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Adamastor

Adamastor
Os Lusíadas character
Adamastor no alto de Santa Catarina
Statue of Adamastor by Júlio Vaz Júnior, inaugurated in 1927 at the Santa Catarina viewpoint, Lisbon, Portugal
Created by Luís de Camões
Information
Description Greek-type mythological character
Mentioned in "Death with Interruptions" by José Saramago
The Year Of the Death of Ricardo Reis by José Saramago
The First Life of Adamastor by André Brink
L'Africaine (1865 opera)
Essai sur la poésie épique by Voltaire
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, Poésies et Lettres, by Count of Lautréamont

Adamastor is a Greek-type mythological character famed 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 backstory as one of the Giants of Greek mythology, banished to the Cape by Doris for falling in love with her daughter Tethis, now appearing in the form of a storm cloud to Vasco da Gama 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:

The Portuguese expedition, led by Vasco da Gama, confronts the creature by asking "Who are you?", to which Adamastor tells his story. Deeply moved, the giant vanishes, dispersing the clouds and calming the sea, leaving the path towards India open.

Adamastor represented the dangers Portuguese sailors faced when trying to round the Cape of Storms - Cabo das Tormentas - henceforth called the Cape of Good Hope.

Adamastor, both the mythological character and the sculpture, are mentioned several times in José Saramago's Nobel Prize-winning novel, The Year Of the Death of Ricardo Reis.

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.


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Wikipedia

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