The Cyclops Polyphemus

myminifactory

This iconic sculpture depicts a striking head-portrait of the legendary Cyclops Polyphemus, a renowned mythical figure featured prominently in Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus and his men then sail through the dark night to the land of the Cyclopes, a harsh and uncivilized tribe of one-eyed giants. After feasting on wild goats captured from an island offshore, they cross over to the mainland. There, they immediately stumble upon a cave filled with sheep and crates of milk and cheese. The men urge Odysseus to grab some food and make a quick exit, but, to his and his crew's misfortune, he decides to linger. The cave's inhabitant soon returns—it is the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. Polyphemus initially puts on a show of hospitality, but he quickly turns hostile. He devours two of Odysseus's men on the spot and imprisons Odysseus and the rest in his cave for future meals. Odysseus wants to take his sword to Polyphemus right then, but he knows that only Polyphemus is strong enough to move the massive rock blocking the door of his cave. Odysseus thus devises a clever plan. The next day, while Polyphemus is outside tending to his sheep, Odysseus finds a wooden staff in the cave and hardens it in the fire. When Polyphemus returns, Odysseus gets him drunk on wine he brought along from the ship. Feeling jovial, Polyphemus asks Odysseus his name. Odysseus replies that his name is "Nobody". As soon as Polyphemus collapses with intoxication, Odysseus and a select group of his men drive the red-hot staff into his eye. Polyphemus wakes with a blood-curdling scream, and his neighbours come to see what's wrong, but they leave as soon as he calls out, "Nobody's killing me". When morning comes, Odysseus and his men escape from the cave, unseen by the blind Polyphemus, by clinging to the bellies of the monster's sheep as they go out to graze.