Tartalo

Tartaro, Tartalo, or Torto in Basque mythology, is an enormously strong one-eyed giant very similar to the Greek Cyclops that Odysseus faced in Homer's Odyssey.

[a][2][3] Torto, Anxo and Alarabi[b] were the forms listed in Jose Migel Barandiaran's Basque Mythology,[4] with "Tartalo" described as a local variant particular to the Zegama region.

[8] Tartaro has been described as the Basque equivalent to the cyclops Polyphemus,[9][5] and similarity to this cyclops in Homer's Odyssey is compelling given the context of him being blinded by a spit and the hero of the myth escaping from the giant's cave dressed in sheepskin,[4] however direct derivation from Homeric sources may not be necessarily involved[5][10][11] Cerquand [fr] in his book "Légendes et récits populaires du Pays basque, volume 1" (1875) suggested in an annotation that the name "Tartaro"[c] derived from the Tartar people citing adaptations of Charles Perrault's stories Cinderella, Hop-o'-My-Thumb and Donkeyskin in the context of basque folklore, stories in which a giant named Tartaroa isn't simply a man-eating creature but now specifically "sniffs christians" in order to eat them : "Deux contes, que j'ai reçus d'Arhansus après mon travail terminé, justifient ce rapprochement.

Il est entendu qu'avec cette substitution, Cendrillon ne peut aller au bal.

[12] Wentworth Webster agrees given the late mention of the name "Tartaroa" (13th century) comparing it with the French word "ogre" supposedly derived from "Hungarians", but expresses doubts on the further explanations given by Cerquand .

[13][9][13] Tartaro according to folktale tradition is a huge, one-eyed being,[13] are usually cave-dwelling, capturing young folk or those who sought shelter in his cave, and devouring them.