Polyphemus

Polyphemus (/ˌpɒlɪˈfiːməs/; Greek: Πολύφημος Polyphēmos) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey. His name means 'abounding in songs and legends'. Polyphemus first appears as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the Odyssey. Some later Classical writers link his name with the nymph Galatea and present him in a different light.The blinding, Boeotic black-figure skyphos; c. 500-490 BCFlemish Jacob Jordaens' depiction of Odysseus escaping from the cave of Polyphemus (1635).Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein's 1802 head and shoulders portrait of the giant (Landesmuseum Oldenburg).Arnold Bocklin's painting of Polyphemus standing on rocks onshore and swinging one of them back as the men row desperately over a surging wave.Polyphemus hears of the arrival of Galatea, Fourth Style, 45–79 ADPolyphemus and Galatea, Roman mosaic from 2nd Century AD.A fresco from 1st century AD depicting Polyphemus and Galatea in a naked embrace.A pastoral interpretation of the Acis and Galatea story is Nicholas Poussin's 'Landscape with Polyphemus' (1649)Poussin's 1630 painting of Acis and Galatea embracing in the foreground, shielded from view of Polyphemus, who is playing his flute higher up the slope.Jean-Baptiste van Loo's contribution to 'The Triumph of Galatea' series.Polyphemus spies on Galatea through the wall of a sea grotto or emerges from a cliff to adore her sleeping figure. Polyphemus (/ˌpɒlɪˈfiːməs/; Greek: Πολύφημος Polyphēmos) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey. His name means 'abounding in songs and legends'. Polyphemus first appears as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the Odyssey. Some later Classical writers link his name with the nymph Galatea and present him in a different light. In Homer's epic, Odysseus lands on the island of the Cyclops during his journey home from the Trojan War and, together with some of his men, enters a cave filled with provisions. When the giant Polyphemus returns home with his flocks, he blocks the entrance with a great stone and, scoffing at the usual custom of hospitality, eats two of the men. Next morning, the giant kills and eats two more and leaves the cave to graze his sheep. After the giant returns in the evening and eats two more of the men, Odysseus offers Polyphemus some strong and undiluted wine given to him earlier on his journey. Drunk and unwary, the giant asks Odysseus his name, promising him a guest-gift if he answers. Odysseus tells him 'Οὖτις', which means 'nobody' and Polyphemus promises to eat this 'Nobody' last of all. With that, he falls into a drunken sleep. Odysseus had meanwhile hardened a wooden stake in the fire and drives it into Polyphemus' eye. When Polyphemus shouts for help from his fellow giants, saying that 'Nobody' has hurt him, they think Polyphemus is being afflicted by divine power and recommend prayer as the answer. In the morning, the blind Cyclops lets the sheep out to graze, feeling their backs to ensure that the men are not escaping. However, Odysseus and his men have tied themselves to the undersides of the animals and so get away. As he sails off with his men, Odysseus boastfully reveals his real name, an act of hubris that was to cause problems for him later. Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, for revenge and casts huge rocks towards the ship, which Odysseus barely escapes. The story reappears in later Classical literature. In Cyclops, the 5th century BC play by Euripides, a chorus of satyrs offers comic relief from the grisly story of how Polyphemus is punished for his impious behaviour in not respecting the rites of hospitality. In his Latin epic, Virgil describes how Aeneas observes blind Polyphemus as he leads his flocks down to the sea. They have encountered Achaemenides, who re-tells the story of how Odysseus and his men escaped, leaving him behind. The giant is described as descending to the shore, using a 'lopped pine tree' as a walking staff. Once Polyphemus reaches the sea, he washes his oozing, bloody eye socket and groans painfully. Achaemenides is taken aboard Aeneas’ vessel and they cast off with Polyphemus in chase. His great roar of frustration brings the rest of the Cyclopes down to the shore as Aeneas draws away in fear. Julien d'Huy speculates that the myth may be palaeolithic. Elements of the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus are recognizable in the folklore of many other European groups. Wilhelm Grimm collected versions in Serbian, Romanian, Estonian, Finnish, Russian, and German. Versions in Basque, Lappish, Lithuanian, Gascon, Syrian, and Celtic are also known. The vivid nature of the Polyphemus episode made it a favorite theme of ancient Greek painted pottery, on which the scenes most often illustrated are the blinding of the Cyclops and the ruse by which Odysseus and his men escape. One such episode, on a vase featuring the hero carried beneath a sheep, was used on a 27 drachma Greek postage stamp in 1983. The blinding was depicted in life-size sculpture, including a giant Polyphemus, in the Sperlonga sculptures probably made for the Emperor Tiberius. This may be an interpretation of an existing composition, and was apparently repeated in variations in later Imperial palaces by Claudius, Nero and at Hadrian's Villa. Of the European painters of the subject, the Flemish Jacob Jordaens depicted Odysseus escaping from the cave of Polyphemus in 1635 (see gallery below) and others chose the dramatic scene of the giant casting boulders at the escaping ship. In Guido Reni's painting of 1639/40 (see below), the furious giant is tugging a boulder from the cliff as Odysseus and his men row out to the ship far below. Polyphemus is portrayed, as it often happens, with two empty eye sockets and his damaged eye located in the middle on his forehead. This convention goes back to Greek statuary and painting and is reproduced in Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein's 1802 head and shoulders portrait of the giant (see below).