Laestrygonians

This article is about the beings of Greek mythology. For the episode in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, see Ulysses (novel) § Episode 8. For the genus of spiders, see Laestrygones (spider).
For Son of poseidon, see Laestrygon (mythology).
The fourth panel of the so-called “Odyssey Landscapes” wall painting from the Vatican Museums in Rome, 60–40 B.C.E.

In Greek mythology, the Laestrygonians /ˌlɛstrɪˈɡoʊniənz/ or Laestrygones /lɛˈstrɪɡəˌniːz/[1] (Greek: Λαιστρυγόνες) were a tribe of man-eating giants. They were said to have sprung from Laestrygon, son of Poseidon.[2]

According to Thucydides (6.2.1.) and Polybius (1.2.9) the Laestrygones inhabited southeast Sicily. The name is akin to that of the Lestriconi, a branch of the Corsi people of the northeast coast of Sardinia (now Gallura).

  1. ^ Also Lestrygonians or Lestrygones or Lestrigens
  2. ^ Hesiod, Ehoiai fr. 40a as cited in Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358 fr. 2