Wikipedia

Polyphemus

For other uses, seePolyphemus (disambiguation).

Polyphemus(/ˌpɒliˈfiːməs/;Ancient Greek:Πολύφημος,romanized:Polyphēmos,Epic Greek:[polypʰɛːmos];Latin:Polyphēmus[pɔlʏˈpʰeːmʊs]) is the one-eyed giant son ofPoseidonandThoosainGreek mythology,one of theCyclopesdescribed inHomer'sOdyssey.His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous".[1]Polyphemus first appeared as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of theOdyssey.Thesatyr playofEuripidesis dependent on this episode apart from one detail; Polyphemus is made apederastin the play. Later Classical writers presented him in their poems as heterosexual and linked his name with the nymphGalatea.Often he was portrayed as unsuccessful in these, and as unaware of his disproportionate size and musical failings.[2]In the work of even later authors, however, he is presented as both a successful lover and skilled musician. From theRenaissanceon, art and literature reflect all of these interpretations of the giant.

Polyphemus
The blinded Polyphemus seeks vengeance on Odysseus:Guido Reni's painting in theCapitoline Museums
GroupingCyclopes
FamilyPoseidonandThoosa(Parents)
FolkloreGreek mythology
RegionSicily

Odysseus and Polyphemus

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Greek terracotta figurine,Polyphemos reclining and holding a drinking bowl.Late 5th to early 4th century BC, Boeotia. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Ancient sources

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In Homer's epic,Odysseuslands on the island of the Cyclopes during his journey home from theTrojan Warand, together with some of his men, enters a cave filled with provisions. When the giant Polyphemus returns home with his flocks, he blocks the entrance with a great stone and, scorning theusual customofhospitality,eats two of the men. Next morning, the giant kills and eats two more and leaves the cave to graze his sheep.

The blinding of Polyphemus, a reconstruction from thevilla of Tiberius at Sperlonga,1st century AD

After the giant returns in the evening and eats two more of the men, Odysseus offers Polyphemus some strong and undiluted wine given to him earlier on his journey. Drunk and unwary, the giant asks Odysseus his name, promising him aguest-giftif he answers. Odysseus tells him "Οὖτις",which means" nobody "[3][4]and Polyphemus promises to eat this "Nobody" last of all. With that, he falls into a drunken sleep. Odysseus had meanwhile hardened a wooden stake in the fire and drives it into Polyphemus' eye. When Polyphemus shouts for help from his fellow giants, saying that "Nobody" has hurt him, they think Polyphemus is being afflicted by divine power and recommend prayer as the answer.

In the morning, the blind Cyclops lets the sheep out to graze, feeling their backs to ensure that the men are not escaping. However, Odysseus and his men have tied themselves to the undersides of the animals and so get away. As he sails off with his men, Odysseus boastfully reveals his real name, an act ofhubristhat was to cause problems for him later. Polyphemus prays to his father,Poseidon,for revenge and casts huge rocks towards the ship, which Odysseus barely escapes.

The story reappears in later Classical literature. InCyclops,the 5th-century BC play byEuripides,a chorus of satyrs offers comic relief from the grisly story of how Polyphemus is punished for his impious behaviour in not respecting the rites of hospitality.[5]In this play, Polyphemus claims to be apederast,revealing to Odysseus that he takes more pleasure in boys than in women, and tries to take thesatyrSilenus,who he kept together with his sons as slaves onMount EtnainSicily,calling him "myGanymede".[6]The scene is infused with low comedy, specifically from the chorus, and Polyphemus is made to look silly: he is drunk when he explains his sexual desire, Silenus is too old to play the part of the young lover, and he himself will be subjected to penetration—with the wooden spike.[7]

In his Latin epic,Virgildescribes howAeneasobserves blind Polyphemus as he leads his flocks down to the sea. They have encounteredAchaemenides,who re-tells the story of how Odysseus and his men escaped, leaving him behind. The giant is described as descending to the shore, using a "lopped pine tree" as a walking staff. Once Polyphemus reaches the sea, he washes his oozing, bloody eye socket and groans painfully. Achaemenides is taken aboard Aeneas' vessel and they cast off with Polyphemus in chase. His great roar of frustration brings the rest of the Cyclopes down to the shore as Aeneas draws away in fear.[8]

Artistic representations

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Painting of Odysseus and his men blinding Polyphemus (fromEleusis AmphorabyPolyphemos Painter,Eleusismuseum)

During the seventh century, the potters gave preference to scenes from both epics,The Odysseyandthe Iliad,almost half being that of the blinding of the Cyclops and the ruse by which Odysseus and his men escape.[9]One such episode, on a vase featuring the hero carried beneath a sheep, was used on a 27 drachma Greek postage stamp in 1983.[10]This was a steep drop (to the point of being "insignificant" ) from the volume of pan-Hellenic pottery discovered from the fifth and sixth centuries, which largely depicted ancient Greek mythology: scenes from theTrojan Waror deeds fromHeraclesorPerseus.[9]

The blinding was depicted in life-size sculpture, including a giant Polyphemus, in theSperlonga sculpturesprobably made for the EmperorTiberius.This may be an interpretation of an existing composition, and was apparently repeated in variations in later Imperial palaces byClaudius,Neroand atHadrian's Villa.[11]

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg,Ulysses Fleeing the Cave of Polyphemus,1812,Princeton University Art Museum

Of the European painters of the subject, the FlemishJacob Jordaensdepicted Odysseus escaping from the cave of Polyphemus in 1635 (see gallerybelow) and others chose the dramatic scene of the giant casting boulders at the escaping ship. InGuido Reni's painting of 1639/40 (see above), the furious giant is tugging a boulder from the cliff as Odysseus and his men row out to the ship far below. Polyphemus is portrayed, as it often happens, with two empty eye sockets and his damaged eye located in the middle on his forehead. This convention goes back to Greek statuary and painting,[12]and is reproduced inJohann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein's 1802 head and shoulders portrait of the giant (seebelow).

Arnold Böcklinpictures the giant as standing on rocks onshore and swinging one of them back as the men row desperately over a surging wave (seebelow), while Polyphemus is standing at the top of a cliff inJean-Léon Gérôme's painting of 1902. He stands poised, having already thrown one stone, which barely misses the ship. The reason for his rage is depicted inJ. M. W. Turner's painting,Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus(1829). Here the ship sails forward as the sun breaks free of clouds low on the horizon. The giant himself is an indistinct shape barely distinguished from the woods and smoky atmosphere high above.

Possible origins

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Folktales similar to that of Homer's Polyphemus are a widespread phenomenon throughout the ancient world.[13]In 1857,Wilhelm Grimmcollected versions inSerbian,Romanian,Estonian,Finnish,Russian,German,and others; versions inBasque,Sámi,Lithuanian,Gascon,Syriac,andCelticare also known.[14]More than two hundred different versions have been identified,[13]from around twenty five nations, covering a geographic region extending from Iceland, Ireland, England, Portugal and Africa to Arabia, Turkey, Russia, and Korea.[15][nb 1]The consensus of current modern scholarship is that these "Polyphemus legends" preserve traditions predating Homer.[17][18][19][20][21][22]

An example of such a story is one fromGeorgia,in theCaucasus,which describes several brothers held prisoner by a giant one-eyed shepherd called "One-eye". After all but two of the brothers are roasted on a spit and eaten, the remaining two take the spit, heat it red hot, and stab it into the giant's eye. As One-eye let his flock out of their pen, he felt each sheep as it passed between his legs, but the two brothers were able to escape by covering themselves with a sheepskin.[23]

Polyphemus and Galatea

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Main article:Acis and Galatea (mythology)
Detail of Galatea and Polyphemus. FromBoscotrecase.Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. last decade of the 1st century BCE

Ancient sources

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Philoxenus of Cythera

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Writing more than three centuries after theOdysseyis thought to have been composed,Philoxenus of Cytheratook up the myth of Polyphemus in his poemCyclopsorGalatea.The poem was written to be performed as adithyramb,of which only fragments have survived, and was perhaps the first to provide a female love interest for the Cyclops.[nb 2]The object of Polyphemus' romantic desire is a sea nymph namedGalatea.[25]In the poem, Polyphemus is not a cave dwelling, monstrous brute, as in theOdyssey,but instead he is rather like Odysseus himself in his vision of the world: He has weaknesses, he is adept at literary criticism, and he understands people.[26]

The date of composition for theCyclopsis not precisely known, but it must be prior to 388 BC, whenAristophanesparodied it in his comedyPlutus(Wealth); and probably after 406 BC, whenDionysius Ibecame tyrant ofSyracuse.[27][28]Philoxenus lived in that city and was the court poet of Dionysius I.[29]According to ancient commentators, either because of his frankness regarding Dionysius' poetry, or because of a conflict with the tyrant over a femaleaulosplayer named Galatea, Philoxenus was imprisoned in the quarries and had there composed hisCyclopsin the manner of aRoman à clef,where the poem's characters, Polyphemus, Odysseus and Galatea, were meant to represent Dionysius, Philoxenus, and the aulos-player.[30][31]Philoxenus had his Polyphemus perform on thecithara,a professionallyrerequiring great skill. The Cyclops playing such a sophisticated and fashionable instrument would have been quite a surprising juxtaposition for Philoxenus' audience.

Philoxenus'Cyclopsis also referred to inAristotle'sPoeticsin a section that discusses representations of people in tragedy and comedy, citing as comedic examples theCyclopsof bothTimotheusand Philoxenus.[32][33][34]

Aristophanes

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The text of Aristophanes' last extant playPlutus(Wealth) has survived with almost all of its choral odes missing.[35]What remains shows Aristophanes (as he does to some extent in all his plays) parodying a contemporary literary work — in this case Philoxenus'Cyclops.[35][36][28]While making fun of literary aspects of Philoxenus' dithyramb, Aristophanes is at the same time commenting on musical developments occurring in the fourth century BC, developing themes that run through the whole play.[37]It also contains lines and phrases taken directly from theCyclops.[38]

The slave Cario, tells the chorus that his master has brought home with him the god Wealth, and because of this they will all now be rich. The chorus wants to dance for joy,[39]so Cario takes the lead by parodying Philoxenus'Cyclops.[40][41]As a solo performer leading a chorus that sings and dances, Cario recreates the form of a dithyramb. He first casts himself in the role of Polyphemus while assigning to the chorus the roles of sheep and goats, at the same time imitating the sound of a lyre: "And now I wish — threttanello! — to imitate the Cyclops and, swinging my feet to and fro like this, to lead you in the dance. But come on, children, shout and shout again the songs of bleating sheep and smelly goats."[34][42]The chorus, however, does not want to play sheep and goats, they would rather be Odysseus and his men, and they threaten to blind Cario (as had Odysseus the drunken Cyclops) with a wooden stake.[37]

Hellenistic pastoral poets

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The romantic element, originated by Philoxenus, was revived by later Hellenistic poets, includingTheocritus,Callimachus,Hermesianax,[43]andBion of Smyrna.[44]

Theocritusis credited with creating the genre ofpastoral poetry.[45]His works are titledIdyllsand of theseIdyll XItells the story of the Cyclops' love for Galatea.[46]Though the character of Polyphemus derives from Homer, there are notable differences. Where Homer's Cyclops was beastly and wicked, Theocritus' is absurd, lovesick and comic. Polyphemus loves the sea nymph Galatea, but she rejects him because of his ugliness.[47][48]However, in a borrowing from Philoxenus' poem, Polyphemus has discovered that music will heal lovesickness,[49]and so he plays thepanpipesand sings of his woes, for "I am skilled in piping as no other Cyclops here".[50]His longing is to overcome the antithetic elements that divide them, he of earth and she of water:[50]

Ah me, would that my mother at my birth had given me gills, That so I might have dived down to your side and kissed your hand, If your lips you would not let me...

Jean-Baptiste van Loo's depiction of "The Triumph of Galatea"; Polyphemus plays the pan-pipes on the right

The love of the mismatched pair was later taken up by other pastoral poets. The same trope of music being the cure for love was introduced by Callimachus in his Epigram 47: "How excellent was the charm that Polyphemus discovered for the lover. By Earth, the Cyclops was no fool!"[51]A fragment of a lost idyll by Bion also portrays Polyphemus declaring his undying love for Galatea.[52]Referring back to this, an elegy on Bion's death that was once attributed toMoschustakes the theme further in a piece ofhyperbole.Where Polyphemus had failed, the poet declares, Bion's greater artistry had won Galatea's heart, drawing her from the sea to tend his herds.[53]This reflected the situation inIdyll VIof Theocritus. There two herdsmen engage in a musical competition, one of them playing the part of Polyphemus, who asserts that since he has adopted the ruse of ignoring Galatea, she has now become the one who pursues him.[54]

Latin poets

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The successful outcome of Polyphemus' love was also alluded to in the course of a 1st-century BC love elegy on the power of music by the Latin poetPropertius.Listed among the examples he mentions is that "Even Galatea, it's true, below wild Etna, wheeled her brine-wet horses, Polyphemus, to your songs."[55]The division of contrary elements between the land-based monster and the sea nymph, lamented in Theocritus' Idyll 11, is brought into harmony by this means.

WhileOvid's treatment of the story that he introduced into theMetamorphoses[56]is reliant on the idylls of Theocritus,[nb 3]it is complicated by the introduction of Acis, who has now become the focus of Galatea's love.

While I pursued him with a constant love,
the Cyclops followed me as constantly.
And, should you ask me, I could not declare
whether my hatred of him, or my love
of Acis was the stronger. —They were equal.[1]

There is also a reversion to the Homeric vision of the hulking monster, whose attempt to play the tender shepherd singing love songs is made a source of humour by Galatea:

Now, Polyphemus, wretched Cyclops, you
are careful of appearance, and you try
the art of pleasing. You have even combed
your stiffened hair with rakes: it pleases you
to trim your shaggy beard with a reaping hook.[59]

In his own character, too, Polyphemus mentions the transgression of heavenly laws that once characterised his actions and is now overcome by Galatea: "I, who scorn Jove and his heaven and his piercing lightning bolt, submit to you alone."[60]

Galatea listens to the love song of Polyphemus while she and Acis lie hidden by a rock.[61]In his song, Polyphemus scolds her for not loving him in return, offers her rustic gifts and points out what he considers his best feature — the single eye that is, he boasts, the size of a great shield.[62]But when Polyphemus discovers the hiding place of the lovers, he becomes enraged with jealousy. Galatea, terrified, dives into the ocean, while the Cyclops wrenches off a piece of the mountain and crushes Acis with it.[63]But on her return, Galatea changes her dead lover into the spirit of the Sicilian river Acis.[64]

Polyphemus receives a love-letter from Galatea, a 1st-century AD fresco from Pompeii

First-century AD art

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That the story sometimes had a more successful outcome for Polyphemus is also attested in the arts. In one of the murals rescued from the site ofPompeii,Polyphemus is pictured seated on a rock with acithara(rather than a syrinx) by his side, holding out a hand to receive a love letter from Galatea, which is carried by a wingedCupidriding on a dolphin.

In another fresco, also dating from the 1st century AD, the two stand locked in a naked embrace (seebelow). From their union came the ancestors of various wild and war-like races. According to some accounts, theCelts(Galati in Latin, Γάλλοi in Greek) were descended from their son Galatos,[65]whileAppiancredited them with three children,Celtus,IllyriusandGalas,from whom descend theCelts,theIllyriansand theGaulsrespectively.[66]

Lucian

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Offspring of Polyphemus and Galatea

There are indications that Polyphemus' courtship also had a more successful outcome in one of the dialogues ofLucianof Samosata. There Doris, one of Galatea's sisters, spitefully congratulates her on her love conquest and she defends Polyphemus. From the conversation, one understands that Doris is chiefly jealous that her sister has a lover. Galatea admits that she does not love Polyphemus but is pleased to have been chosen by him in preference to all her companions.[67]

Nonnus

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That their conjunction was fruitful is also implied in a later Greek epic from the turn of the 5th century AD. In the course of hisDionysiaca,Nonnusgives an account of the wedding ofPoseidonand Beroe, at which theNereid"Galatea twangled a marriage dance and restlessly twirled in capering step, and she sang the marriage verses, for she had learnt well how to sing, being taught by Polyphemos with a shepherd'ssyrinx."[68]

Later European interpretations

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Literature and music

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DuringRenaissanceandBaroquetimes Ovid's story emerged again as a popular theme. In SpainLuis de Góngora y Argotewrote the much admired narrative poem,Fábula dePolifemoy Galatea,published in 1627. It is particularly noted for its depiction of landscape and for the sensual description of the love of Acis and Galatea.[69]It was written in homage to an earlier and rather shorter narrative with the same title by Luis Carillo y Sotomayor (1611).[nb 4]The story was also given operatic treatment in the very popularzarzuelaofAntoni Lliteres Carrió(1708). The atmosphere here is lighter and enlivened by the inclusion of the clowns Momo and Tisbe.

In France the story was condensed to the fourteen lines ofTristan L'Hermite's sonnet "Polyphème en furie" (1641). In it the giant expresses his fury upon viewing the loving couple, ultimately throwing the huge rock that kills Acis and even injures Galatea.[70]Later in the century,Jean-Baptiste Lullycomposed his operaAcis et Galatée(1686) on the theme.[nb 5]

Polyphemus discovers Galatea and Acis, statues by Auguste Ottin in theJardin du Luxembourg's Médici Fountain, 1866

In ItalyGiovanni Bononcinicomposed the one-act operaPolifemo(1703). Shortly afterwardsGeorge Frideric Handelworked in that country and composed the cantataAci, Galatea e Polifemo(1708), laying as much emphasis on the part of Polifemo as on the lovers. Written in Italian, Polifemo's deep bass solo "Fra l'ombre e gl'orrori" (From horrid shades) establishes his character from the start. After Handel's move to England, he gave the story a new treatment in hispastoraloperaAcis and Galateawith an English libretto provided byJohn Gay.[nb 6]Initially composed in 1718, the work went through many revisions and was later to be given updated orchestrations by bothMozartandMendelssohn.[72]As a pastoral work it is suffused with Theocritan atmosphere but largely centres on the two lovers. When Polyphemus declares his love in the lyric "O ruddier than the cherry", the effect is almost comic.[73][nb 7]Handel's rival for a while on the London scene,Nicola Porpora,also made the story the subject of his operaPolifemo(1735).

Later in the centuryJoseph HaydncomposedAcide e Galatea(1763) as his first opera while in Vienna.[nb 8]Designed for an imperial wedding, it was given a happy ending centred on the transformation scene after the murder of Acis as the pair declare their undying love.[74]Johann Gottlieb Naumannwas to turn the story into a comic opera,Aci e Galatea,with the subtitlei ciclopi amanti(the amorous cyclops). The work was first performed in Dresden in 1801 and its plot was made more complicated by giving Polifemo a companion, Orgonte. There were also two other lovers, Dorinda and Lisia, with Orgonte Lisia's rival for Dorinda's love.[75][nb 9]

After John Gay's libretto in Britain, it was not until the 19th century that the subject was given further poetical treatment. In 1819 appearedThe Death of AcisbyBryan Procter,writing under the name of Barry Cornwall.[76]A blank verse narrative with lyric episodes, it celebrates the musicianship of Polyphemus, which draws the lovers to expose themselves from their hiding place in a cave and thus brings about the death of Acis. At the other end of the century, there wasAlfred Austin's dramatic poem "Polyphemus", which is set after the murder and transformation of the herdsman. The giant is tortured by hearing the happy voices of Galatea and Acis as they pursue their love duet.[77]Shortly afterwardsAlbert Samainwrote the 2-act verse dramaPolyphèmewith the additional character of Lycas, Galatea's younger brother. In this the giant is humanised; sparing the lovers when he discovers them, he blinds himself and wades to his death in the sea. The play was first performed posthumously in 1904 with incidental music by Raymond Bonheur.[78]On this the French composerJean Crasbased his operatic 'lyric tragedy'Polyphème,composed in 1914 and first performed in 1922. Cras took Samain's text almost unchanged, subdividing the play's two acts into four and cutting a few lines from Polyphemus' final speech.[78]

There have also been two Spanish musical items that reference Polyphemus' name.Reginald Smith Brindle's four fragments for guitar,El Polifemo de Oro(1956), takes its title fromFederico García Lorca's poem, "The riddle of the guitar". That speaks of six dancing maidens (the guitar strings) entranced by 'a golden Polyphemus' (the one-eyed sound-hole).[79]The Spanish composer Andres Valero Castells takes the inspiration for hisPolifemo i Galateafrom Gongora's work. Originally written for brass band in 2001, he rescored it for orchestra in 2006.[80]

Painting and sculpture

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Paintings that include Polyphemus in the story of Acis and Galatea can be grouped according to their themes. Most notably the story takes place within a pastoral landscape in which the figures are almost incidental. This is particularly so inNicolas Poussin's 1649 "Landscape with Polyphemus" (see gallerybelow) in which the lovers play a minor part in the foreground.[81]To the right, Polyphemus merges with a distant mountain top on which he plays his pipes. In an earlier painting by Poussin from 1630 (now housed at theDublin National Gallery) the couple are among several embracing figures in the foreground, shielded from view of Polyphemus, who is playing his flute higher up the slope. Another variation on the theme was painted byPietro Dandiniduring this period.

Polyphemus spies on the sleeping Galatea,Gustave Moreau(1880)

An earlier fresco byGiulio Romanofrom 1528 seats Polyphemus against a rocky foreground with a lyre in his raised right hand. The lovers can just be viewed through a gap in the rock that gives onto the sea at the lower right.Corneille Van Clève(1681) represents a seated Polyphemus in his sculpture, except that in his version it is pipes that the giant holds in his lowered hand. Otherwise he has a massive club held across his body and turns to the left to look over his shoulder.

Other paintings take up the Theocritan theme of the pair divided by the elements with which they are identified, land and water. There are a series of paintings, often titled "The Triumph of Galatea", in which the nymph is carried through the sea by her Nereid sisters, while a minor figure of Polyphemus serenades her from the land. Typical examples of this were painted byFrançois Perrier,Giovanni LanfrancoandJean-Baptiste van Loo.

A whole series of paintings byGustave Moreaumake the same point in a variety of subtle ways.[82]The giant spies on Galatea through the wall of a sea grotto or emerges from a cliff to adore her sleeping figure (seebelow). Again, Polyphemus merges with the cliff where he meditates in the same way that Galatea merges with her element within the grotto in the painting at Musée d'Orsay. The visionary interpretation of the story also finds its echo inOdilon Redon's 1913 paintingThe Cyclopsin which the giant towers over the slope on which Galatea sleeps.[83]

French sculptors have also been responsible for some memorable versions.Auguste Ottin's separate figures are brought together in an 1866 fountain in theLuxembourg Garden.Above is crouched the figure of Polyphemus in weathered bronze, peering down at the white marble group of Acis and Galatea embracing below (see above). A little laterAuguste Rodinmade a series of statues, centred on Polyphemus. Originally modelled in clay around 1888 and later cast in bronze, they may have been inspired by Ottin's work.[84]

A final theme is the rage that succeeds the moment of discovery. That is portrayed in earlier paintings of Polyphemus casting a rock at the fleeing lovers, such as those byAnnibale Carracci,Lucas Auger andCarle van Loo.Jean-François de Troy's 18th-century version combines discovery with aftermath as the giant perched above the lovers turns to wrench up a rock.

Artistic depictions of Polyphemus

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Polyphemus and Odysseus

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Polyphemus as lover

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  • Polyphemus hears of the arrival of Galatea,Fourth Style,45–79 AD
  • Polyphemus and Galatea, Roman mosaic from the 2nd century AD. Córdoba (Spain).
  • Polyphemus and Galatea in a naked embrace. Fresco. From Pompeii 1st century
  • Nicolas Poussin,Acis and Galatea concealed from the flute-playing Polyphemus, 1630.
  • Nicolas Poussin's pastoral "Landscape with Polyphemus", 1649.
  • Gustave Moreau,Polyphemus adores the sleeping Galatea,c. 1896
  • Odilon Redon,The Cyclops1898–1914

Other uses

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Polyphemus is mentioned in the "Apprentice" chapter ofAlbert Pike'sMorals and Dogma(1871), as, within Scottish Rite Freemasonry, Polyphemus is regarded as a symbol for a civilization that harms itself using ill directed blind force.[85]

ThePolyphemus mothis so named because of the large eyespots in the middle of the hind wings.[86]

A species of burrowing tortoise,Gopherus polyphemus,is named after Polyphemus because of their both using subterranean retreats.[87]

Infolkloristics,the episode of the blinding of Polyphemus is also known asPolyphemsageand classified in theAarne-Thompson-Uther Indexas ATU 1137, "The Ogre Blinded (Polyphemus)".[88]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^For examples of the story from theCaucasus,see "Legends About Shepherds, Including Cyclops Legends".[16]
  2. ^That Polyphemus' love for Galatea is "possibly" a Philoxenus innovation.[24]
  3. ^Alan Griffin[57]calls Ovid's treatment "an extended paraphrase of Theocritus' two idylls."[58]
  4. ^Spanish textonlineArchived12 May 2013 at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Excerpts from Jean-Baptiste Lully's 1686 opera,Acis et Galatéeat PrestoClassical
  6. ^The text is on the Stanford University site.[71]
  7. ^There is a performance ofAcis and Galatea- Polyphemus: 'O ruddier than the cherry' by G. F. HandelonYouTube.
  8. ^Brief excerpts atClassical Archives
  9. ^There is a performance of Polifemo's ariaFulmine che dal CieloonYouTube

References

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Citations

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  1. ^πολύ-φημος.Liddell, Henry George;Scott, Robert;A Greek–English Lexiconat thePerseus Project
  2. ^Creese 2009.
  3. ^Autenrieth, Georg (1876)."οὔτις, οὔτι".A Homeric Dictionary(in Greek). Translated by Keep, Robert P. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.Retrieved11 March2020.
  4. ^οὔτιςandΟὖτις,Georg Autenrieth,A Homeric Dictionary,on Perseus
  5. ^Euripides 2020.
  6. ^Euripides 1994,lines580-585.
  7. ^Roman & Roman 2010,p. 126.
  8. ^Virgil 2002,lines 588–691.
  9. ^abJunker 2012,p. 80.
  10. ^Imago
  11. ^Carey 2002,pp. 44–61.
  12. ^Roman & Roman 2010,p. 416.
  13. ^abHeubeck & Hoekstra 1990,p.19 on lines 105–556.
  14. ^Pausanias 1898,p. 344 on 22.7.
  15. ^Glenn 1971,p. 134.
  16. ^Hunt 2012,pp. 201–229, Chapter VII.
  17. ^Fowler 2013,p. 55: "The one-eyed cannibalistic monster from whom the clever hero escapes is an extremely widespread folktale which Homer or a predecessor has worked into theOdyssey"
  18. ^Heubeck & Hoekstra 1990,p.19 on lines 105–556 "Analysis of the folk-tale material shows that the poet was using two originally unconnected stories, the first about a hero blinding a man-eating giant. Consistent features of this story are the hero's use of an animal, usually a sheep, or at least an animal skin, to effect an escape and the giant's attempt to bring the hero back with the help of a magical object. The second story concerns a hero outwitting a monster by giving a false name, usually 'I myself'. The fusion of these two stories is surely the work of the poet himself.".
  19. ^Mondi 1983,p. 17.
  20. ^Glenn 1978,p. 141.
  21. ^Glenn 1971,pp. 135–136.
  22. ^d'Huy, Julien (20 January 2013)."Julien d'Huy – Polyphemus (Aa. Th. 1137) – NMC".Nouvelle Mythologie Comparée(in French).Retrieved11 March2020.
  23. ^Hunt 2012,pp. 218–222.
  24. ^Creese 2009,563 with n.5.
  25. ^Brooks 1896,pp. 163–164.
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Works cited

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General references

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Further reading

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  • Brown, Calvin S. (1966). "Odysseus and Polyphemus: The Name and the Curse".Comparative Literature.18(3):193–202.doi:10.2307/1770048.JSTOR1770048.
  • Comhaire, Jean L. (1958). "Oriental Versions of Polyphem's Myth".Anthropological Quarterly.31(1):21–28.doi:10.2307/3316559.JSTOR3316559.
  • Conrad, Jo Ann (1999). "Polyphemus andTepegözRevisited: A Comparison of the Tales of the Blinding of the One-eyed Ogre in Western and Turkish Traditions ".Fabula.40(3–4):278–297.doi:10.1515/fabl.1999.40.3-4.278.S2CID161870245.
  • Conrad, JoAnn."Polyphem (AaTh 1135–1137)".In:Enzyklopädie des Märchens Online.Edited by Rolf Wilhelm Brednich, Heidrun Alzheimer, Hermann Bausinger, Wolfgang Brückner, Daniel Drascek, Helge Gerndt, Ines Köhler-Zülch, Klaus Roth and Hans-Jörg Uther. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016 [2002]. (in German)
  • Davies, Malcolm (2002). "The Folk-Tale Origins of the Iliad and Odyssey".Wiener Studien.115:5–43.JSTOR24751364.
  • d'Huy, Julien. "Le conte-type de Polyphème: essai de reconstitution phylogénétique".In:Mythologie française,SMF, 2012, pp. 47–59. ffhalshs-00734458f
  • d'Huy, Julien (2015). "Polyphemus, a Palaeolithic Tale?" In:The Retrospective Methods Network Newsletter.Winter 2014–2015, 9: 43–64.
  • d'Huy, Julien (2017). "Polyphème en Amérique". In:Mythologie française269: 9–11.
  • d'Huy, Julien (2019). "Du nouveau sur Polyphème ".In:Mythologie française,277: 15-18.
  • Montgomery, J. E. "Al-Sindibād and Polyphemus. Reflections on the Genesis of an Archetype ".In:Myths, historical archetypes and symbolic figures in Arabic literature: towards a new hermeneutic approach.Proceedings of the International Symposium in Beirut, June 25–30, 1996. Edited by Angelika Neuwirth, Birgit Embaló, Sebastian Günther, Maher Jarrar. Stuttgart [u.a.]: Steiner [in Komm.], 1999. pp. 437–466.
  • Mundy, C. S. "Polyphemus and Tepegöz". In:Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,University of London 18, no. 2 (1956): 279–302.http:// jstor.org/stable/609984.
  • Peretti, Daniel (2007). "The Ogre Blinded and 'The Lord of the Rings'".Mythlore.25(3/4 (97/98)):133–43.JSTOR26814613.
  • Röhrich, Lutz (1962). "Die mittelalterlichen Redaktionen des Polyphem-Märchens (AT 1137) und ihr Verhältnis zur außerhomerischen Tradition".Fabula.5:48–71.doi:10.1515/fabl.1962.5.1.48.S2CID162296224.
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