Steropes (Στερόπης, "lightning" or "flash") is one of the three Cyclopes of Hesiod's Theogony, alongside his brothers Brontes and Arges. Sons of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), these primordial one-eyed giants were master smiths who forged Zeus's thunderbolt, the weapon with which he overthrew the Titans. Their names reflect their fundamental role as makers of thunder and lightning.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Cyclopes" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Family and origins
Steropes is one of three brother Cyclopes named in Hesiod's Theogony, the others being Brontes ("thunder") and Arges ("bright"). The three were sons of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), and so brothers of the Titans and the Hundred-Handers (Hecatoncheires).
These Hesiodic Cyclopes are distinguished from the savage Cyclopes of Homer's Odyssey, such as Polyphemus. The brothers' names reflect their fundamental role as makers of the thunderbolt: thunder, lightning, and the bright flash.
II.Imprisonment and liberation
Uranus hated his monstrous children and, as each was born, imprisoned them within the earth. The Cyclopes remained confined until they were released to aid in the war against the Titans.
Zeus freed the Cyclopes along with the Hundred-Handers, and they became his allies. In return they gave Zeus his great weapon, the thunderbolt, with which he was eventually able to overthrow the Titans.
III.Role as smiths
Steropes and his brothers were master craftsmen, best known for forging Zeus's thunderbolt. In later tradition they were associated with the workshop of Hephaestus (Vulcan), depicted as laboring under his direction.
Virgil, for instance, places the Cyclopes "Brontes and Steropes and bare-limbed Pyracmon" at work in the forge under the command of Vulcan.
IV.Death and cult
According to one tradition, the Cyclopes were killed by Apollo. After Apollo's son Asclepius was struck down by Zeus's thunderbolt, Apollo took revenge by slaying the Cyclopes who had made the weapon.
There is little evidence for cult devoted to the Cyclopes, though an "altar of the Cyclopes" on the Isthmus of Corinth is recorded as a place where sacrifices were offered to them.