Polyphemus was a legendary monster that took the form of a gigantic Cyclops, he was the son of Poseidon and an antagonist from the Greek myth known as the Odyssey, written by the famous poet Homer.
Role In The Legend
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: he offered 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: then 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 - the other Cyclops thought 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 - as the sheep leave so do too 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.
In films
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters
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.
In video games
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.