The Cyclops Polyphemus

Who does not know the Cyclops Polyphemus? I think very few people in the world don't know about its existence and fascinating stories.

Let's start by introducing him, who was Polyphemus first of all? He was a Cyclops, a gigantic figure from Greek mythology with one eye in the center of the forehead. The name derives from the Greek "κύκλος" (circle) and "ὤψ" (eye). There are two types of Cyclops, some described by Hesiod a Greek poet who represented them as beings very skilled in craftsmanship and iron working so much so that they were considered the helpers of Hephaestus the God of fire and the creators of Zeus' lightning bolts. They were three brothers Bronte called the Thunderer, Sterope called the Lightning and Arge called the Sparkling all generated by Uranus and Era. By Homer, on the other hand, they were compared to terrible monsters who in addition to devoting themselves to pastoralism were also voracious of human beings and who lived in isolation inside caves and only one is mentioned precisely Polyphemus. According to Homer, Polyphemus and the Cyclops were inferior beings and children of the God Poseidon in turn, son of Uranus and Hera and of Toosa a nymph of the seas.

The land of the Cyclops according to Homer was Sicily and specifically the area was the one at the foot of Etna, while according to some ancient marine maps it would have been in front of the Faraglioni dei Ciclopi near Aci Trezza always in Sicily, and again according to the indications of Thucydides an Athenian historian of 460 BC, the land of the Cyclops was located north of Naples where there is the island of Nisida between the cliffs of Posillipo where a particular large cave could have been the cave of Polyphemus. Finally, the Egadi archipelago where Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo are also attributed as the home of the Cyclops.

But let's get to the stories that revolve around this Cyclops. The most famous is certainly the one linked to Ulysses who during his return from Troy stops on the island and pushed by his innate curiosity begins to explore it until he finds the cave of Polyphemus where he is captured by the Cyclops together with all the his companions. Six of Ulysses' twelve men are immediately devoured while the others are trapped in the cave which is closed by a huge boulder. Ulysses devises a plan to escape and first offers a lot of wine to the monster until he gets drunk and falls asleep. The gift was so appreciated that Polyphemus promised Ulysses to eat it last if he gave him more and also asked to know his name. Cunningly the King of Ithaca replies that he is called "Nobody" and Polyphemus full of wine fell asleep again. While the Cyclops was in the arms of Morpheus, Ulysses and his companions built a stick with a piece of olive tree that was in the cave by sticking it into the one eye of the being who awoke from pain and began to scream and ask his brothers for help. Arriving at the cave, the other Cyclops asked his brother who had hurt him and he replied that it had been "Nobody" in an attempt to kill him and seeing him drunk they gave him no weight and left him in his pain. Meanwhile Ulysses and the other men hid in the midst of Polyphemus' flock of sheep who, blind, could not understand where they had ended up. The next morning when the cave was opened to let the animals out, Ulysses and the others managed to escape by clinging to the fleece of the belly of the beasts so that Polyphemus touching them to understand if they were men did not notice them. When he realized he had escaped, he ran to the promontory where he began to throw stones into the sea with the hope of hitting Ulysses' ship and sinking it. Obviously he did not succeed, but Ulysses committed the biggest mistake of his entire adventure towards Ithaca by revealing his name to the Cyclops as a sign of self-satisfaction "If someone asks you who blinded you, answer that it was not Otuis (nobody) but Ulysses of Ithaca ". Polyphemus knowing at this point the real name of the one who had mocked and ruined him forever, he began to curse him and begged his father Poseidon to do everything to stop him from returning home and avenging him. And so the God of the sea did, unleashing storms and terrible winds, until Ulysses was shipwrecked, losing his ship and slowing his return to Ithaca.

Another legend linked to Polyphemus is the one that speaks of the Nymph Galatea. The cyclops minister of Hephaestus falls in love with the nymph one of the fifty nymphs of the sea, the Nereids, daughters of the marine gods of Doride and Nereus, who was in love with the shepherd boy Ace, son of the God Pan the God of the woods and mountains. One evening Polyphemus sees Galatea and Ace kissing by the sea and mad with jealousy begins to premeditate his revenge. As soon as Galatea dives into the sea, Polyphemus, blinded by rage, begins beating his fists on the cave wall making the whole mountain tremble and then heading towards the woods in search of Ace, devastating everything he encountered until he met the poor shepherd boy who crushed him by throwing him. on a large piece of rock. As soon as Galatea learned of the misfortune she ran to Ace now lifeless and began to cry. The Gods taken by compassion for so much pain transform Ace's blood into a small river that springs from Etna and flows into the beach where they used to meet.

It is always fascinating to discover a piece of the history of Greece even if it is only legends, it makes you travel with the imagination and feeds more and more the desire to know this great and majestic land.