Adamastor is a mythological character created by the Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in his epic poem Os Lusíadas (first printed in 1572), as a personification of the Cape of Good Hope, symbolizing the dangers of the sea and the formidable forces of nature challenged and ultimately overcome by the Portuguese during the Discovery Age. Adamastor manifests itself out of a storm.
Adamastor became the spirit of the Cape of Good Hope, a hideous phantom of unearthly pallor:
Even as I spoke, an immense shape
Materialised in the night air,
Grotesque and enormous stature
With heavy jowls, and an unkempt beard
Scowling from shrunken, hollow eyes
Its complexion earthy and pale,
Its hair grizzled and matted with clay,
Its mouth coal black, teeth yellow with decay.
- Camões, The Lusiads Book V
Vasco da Gama, ahead of the Portuguese expedition, confronts the creature by asking "Who are you?", prompting Adamastor to tell his story.
I am that vast, secret promontory
you Portuguese call the Cape of Storms
which neither Ptolemy, Pompey or Strabo,
Pliny, nor any authors knew of.
Here Africa ends. Here its coast
Concludes in this, my vast inviolate
Plateau, extending southwards towards the Pole
And, by your daring, struck to my very soul.
- Camões, The Lusiads Book V
Deeply moved, the giant eventually vanishes, dispersing the clouds and calming the sea, leaving the path towards India open.
Adamastor represented the dangers Portuguese sailors faced when trying to round the Cape of Storms - Cabo das Tormentas - henceforth called the Cape of Good Hope.
(Source: Wikipedia)
A Sea Odyssey 1415-1543 is a new album project by RochaMusicX, based on the sea exploration and discoveries of the Portuguese, started by Prince Henry the Navigator (Infante Dom Henrique). Portugal, one of the oldest nations of Europe became a great seaborn empire from their exploits during that time.
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Album art by Victor Rocha
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3 сен 2022
