Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

cannibal giant in a cave

cannibal_giant_in_a_cave

A motif of the Threshold Guardian family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

2 occurrences

1 traditions


roman

  • Aeneidos LIBER II / PUBLI VERGILI MARONIS / AENEIDOS / LIBER III; lines 2400-2511 confidence: high

    The Cyclops' home is dark and huge, marked by gore and bloody feasts; the monster is enormous, hard to look at or address, and eats human entrails and dark blood.

    Polyphemus' home is a vast dark cave stained by gore, and he is described eating human flesh and blood.

    read in the book
  • The Aeneid of Virgil BOOK SECOND / THE STORY OF THE SACK OF TROY / BOOK THIRD / THE STORY OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WANDERING; lines 1997-2067 confidence: high

    The cave is described as bloody, huge, and dim; the giant is immense, inhospitable, eats human flesh and blood, and crushes two men on a rock before eating them.

    The Cyclops is a huge cave-dwelling figure who catches, crushes, and eats human companions.

    read in the book