Brontes

Brontes, the eldest of the three Cyclopes in the forbidden valley, is the first to state why they will not give Artemis the weapons she demands: the Silver Bow and Arrows of Moonlight, he insists, are treasures reserved for Zeus. When Artemis overcomes the brothers, Brontes surrenders with them, and the Cyclopes make the weapons. His encounter with Artemis turns the claim of divine privilege into a contest of force, and ends with the requested arms in her hands.

Identity and Place in the Valley

Brontes appears as one of three lumbering giants who emerge from the forbidden valley. All three have a third eye set in the forehead, but his is the largest. It is described as constantly searching for truth, giving him a distinguishing feature and, in the group’s exchange with Artemis, the role of spokesman. The brothers are not the crude figures Artemis had expected: they wear elaborate silver armor and fine clothing. Though the realm has lost its colors, the quality of their fabric suggests to her that the Cyclopes might have ruled Olympus had Zeus and the gods not already claimed it.

The name Brontes is attached to both seniority and judgment. When Artemis invokes Zeus’s promises, Brontes answers that those promises hold no sway in the valley, then asks what she seeks. Steropes and Arges follow with their own questions about what she wants and intends to take. The exchange establishes that Brontes does not initially treat Artemis’s appeal to her father as binding authority in their territory.

Refusal and Confrontation

Artemis asks the Cyclopes to set aside their horse trough and forge a Silver Bow and a quiver of silver arrows that will refill once emptied. In return, she promises to give them the first game she shoots. Brontes rejects the offer on the stated ground that the treasures are for Zeus alone. His refusal is followed by a change in his manner: after looking Artemis over, he smiles, and all three brothers stare at her. Her hounds begin to growl. This moment shifts the encounter from a dispute over ownership toward a threat to Artemis, though Brontes’s stated reason for withholding the weapons remains their exclusive association with Zeus.

Artemis first asserts that she is Zeus’s daughter and demands that the bow and arrows be ready within an hour, warning that the brothers will be in trouble if they disobey. The negotiation fails. Rather than wait for compliance, she acts as a huntress and turns to combat. Her arrow strikes Brontes in the ear, bringing him down and preventing him from continuing to direct the exchange. The episode makes clear that Artemis’s claim of divine status alone has not persuaded him; it is her ability to defeat the Cyclopes that changes the outcome.

Surrender and the Weapons

While Artemis is occupied with Steropes, her hounds enter the fight and help prevent him from retaliating. Artemis later addresses all three brothers by name, reminding them that she spared Brontes despite the hostility shown to her and insisting that she is not a mere maiden. She again demands her bow and arrows without delay. The appeal combines proof of her identity with a direct account of the balance of power: she has fought the brothers and remains in a position to make demands.

Brontes has no will to continue fighting the child who has defeated them, and he surrenders alongside Steropes and Arges. The three Cyclopes give Artemis what she wants. Once they have finished the weapons, she thanks them, while they leave cursing under their breath. Brontes’s refusal therefore does not prevent the weapons from being made; instead, it sets up the resistance Artemis must overcome to obtain them. His surrender is collective, and the evidence does not describe him separately directing the forging after the brothers yield.

Narrative Role and Outcome

Brontes serves as the principal voice of the Cyclopes’ refusal and as the opponent whose defeat marks the turn from failed negotiation to forced agreement. His third eye, described as searching for truth, contrasts with the limits of his position: he sees Artemis’s appeal to Zeus as insufficient, but the confrontation reveals that he has underestimated her. The episode gives his authority a concrete limit when Artemis overcomes the brothers and they surrender together.

The immediate consequence is the creation of the weapons Artemis came for. She leaves the valley carrying the Silver Bow and a quiver full of Arrows of Moonlight, with her hounds beside her. Brontes remains in the story as the defeated maker’s representative rather than as a continuing ally: the Cyclopes fulfill the demand, but their curses on leaving preserve the tension of an agreement imposed after resistance.