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The giant Adamastor

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Adamastor is a lyrical, symbolic and mythological figure from the Epic poem entitled "Os Lusíadas", written by Luís Vaz de Camões (Chant V).
He is an outcast from the sons of the earth, who was hapless doomed to live eternally in the end of the world, the Cape of Storms, ever since he forcefully failed to take the hand of his belove water nymph, Tétis.

An anti-hero who invokes the dangers the Portuguese navigators faced, while adventuring in the high seas, from the medieval superstitious ideals that monsters inhabited the abyss of into the unknown.

I couldn't think of a better way to sum up Adamastor's introduction, than quoting a couple of excerpts from the Epic poem itself.

"Não acabava, quando ua figura - Even as I spoke, an immense shape
Se nos mostra no ar, robusta e válida, - Materialized in the night air,
De disforme e grandíssima estatura; - Grotesque and of enormous stature
O rosto carregado, a barba esquálida, - With heavy jowls, and an unkempt beard
Os olhos encovados, e a postura - Scowling from shrunken, hollow eyes
Medonha e má e a cor terrena e pálida; - Its complexion earthy and pale,
Cheios de terra e crespos os cabelos, - Its hair grizzled and matted with clay,
A boca negra, os dentes amarelos. - Its mouth coal black, teeth yellow with decay.

Tão grande era de membros que bem posso - So towered its thick limbs, I swear
Certificar-te que este era o segundo - You could believe it a second
De Rodes estranhíssimo Colosso, - Colossus of Rhodes, that giant
Que um dos sete milagres foi do mundo. - Of the ancient world’s seven wonders.
Cum tom de voz nos fala, horrendo e grosso, - It spoke with a coarse, gravelly voice
Que pareceu sair do mar profundo. - Booming from the ocean’s depths;
Arrepiam-se as carnes e o cabelo, - Our hair was on end, our flesh shuddering,
A mi e a todos, só de ouvi-lo e vê-lo! - Mine and everyone’s, to hear and behold the thing."

- Camões, Luís Vaz. "Os Lusiadas"
*Quotations from Chant V, Strophe 39 & 40*

Artwork initially sketch on paper and adulterated with Gimp.
Image size
1280x960px 1.88 MB
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