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Polyphemus

File:9896_-_Ulysses_and_Polyphemos,_(2nd_century_AD)_-_Catania,_Castello_Ursino_-_Photo_by_Giovanni_Dall'Orto,_October_28_2016_cropped.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Polyphemus

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Polyphemus (; , ; ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first appeared as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the Odyssey. The satyr play Cyclops by Euripides is dependent on this episode with some differences in the story and while also being more comedic in nature. Later Classical writers that presented him in their poems linked his name with the nymph Galatea as he tried to seduce her. Often he was portrayed

Key facts

Mythical creature.image
9896 - Ulysses and Polyphemos, (2nd century AD) - Catania, Castello Ursino - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, October 28 2016 cropped.jpg
Mythical creature.caption
Polyphemus' blinding by Odysseus and his men on a 2nd-century Roman sarcophagus, Castello Ursino Museum
Mythical creature.name
Polyphemus
Mythical creature.Folklore
Greek mythology
Mythical creature.Grouping
Cyclopes
Mythical creature.Family
Poseidon (father) Thoosa (mother)
Mythical creature.Region
Sicily

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Wikidata facts

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Polyphemus
name in native language
Πολύφημος
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Article

28 sections
Contents
  • Odysseus and Polyphemus
  • Ancient sources
  • Artistic representations
  • Possible origins
  • Polyphemus and Galatea
  • Ancient sources
  • Philoxenus of Cythera
  • Aristophanes
  • Hellenistic pastoral poets
  • Latin poets
  • First-century AD art
  • Lucian
  • Nonnus
  • Later European interpretations
  • Literature and music
  • Painting and sculpture
  • Artistic depictions of Polyphemus
  • Polyphemus and Odysseus
  • Polyphemus as lover
  • Other uses
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Citations
  • Works cited
  • General references
  • Further reading
  • External links

Polyphemus (; , ; ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's Odyssey. His name means "abounding in songs and legends", "many-voiced" or "very famous". Polyphemus first appeared as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the Odyssey. The satyr play Cyclops by Euripides is dependent on this episode with some differences in the story and while also being more comedic in nature. Later Classical writers that presented him in their poems linked his name with the nymph Galatea as he tried to seduce her. Often he was portrayed as unsuccessful in these, and as unaware of his disproportionate size and musical failings. In the work of even later authors, however, he is presented as both a successful lover and skilled musician. From the Renaissance on, art and literature reflect all of these interpretations of the giant.

==Odysseus and Polyphemus== thumb|right|Greek terracotta figurine, [[Polyphemos reclining and holding a drinking bowl. Late 5th to early 4th century BC, Boeotia. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.]]

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