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THE CYCLOPS POLYPHEMUS– THE GRUMPY GIANT OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Homer was a Greek poet who wrote: The Odyssey in the Eighth Century BC. The Odyssey contains traps, trickery, magic, monsters, gods, goddesses, and heroic deeds. This novel is a collection of short stories about how Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, and his men returned home after the 10-year Trojan War. The Greeks liked to hear about the adventures that King Odysseus and his men went through upon their return, and one of the most exciting adventures was when they arrived on the island where Polyphemus, the cyclops, son of Poseidon, the god of the seas, lives.

The Cyclops is a member of the race of fearsome giants from Greek Mythology. Cyclops means Round or Circular Eye, which refers to the only eye that the giant has in the center of the forehead. It was an enormous, terrifying wild monster, grumpy, proud, and strong. He was approximately 5 meters tall and weighed 1,100 kilos. He had pointed ears and very sharp teeth to devour his favorite food: human flesh.

One day, when Odysseus and his crew were returning from the Trojan War, a storm threw the ship onto an island inhabited by Cyclops. While exploring the island, they found a cave where Polyphemus stayed isolated from the other Cyclops and where he took care of his flock of sheep and goats. At that time, the giant was not there since it had taken the sheep to graze, so Odysseus and his men devoured all the food they found inside the cave. When Polyphemus returned with his flock, he was surprised to see them as they looked tasty, so he placed a large rock at the cave door to prevent them from escaping, grabbed two men with his big hands, and threw them to the ground. Then he cut their bodies into pieces and ate them.

That night while the giant slept, Odysseus and his men, horrified, began planning their escape. The next day, Odysseus spoke very kindly to the giant, and to gain his trust, he offered him a large quantity of sweet wine that he had with him. The giant loved the wine since he had never tasted it, so he asked him: What is your name?, and Odysseus replied: No one. Polyphemus liked Odysseus very much and said: Since you have given me this delicious wine, I will do you a favor. I will eat you last so that you may live longer. And after saying this, Polyphemus fell into a deep sleep. Odysseus and four of his men took advantage of that moment, set fire to a wooden stake, and then threw it into his eye, blinding him. Polyphemus woke up and began to scream in pain. Other Cyclops who lived nearby when they heard his screams of agony went to the cave and asked him: What is wrong with you? Polyphemus answered them: No one has hurt me! Nobody came here! The confused Cyclops walked away from there as Polyphemus insisted that no one had hurt him.

The following morning the blind giant removed the great stone that covered the cave entrance so that his flock could come out to eat, and Odysseus and his men took the opportunity to escape by hiding under the bellies of the animals. Then they got on their boat and left, taking along several animals of the terrible giant. Polyphemus began to throw stones at the ship, while Odysseus laughingly told him arrogantly: “I am Odysseus, king of Ithaca, father of Telemachus, and husband of Penelope!” Polyphemus then yelled to his father Poseidon with all his might to avenge him.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

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