Polyphemus+the+Cyclops

=**Mythology**=

Polyphemus is a giant with one eye, the offspring of Poseidon and Thoosa, two Greek gods. = = =**Odyssey**= The story of Polyphemus is told in book 9 of the Odyssey. Odysseus goes to the island of the Cyclops and becomes trapped in his cave. He then devises a plan to trick the Cyclops. While the cyclops is outside during the day, the men sharpen a very large stick. When Polyphemus comes back they get him drunk when he goes back into his cave. He falls asleep after eating 2 more men. While he is sleep, the men put the stick in a fire and jab his eye out, blinding him. Polyphemus goes to bed because he cannot see them. In the morning Odysseus and his crew tie themselves to the bottom of Polyphemus' sheep. When polyphemus checks the sheep he runs his hand over their back but not their stomachs, where Odysseus men are hanging. The end = = =**Physical Appearance**= Polyphemus is portayed as around 15 feet tall. However, because he was able to eat 2 men at a time he is probably more than double that. Some pictures show him with two eye sockets where a normal person would have them, and then one eye above the two. Other pictures portray him with one big eye between where two eyes would be. He is always shown as very muscular, and generally is holding a club. Polyphemus is said to be mean in almost all stories except Theocritus.

=**Character Traits**= Polyphemus was a mean big giant cyclops, he is loud, extraordinarily strong, inhospitable and both murderous and violent.

=Relatives and Friends= Polyphemus was the son of the "Sea God" Poseidon and the " Sea nymph " Thoosa. One of Polyphemus' friends was Galatea and he loved her so much that he killed her lover Aices. Other than that Polyphemus wasn't big on friends but he was a popular character. = = =**Revealing Odysseus's Character**=

Odysseus is very clever in his plan but also some character flaws are revealed during the encounter with Polyphemus. He is escaping but at the last second tells Polyphemus his real name, which shows Odysseus' sense of hubris. Polyphemus prays for revenge on Odysseus for hurting him, and Poseidon listens. Poseidon curses him and sens many storms and disasters their way. Poseidon's curse can account for most of the bad things that happen to Odysseus after this point, as Poseidon is determined to get revenge for Odysseus blinding one of his sons.