Polyphemus is an major antagonist from Homer's The Odyssey. He is the most notable member of the gigantic legendary monster, Cyclops, from Greek mythology. He is the son of Poseidon .
Biography[]
Polyphemus was discovered by Odysseus and his crew when they landed on the shores of the island of the Cyclops during their voyage across the seas. The men had sought refuge in his cave only to find themselves imprisoned by Polyphemus when he returned from tending to his flock of sheep, he blocked the entrance to his cave and begins to mercilessly kill two of Odysseus' men before devouring them.
The monster then proceeded to keep the men hostage overnight, in the morning he crushed and devoured another pair of Odysseus' men before going to tend to his flock, blocking the cave with a boulder to stop escape.
That night Polyphemus returns to the cave and kills another two of Odysseus' men and devours them. However, by this time, Odysseus had come up with a plan to defeat his adversary, offering the Cyclops a drink of extremely potent wine and the greedy monster gladly accepted.
Polyphemus became drunk and as a result he became somewhat stupid, asking Odysseus for his name with the promise of a reward for doing so. The clever Odysseus replied that his name was "nobody" and the cruel Cyclops taunted him by stating he would devour "nobody" last as his reward, as the monster fell into a drunken slumber.
As Polyphemus slept Odysseus and his men took a section of the Cyclops' wooden club which they had chopped off and carved to a point during his absence, heated the self-made spear on the remains of a fire the monster had set, and proceeded to thrust the spear into his eye, blinding him.
Polyphemus yelled out in pain and called to his fellow Cyclops to come to his aid, stating that "nobody" had harmed him, with the other Cyclops thinking that he had gone mad and ignored his pleas.
Odysseus and his men then proceed to escape via latching onto the underside of Polyphemus' sheep and the blinded Cyclops is unable to do much but feel over the top of his sheep in a vain attempt to catch his victims, and as the sheep leave, so do Odysseus and his surviving men.
However, in act of hubris Odysseus proceeds to yell to Polyphemus from the safety of his boat that "I am not nobody! I am Odysseus!". This gives Polyphemus a name by which to pray to his father, the god of the sea, for vengeance to: Poseiden hears his son's prayer and acts upon it, becoming the enemy of Odysseus from that moment onwards.
Adaptations[]
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters[]
- Main article: Polyphemus (Percy Jackson)
Polyphemus is featured as a supporting antagonist in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters. Since he is the son of Poseidon, that would make him Percy and Tyson's half-brother. He uses the stolen Golden Fleece to lure satyrs into his den and capture and eat them.
Bookworm Adventures[]
Polyphemus is the second boss in the video game Bookworm Adventures. He appears in the downloadable version. Here are his attacks:
| Attack | Description |
|---|---|
| Overhead Smash | Damages Lex. |
| Tile Smash | Smashes a tile. |
He is also known as the King of the Cyclopes in the spin-off, Bookworm Heroes. He is a playable character after the events of Bookworm Adventures.
Rock of Ages 3: Make and Break[]
In Rock of Ages 3: Make and Break, Polyphemus takes the role of the game's tutorial boss, teaching the player about the game's mechanics as well as the new Avalanche gamemode. The story about how Odysseus and his men defeated and tricked him is retold, with the addition of Odysseus gathering Polyphemus' sheep to roll into a ball to serve as a makeshift boulder due to the game's boulder-themed battles. Much like in the legend, Polyphemus cries to his father Poseidon, who becomes Elpenor's enemy due to him being the main character of the game.
Hades II
In Hades II, Polyphemus serves as a minor antagonist serving as the game's first boss in the city of Ephyra. The story about how Odysseus and his men defeated him and tricked him is retold, with him also losing his eye as a result. He eats his sheep for strength, and his goal is to eat Melinoe. In an undisclosed deal with Chorus, he was given total dominion over the city of Ephyra and its residents in exchange for protecting it from the Crossroads Rebellion. As with the myth, he also refers to Odysseus as Nobody and asks Melinoe to send him a message.
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