Tartaro, Tartalo, or Torto in

Basque mythology The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of ...

, is an enormously strong one-eyed

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

very similar to the Greek

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

that

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

faced in Homer's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

''. He is said to live in caves in the mountains and catches young people in order to eat them; in some accounts he eats sheep also. Alarabi is another name for the creature. Anxo (or Ancho) may also be equivalent, but some sources say this is another name for the

Basajaun In Basque mythology, Basajaun (, "Lord of the Woods", plural: basajaunak, female basandere) is a huge, hairy hominid dwelling in the woods. They were thought to build megaliths, protect flocks of livestock, and teach skills such as agricultur ...

Names

Tartaro (or Tartaroa) is the form given in some translated tales and commentary in French and English Torto, Anxo and Alarabi were the forms listed in

Jose Migel Barandiaran eu, Jose Miguel Barandiaran Aierbe, es, José Miguel de Barandiarán y Ayerbe known as and eu, Aita Barandiaran, lit=Father Barandiaran, label =none (31 December 1889 – 21 December 1991), was a Basque anthropologist, ethnographer, a ...

's ''Basque Mythology'', with "Tartalo" described as a local variant particular to the Zegama region. Tartalo being a proper name was an idea floated by Barandiaran; but here is an example of a tale in which three Tartaros appear. Anxo or Ancho is however explained as an alternate name for

by some sources. Webster ventured that "Ancho" derived from "Sancho".

Origins

Tartaro has been described as the Basque equivalent to the cyclops

Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and le ...

, and similarity to this cyclops in Homer's ''Odyssey'' is compelling, however direct derivation from Homeric sources may not be necessarily involved, since parallels to these can be found worldwide. suggested that name "Tartaro" derived from the

Tartar people The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

, just as the word "ogre" derived from "Hungarians", but Wentworth Webster agreed, though he expressed some doubt.

Characteristics

Tartaro according to folktale tradition is a huge, one-eyed being, are usually cave-dwelling, capturing young folk or those who sought shelter in his cave, and devouring them. In one oral account, the Tartaro ate one whole sheep each day.

Themes

A mystical ring is a common theme in the Tartalo/Tartaro tales. In one version, the Tartaro (a prince turned monster who needed a bride to turn back) makes a gift of a ring to a girl, and it turns out to be a "talking ring"; she cuts off her finger to rid herself of it, and the monster. Webster noted this ring motif had its parallel in the Celtic (Scottish Gaelic) ''

Conall Cra Bhuidhe Conall Cra Bhuidhe or Conall Yellowclaw is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands''. Origin Campbell lists his informant as James Wilson, blind fiddler in Islay. Synopsis Conall Cra Bhuid ...

'' ("Conall Yellowclaw"), published by

John Francis Campbell John Francis Campbell (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Frangan Caimbeul; Islay, 29 December 1821 – Cannes, 17 February 1885), also known as Young John of Islay (Scottish Gaelic: Iain Òg Ìle) was a Scottish author and scholar who specialised ...

,, p. 4, footnote. but none to be found in classical sources. The motif of the hero blinding Tartaro has both a classical and Celtic (Irish) parallel: Oddyseus blinding the cyclops Polyphemus in Homer's ''Odyssey'' and Lug hurling a spear or projectile into the eye of Balor.

Story

One day, while two brothers of the ''Antimuño''

baserri A baserri (; Spanish: ''caserío vasco''; French: ''maison basque'') is a traditional half-timbered or stone-built type of housebarn farmhouse found in the Basque Country in northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently ...

were hunting, a

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

broke, so they decided to take refuge from the rain in a cave, which was Tartalo's cave. Soon after, Tartalo appeared with his flock of sheep. He saw the two brothers and said: "one for today and the other for tomorrow". That same day he cooked and ate the eldest one, and then, he went to sleep. While he was sleeping, the youngest brother stole Tartalo's ring and then he stuck the roasting spit in his only eye. Tartalo was

blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

, but not dead yet. He started to look for the boy among his

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

, but he put on a sheep's skin and escaped from Tartalo. But, unluckily, when he got out of the flock of sheep, the accuser ring started to shout: "Here I am, here I am!". Tartalo got out of his cave and he started to run after the ring, hearing its shouts. The young one wasn't able to take off the ring, so, when he arrived to the edge of a cliff, he cut off his finger, and since Tartalo was near, he decided to throw it down the cliff. Tartalo, following the ring's shouting, fell off the cliff.

Explanatory notes

References

;Citations ;Bibliography
bnf
* * ** (English trans.) * {{citation, last=Webster , first=Wentworth , author-link=Wentworth Webster , title=I. Legends of the Tartaro , work=Basque Legends , publisher=Griffith and Farran , year=1877 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KJyg1bbMkMIC&pg=PA1 , pages=1–16 * Barbier, Jean: ''Légendes du Pays basque d'après la tradition'', illustrations de Pablo Tillac, 1931, Delagrave, Paris. Republished by Elkar (1983), San Sebastián, Bayonne. * Toti Martínez de Lezea "Leyendas de Euskal Herria". Erein 2004 Basque giants Cyclopes Basque legendary creatures Basque mythology