‘From there, grieving still at heart, we sailed on further It is rather difficult to like the Cyclopes. But what is the main problem with them? In answer to this question, we can say that Polyphemos is hostile and eats people for supper. While this is not endearing, we must add that he did not go out of his way to attack Odysseus and his companions; he was just living on his island, minding his own business, and when uninvited visitors turned up on his doorstep... well, he just wasn't interested to hear their story (he does ask the obligatory question, though, ll. 252-5). Polyphemos, however, is not simply a monster: he is a shepherd and a producer of fine cheese. So is he a boorish giant who doesn't like the smell of humans or a sophisticated artisan cheesemaker living an isolated but idyllic existence? While reading the first few lines (quoted above) introducing the Polyphemos episode, it occurred to me that the myth may preserve the encounter between modern humans and their close relatives, the Neanderthals. First, there is envy; it sounds like the Cyclopes have it very easy and the gods shower all their blessings on them. Then there is this strange thing, that these people have no laws - institutions and meetings are mentioned and contrasted with life within the family unit, giving the impression that the Cyclopes are private individuals, living in very loose communities, where there is no communal decision making, discussion or such like - it's just live and let live, and each Cyclops' cave is his castle. These two interesting features of the Cyclopes, along with the complete lack of understanding of the concept of guest friendship and their giant size, are actually characteristics that may have set the the Neanderthals apart from their anatomically modern human contemporaries. Neanderthals were shorter but much stronger than us and it has been suggested that in a one-on-one fight between a Neanderthal and an anatomically modern human (AMH), the latter wouldn't stand a chance. This BBC documentary takes the same view (with a dramatised version of first Neanderthal/AMH encounter in Europe): Recent studies suggest that Neanderthals may have seriously lagged behind early modern humans in social skills, which prevented them from establishing the wide-ranging social networks the highly mobile human groups of Europe managed to do. This must have contributed to their isolation both with regards to technological inventions and access to social support in tough times. This sounds like they were the billy-no-mates of prehistoric Europe, but probably by their choice. One reason why they were not as open to new social encounters may be found in their different brain structure, which focused more on vision and movement, leaving less room for the social brain to develop (think of Polyphemos' one prominent eye in the middle of his forehead). This, however, does not mean they were loners - they lived in small groups, cared for the sick and injured and buried their dead.
So obvious anachronisms aside (the Cyclopes being shepherds and making dairy products and the emphasis on seafaring as a form of trade and a way to maintain contact with other people, although the latter is logical as the Cyclopes do live on an island), the Cyclopes match some criteria for Neanderthals: they are huge, 'in no way lovely' (l. 230), have no traffic with the outside world - although Polyphemos seems to be a bit too private even by Cyclops standards (ll. 188-9) -, 'endowed with great strength' (l. 214) and 'wild, with no true knowledge of laws or any good customs' (l. 215). This last item on the Neanderthal-checklist is rather vague, because what is a 'good custom'? What does 'wild' mean? Primitive? But then, in what way? This about a guy who makes cheese and keeps lambs and kids in three different pens according to age? Or does it mean 'savage and violent, and without justice' (l. 175)? But then again, whose justice? I mean Odysseus' companions suggest making away with all the cheese, lambs and kids before Polyphemos returns home (ll. 224-7). And this leads us back to the Odyssey narrative (leaving the Neanderthal speculation behind). Odysseus is a wily man, he must have liked the companions' suggestion, but no, he wants to test this Polyphemos character like he is his personal nemesis. We are even told he has a hunch that he is about to meet a lawless monster, so he prepares for this by taking some undiluted sweet wine with him, a 'present' from Maron, a priest of Apollo, whose life the non-savage, non-violent Odysseus and his like-minded companions spared during their latest pillaging. And still, Odysseus wants to test Polyphemos if he will give him presents, thereby proving that he is not a violent, hostile monster. Maron showed his gratitude to Odysseus for not killing him and his family; what will the Cyclops do? Moving far, far away from the ancient roots of guest friendship, we are now presented with the big bully of the Aegean, extorting protection money from all and sundry (which Polyphemos actually accuses them of, ll. 252-5)? Anyway, it's supper time. Polyphemos starts off by taking two of Oddy's companions and bashing their brains out on the ground before cutting them up and eating them. He makes sure to close the entrance to the cave (using a cliff for a doorstop) prior to all this, and just to be extra careful, asks Oddy where they left their ship. He replies craftily that Poseidon has destroyed it. Polyphemos, by the way, insults Zeus and the other gods by saying that the Cyclopes 'are far better / than they' (ll. 276-7). After eating and drinking, Polyphemos falls asleep. Odysseus wants to kill him with his sword, but on second thoughts, he realises that this rash action would leave them with the problem of the 'ponderous boulder' blocking their exit. It is interesting that giants are imagined as man-eating monsters in European folklore, but Polyphemos so lovingly tends to his flock (he even tells his complaint to his pet ram after he has been poked in the eye with the hot, sharp spear and thinks that his ram sympathises with him) that makes him a more complex character than the run-of-the-mill giants of many folk tales. His animal husbandry farm also operates on magic just like the garden in Scheria, as his ewes and nanny goats seem to be constantly giving birth (given the three categories of lambs and kids). So there is the fantasy of abundance again, and I don't think anyone is surprised to see all the animals end up on Odysseus' ship. In summary, Polyphemos eats 4 companions and loses all his flock as well as his eyesight. He became a kind of prototype for the eternal loser in the poetic imagination, cropping up in pastoral idylls in later antiquity as the Cyclops falling hopelessly in love with the sea nymph Galatea, only to stumble upon her one day in the arms of her lover, Acis. According to Philoxenus of Cythera, Odysseus, trying to think of a plan how to escape from Polyphemos, first offered him help with winning Galatea's love: ʻOdysseus was trying to persuade Polyphemos (Polyphemus) to let him out of the cave: “For I am a sorcerer,” he said, “and I could give you timely help in your unsuccessful marine love: I know incantations and binding charms and love spells which Galatea is unlikely to resist even for a short time. For your part, just promise to move the door – or rather this door-stone: it seems as big as a promontory to me – or I’ll return more quickly than it takes to tell, after winning the girl over. Winning her over, do I say? I’ll produce her here in person, made compliant by many enchantments. She’ll beg and beseech you, and you will play coy and hide your true feelings. But one thing worries me in all this: I’m afraid the goat-stink of your fleecy blankets may be offensive to a girl who lives in luxury and washes many times a day. So it would be a good idea if you put everything in order and swept and washed and fumigated your room, and better still if you prepared wreaths of ivy and bindweed to garland yourself and your darling girl. Come on, why waste time? Why not put your hand to the door now?” Odysseus and his companions, in Homer's version, take their revenge on the Cyclops, driving a hot spear into his one huge eye while he is asleep (warning: graphic violence through ll. 382-97). It is not clear if the Cyclops sleeps with his eye open (interestingly, the text has 'eyebrows' and 'eyelids' in the plural, see picture above of a marble of Polyphemos' head). Polyphemos, hollering in pain, pulls the beam out of his eye, crying to the other Cyclopes. (This happens before he rolls the stone away, so his neighbours stand around his cave but can't see what's going on inside.) When questioned who is hurting him, poor Polyphemos replies, 'Nobody is killing me by force or treachery' (l. 408). This makes the Cyclopes think that Polyphemos must have some sickness, that's why he is in pain and suggest he pray to Zeus for healing. After this, they leave the scene while Odysseus secretly congratulates himself on his cunning. Polyphemos cries out again in agony, and rolls the boulder away from the entrance of the cave. He sits down at the mouth of the cave, so he will be able to catch anyone trying to escape. Resourceful Odysseus 'silently' manages to tie the sheep together in groups of three with willow withes, and each of his men clings to the belly of a sheep in the middle. The last ram is the odd-one-out, and this Odysseus chooses for himself. They wait in this fashion until dawn comes (must have been really uncomfortable) and the male sheep go out to pasture. The ewes are bleating plaintively as they are unmilked. Polyphemos stretches out his hands to touch his sheep, feeling for stowaways, but with no success. The dramatic moment comes when his favourite ram, the one Odysseus is under, leaves the cave: Polyphemos asks him why he is leaving the cave last when he should be the first. He concludes the ram must be depressed over his master's misfortune and wishes the animal could speak and be able to tell him where 'Nobody' is hiding. He also shares his revenge fantasies about how he will bash Nobody's brain out on the floor. When they reach their ship, Odysseus tells his men not to make any sound by mourning their dead companions, and they (quietly, again, I assume) drive all the sheep on board. However, as soon as they have 'dashed the oars in the gray sea' (l. 472), Odysseus can't restrain himself any longer and 'call[s] out aloud to the Cyclops, taunting him' (l. 474): ʻCyclops, in the end it was no weak man’s companions This angers Polyphemos so much that he breaks off the peak of a mountain near him and throws it towards Oddysseus' ship. As it splashes into the sea right next to Oddy and companions, it creates a tidal wave, which shoves their ship back onto the shore. Odysseus uses the infamous pole to push themselves out to the sea again and orders his crew to row hard. What did Odysseus learn from his mistake in teasing the Cyclops? Yes, that he should tease him again, but this time from 'twice the previous distance' (l. 491). His men try to stop him, but in vain: ʻCyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who it was So, he tells the Cyclops what he thinks of his character and identifies himself. The Cyclops answers him by saying that with this, an old prophecy has come true: he was told by a great prophet among the Cyclopes that a hero named Odysseus was to blind him; however, he expected a tall and handsome man to fight him with great strength, not a small and ugly one, who will defeat him with wine and low cunning. Now he also identifies himself, as the son of Poseidon and says his father will heal his eye. He goes on to announce that he wants to give Oddy a guest gift if he comes back for it. Odysseus, in reply, expresses his doubts that anyone will be able to heal Polyphemos and swears that his only regret is that he didn't kill him. Polyphemos prays to Poseidon and curses Odysseus: ʻHear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly Poseidon listens to his son's prayer. Polyphemos takes an even bigger rock, though, and hurls it towards Odysseus' ship again and misses it just by a little. The tidal wave pushes them in the other direction this time, so the ship gets neatly beached on the island where the other companions are waiting for them. Odysseus promptly sacrifices the ram he used as cover when fleeing the Cyclops, but Zeus does not relent towards him. Nevertheless, this does not dampen the spirits of the crew, and they start to feast. The next day, Odysseus urges them to sail along, which they do, 'glad to have escaped death, / but grieving still at heart for the loss of our dear companions' (ll. 565-6).
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AuthorHave studied A219 Exploring the Classical World and A275 Reading Classical Greek at the Open University. Currently studying for a Psychology degree. ImagesPlease click on any image to be taken to its source.
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