Polyphemus was a man-eating monster with a bloody and barbaric story. He fell in love with a beautiful nymph called Galatea who rejected him in favour for a man named Acis. Polyphemus enraged by the rejection, threw Acis and killed him on a massive rock. The blood of Acis formed a stream, which still bears his name today. The Cyclops encounters Odysseus in Homer’s tale where he is outwitted and blinded by the hero and turns the wrath of his father, Poseidon on Odysseus. Odysseus arrived on the island of the Cyclops on his way home to Ithica and led his men into a cave full of food unknowing of who the owner was. Polyphemus sealed the cave and the crew within it, eating a few of them. Odysseus managed to trick the Cyclops into getting drunk off of strong wine and told the monster his name was ‘No One.’ Polyphemus fell asleep, and the hero blinded him with a wooden stake, when the other giants came to help, Polyphemus told him ‘No One’ had attacked him, and so they left him. Odysseus and his men bound themselves to the bellies of Polyphemus’s sheep and escaped when the giant let them out to graze. Odysseus could not help but boast about his victory over his defeated adversary and told Polyphemus his name which in turn led to Poseidon punishing him and causing him to deviate from his route home even more.
Leave a Comment
You need to log in before commenting.
Collapse All Comments