Polyphemus is the name of the Cyclopes who Odysseus
encounters on his adventures after the Trojan War, as he attempts to find his way
home.
Odysseus lands on an island, and he and some of his
men set out to explore. Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and his men in the Cyclopes'
cave. There, the monster eats some of our hero's best men. Knowing they are doomed to
be eaten as well if they do not escape, Odysseus and his men get Polyphemus drunk and
blind the Cyclopes with a log they have sharpened. Odysseus tells the ogre that his
name is "Nobody."
Once blinded, Polyphemus ventures out to
rouse help from his neighbors, bellowing that "Nobody" has blinded him. The other
Cyclopses ignore Polyphemus, confused as to how "nobody" has harmed
him.
Unable to see, the Cyclopes must remove the gigantic
stone from the cave's entrance to let his sheep out to graze, but anticipates that
Odysseus and his men may try to escape. Odysseus and his men tie themselves to the
underside of the sheep within the cave. As the animals leave, the Cyclopes leans down
to feel their fleece to make sure it is an animal that passes him and not one of his
prisoners. He does not notice the man concealed beneath each animal. In this way,
Odysseus and his men escape and flee back to their ship.
As
Odysseus sails away, he torments and insults Polyphemus who is throwing boulders into
the water in an attempt to drown Odysseus and his men. Odysseus is less than heroic in
his behavior with Polyphemus as he identifies who he really is and
boasts that he has beaten the hulking creature. Furious, the Cyclopes calls upon his
father Poseidon to curse Odysseus; Poseidon does use his powers to
wreak havoc on the water and elements at sea to hinder Odysseus' progress in reaching
his homeland.
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