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When the Portuguese discovered the shortest sea route to the East in 15th-century, it promised easy access to precious goods such as spices. The turbulent waters around the most southern point of Africa remained a significant obstacle though. The area loomed so large in the minds of seafarers that the poet Luís de Camões crafted the narrative of Adamastor, in an attempt to explain the violent storms, which he had experienced firsthand when he rounded the Cape on his way to Goa.
Adamastor: Titan of the Cape
Once upon a time the Greek Titan Adamastor fell in love with a nymph, Thetis. The nymph's mother, called Doris, agreed to arrange a meeting between the Titan and her daughter. Thetis appeared at the prearranged time, and Adamastor was so overcome with emotion that he ran forward, then took his love in his arms, but found that he was only embracing a rock. The giant deity had been tricked. Because he had transgressed by lusting after Thetis, he was transformed into the craggy mountain at the tip of Africa.
Adamastor seethed while he remained in exile for centuries. At last, one day a dot appeared on the horizon, that continued to draw closer. This was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
The Titan materialized in front of Vasco da Gama just as the explorer rounded the Cape. Luís de Camões described Adamastor's appearance as follows:
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
The fearsome deity told the story of how he came to be imprisoned there and vowed to torment every ship that passed by his new home. He claimed that he already killed a number of Portuguese seafarers, among them Bartolomeu Dias, and he would continue to exact payment from the ships that passed through his territory. Adamastor, true to his word, proceeded to sink about 20 percent of the ships that sailed for India from Lisbon. Da Gama though managed to overcome the challenge, the first one to do so successfully.
Conclusion
Adamastor was not actually part of Greek myth, but was a new addition by Luís de Camões to illustrate how the Portuguese overcame great odds. The name of the Titan is derived from the Greek word adamastos, which means indomitable, and so Vasco da Gama's exploits were framed as a person overcoming the impossible. To this day, the mighty storms, which instilled so much fear in the hearts of sailors, still rages on occasion around the place that used to be called the Cape of Storms.
Thank you for reading!
When the Portuguese discovered the shortest sea route to the East in 15th-century, it promised easy access to precious goods such as spices. The turbulent waters around the most southern point of Africa remained a significant obstacle though. The area loomed so large in the minds of seafarers that the poet Luís de Camões crafted the narrative of Adamastor, in an attempt to explain the violent storms, which he had experienced firsthand when he rounded the Cape on his way to Goa.
Adamastor: Titan of the Cape
Once upon a time the Greek Titan Adamastor fell in love with a nymph, Thetis. The nymph's mother, called Doris, agreed to arrange a meeting between the Titan and her daughter. Thetis appeared at the prearranged time, and Adamastor was so overcome with emotion that he ran forward, then took his love in his arms, but found that he was only embracing a rock. The giant deity had been tricked. Because he had transgressed by lusting after Thetis, he was transformed into the craggy mountain at the tip of Africa.
Adamastor seethed while he remained in exile for centuries. At last, one day a dot appeared on the horizon, that continued to draw closer. This was the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.
The Titan materialized in front of Vasco da Gama just as the explorer rounded the Cape. Luís de Camões described Adamastor's appearance as follows:
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
The fearsome deity told the story of how he came to be imprisoned there and vowed to torment every ship that passed by his new home. He claimed that he already killed a number of Portuguese seafarers, among them Bartolomeu Dias, and he would continue to exact payment from the ships that passed through his territory. Adamastor, true to his word, proceeded to sink about 20 percent of the ships that sailed for India from Lisbon. Da Gama though managed to overcome the challenge, the first one to do so successfully.
Conclusion
Adamastor was not actually part of Greek myth, but was a new addition by Luís de Camões to illustrate how the Portuguese overcame great odds. The name of the Titan is derived from the Greek word adamastos, which means indomitable, and so Vasco da Gama's exploits were framed as a person overcoming the impossible. To this day, the mighty storms, which instilled so much fear in the hearts of sailors, still rages on occasion around the place that used to be called the Cape of Storms.
Thank you for reading!
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