' by [[Voltaire]]<br>''[[Les MisĂ©rables]]'' by [[Victor Hugo]]<br>''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' by [[Gaston Leroux]], ''PoĂ©sies et Lettres'', by [[Comte de LautrĂ©amont]], ''[[Mensagem]]'', by [[Fernando Pessoa]] }} '''Adamastor''' is a mythological character created by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] poet [[LuĂs de CamĂ”es]] in his [[epic poem]] ''[[Os LusĂadas]]'' (first printed in 1572), as a personification of the [[Cape of Good Hope]], symbolizing the dangers of the sea and the formidable forces of nature challenged and ultimately overcome by the Portuguese during the [[Age of Discovery]]. Adamastor manifests itself out of a storm. ==Background== CamĂ”es gave his creation a backstory as one of the [[Gigantes|Giants]] of [[Greek mythology]], banished to the [[Cape of Good Hope]] by sea goddess [[Doris (mythology)|Doris]] for falling in love with her daughter [[Thetis|Tethis]], now appearing out of a storm cloud and threatening to ruin anyone hardy enough to attempt passing the Cape and penetrate the [[Indian Ocean]], which was Adamastor's domain. Adamastor became the spirit of the Cape of Good Hope, a hideous phantom of unearthly pallor: {{blockquote|<poem>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.</poem>|CamĂ”es|''The Lusiads'' Book V}} Vasco da Gama, ahead of the Portuguese expedition, confronts the creature by asking ''"Who are you?"'', prompting Adamastor to tell his story. {{blockquote|<poem>I am that vast, secret promontory you Portuguese call the Cape of Storms which neither Ptolemy, Pompey or Strabo, Pliny, nor any authors knew of. Here Africa ends. Here its coast Concludes in this, my vast inviolate Plateau, extending southwards towards the Pole And, by your daring, struck to my very soul.</poem>|CamĂ”es|''The Lusiads'' Book V}} Deeply moved, the giant eventually vanishes, dispersing the clouds and calming the sea, leaving the path towards [[India]] open. Adamastor represented the dangers [[Portugal|Portuguese]] sailors faced when trying to round the Cape of Storms â ''Cabo das Tormentas'' â henceforth called the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. ==Legacy== [[Image:CamĂ”es Os LusĂadas Page171 86r.jpg|thumb|The corresponding verses in the 1572 edition.]] A popular gathering place in Lisbon is 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. The location offers visitors some of the most scenic views of the [[Tagus]] river, the [[25 de Abril Bridge]] and the [[Christ the King (Almada)|Cristo-Rei]] monument. The Portuguese poet [[Fernando Pessoa]] included in his 1934 book ''Mensagem'' a number of verses dedicated to Adamastor, entitled ''O Mostrengo'' ("The Hideous Monster") Adamastor, both the mythological character and the sculpture, are mentioned several times in [[JosĂ© Saramago]]'s [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]]-winning novel, ''[[The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis]]'', and also in his historical novel ''[[Memorial do Convento]]'' (English language version: ''Baltasar and Blimunda''). Adamastor has figured in much [[South African literature|poetry of the Cape]]. In ''The First Life of Adamastor'', a novella by [[AndrĂ© Brink]], the writer refashioned the Adamastor story from a 20th-century perspective. 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 deliberately steers the ship into a storm and it sinks. It is mentioned by [[Voltaire]] in his ''Essai sur la poĂ©sie Ă©pique''. It also appears in the works of [[Victor Hugo]]: ''[[Les MisĂ©rables]]'' (III, Marius, chap III) and in a poem dedicated to Lamartine (''[[Les Feuilles d'automne]]'', chap IX). [[Alexandre Dumas, pĂšre]] refers the giant six times: ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo|Le Comte de Monte Cristo]]'' (chap. XXXI), ''[[Twenty Years After|Vingt ans aprĂšs]]'' (chap. LXXVII), ''[[Georges (novel)|Georges]]'' (chap. I), ''Bontekoe, Les drames de la mer'', (chap. I), ''Causeries'' (chap. IX) and ''Mes MĂ©moires'' (chap. CCXVIII). [[Gaston Leroux]] also mentions it in ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' (chap. VI). [[Herman Melville]] mentions Adamastor and CamĂ”es in his ''Billy Budd'', at the end of Chapter VII. Adamastor is also the name of a sauropod dinosaur, ''[[Angolatitan adamastor]]'', found in Angola, named by the paleontologist [[OctĂĄvio Mateus]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mateus|first1=OctĂĄvio|last2=Jacobs|first2=Louis L.|last3=Schulp|first3=Anne S.|last4=Polcyn|first4=Michael J.|last5=Tavares|first5=Tatiana S.|last6=Buta Neto|first6=AndrĂ©|last7=Morais|first7=Maria LuĂsa|last8=Antunes|first8=Miguel T.|title=Angolatitan adamastor, a new sauropod dinosaur and the first record from Angola|journal=Anais da Academia Brasileira de CiĂȘncias|date=March 2011|volume=83|issue=1|pages=221â233|doi=10.1590/S0001-37652011000100012|pmid=21437383|doi-access=free}}</ref> ==Etymology== The name Adamastor is an adaptation for the Portuguese language from the Greek word for "Untamed" or "Untameable" (''Adamastos'') (which the Portuguese did tame).<ref>"Adamastor, n." ''Dictionary of South African English''. Dictionary Unit for South African English, 2018. [http://www.dsae.co.za/entry/adamastor/e00067]. 25 February 2019.</ref> == References == <references /> ==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050314025632/http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/arquivos/artes/adamastormith.htm Cyril Coetzee, "Myth of Adamastor revisited"] *[https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/7730 Ferreira, Ockert Jacobus Olivier (1940- ), "Adamastor, Spirit of the Cape of Storms"/ "Adamastor, EspĂrito do Cabo das Tormentas"/ "Adamastor, Gees van die Stormkaap"] [[Category:Portuguese legendary creatures]] [[Category:Portuguese mythology]] [[Category:Culture of Portugal]] [[Category:Fictional giants]] [[Category:Ancient Greece in art and culture]]
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