| Adamastor | |
|---|---|
| Os Lusíadas character | |
 Statue of Adamastor by Júlio Vaz Júnior, unveiled in 1927 at the Santa Catarina viewpoint, Lisbon, Portugal | |
| Created by | Luís de Camões |
| In-universe information | |
| Description | Greek-type mythological character |
| Mentioned in | "Death with Interruptions" byJosé Saramago The Year Of the Death of Ricardo Reis byJosé Saramago The First Life of Adamastor byAndré Brink L'Africaine (1865 opera) Essai sur la poésie épique byVoltaire Les Misérables byVictor Hugo The Phantom of the Opera byGaston Leroux,Poésies et Lettres, byComte de Lautréamont,Mensagem, byFernando Pessoa |
Adamastor is a mythological character created by thePortuguese poetLuís de Camões in hisepic poemOs Lusíadas (first printed in 1572), as a personification of theCape of Good Hope, symbolizing the dangers of the sea and the formidable forces of nature challenged and ultimately overcome by the Portuguese during theAge of Discovery. Adamastor manifests itself out of a storm.
Camões gave his creation a backstory as one of theGiants ofGreek mythology, banished to theCape of Good Hope by sea goddessDoris for falling in love with her daughterTethis, now appearing out of a storm cloud and threatening to ruin anyone hardy enough to attempt passing the Cape and penetrate theIndian Ocean, which was Adamastor's domain. Adamastor became the spirit of the Cape of Good Hope, a hideous phantom of unearthly pallor:
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 Book V
Vasco da Gama, ahead of the Portuguese expedition, confronts the creature by asking"Who are you?", prompting Adamastor to tell his story.
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.
— Camões,The Lusiads Book V
Deeply moved, the giant eventually vanishes, dispersing the clouds and calming the sea, leaving the path towardsIndia open.
Adamastor represented the dangersPortuguese sailors faced when trying to round the Cape of Storms –Cabo das Tormentas – henceforth called theCape of Good Hope.
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 theTagus river, the25 de Abril Bridge and theCristo-Rei monument.
The Portuguese poetFernando Pessoa included in his 1934 bookMensagem a number of verses dedicated to Adamastor, entitledO Mostrengo ("The Hideous Monster")
Adamastor, both the mythological character and the sculpture, are mentioned several times inJosé Saramago'sNobel Prize-winning novel,The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis, and also in his historical novelMemorial do Convento (English language version:Baltasar and Blimunda).
Adamastor has figured in muchpoetry of the Cape. InThe First Life of Adamastor, a novella byAndré Brink, the writer refashioned the Adamastor story from a 20th-century perspective.
Adamastor is also mentioned in the operaL'Africaine (1865) about Vasco da Gama by the composerGiacomo Meyerbeer. The slave Nelusko sings a song about Adamastor while he deliberately steers the ship into a storm and it sinks.
It is mentioned byVoltaire in hisEssai sur la poésie épique. It also appears in the works ofVictor Hugo:Les Misérables (III, Marius, chap III) and in a poem dedicated to Lamartine (Les Feuilles d'automne, chap IX).Alexandre Dumas, père refers the giant six times:Le Comte de Monte Cristo (chap. XXXI),Vingt ans après (chap. LXXVII),Georges (chap. I),Bontekoe, Les drames de la mer, (chap. I),Causeries (chap. IX) andMes Mémoires (chap. CCXVIII).Gaston Leroux also mentions it inThe Phantom of the Opera (chap. VI).Herman Melville mentions Adamastor in hisBilly Budd in Chapter VIII as "Camoen's Spirit of the Cape".
Adamastor is also the name of a sauropod dinosaur,Angolatitan adamastor, found in Angola, named by the paleontologistOctávio Mateus.[1]
The name Adamastor is an adaptation for the Portuguese language from the Greek word for "Untamed" or "Untameable" (Adamastos) (which the Portuguese did tame).[2]
