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Polyphemus Facts & Worksheets

Polyphemus was the giant offspring of Thoosa and Poseidon.

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Polyphemus Polyphemus was the giant offspring of Thoosa and Poseidon.

See the fact file below for more information on Polyphemus or alternatively, you can download our 27-page Polyphemus worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Description

  • Polyphemus was a cyclops – a monster that has only one eye located in the center of his forehead.
  • He was the child of Poseidon and Thoosa. His mother was a sea nymph and the daughter of the primordial sea god Phorcys.
  • The name Polyphemus means “abounding in songs and legends”.
  • In Odyssey, Homer mentions that Polyphemus was part of a group of uncivilized cyclopes.
  • Homer’s cyclopes were shepherds who lived in caves in a faraway island and had no regard for Zeus. They also had no knowledge about ships, crafts, or agriculture.
  • Homer also noted that Polyphemus was a man-eating giant.

Mythology

  • One of the most famous tales involving Polyphemus was told in the Odyssey. 
  • Odysseus and his crew came to the shore of the island of the Cyclopes.
  • They entered a cave full of supplies which turned out to be Polyphemus’ cave.
  • When the giant returned home he was carrying a large weight of dry wood to use for fire at his supper time.
  • He then guided his sheep into the cave, separating the males from the female sheep and from those that he had already milked.
  • When all his sheep were already in their pens, Polyphemus blocked the cave’s entrance with a huge rock.
  • He then sat down and proceeded to milk the goats and ewes, and placing the offspring beneath each dam.
  • Polyphemus then curdled half of the white milk, stored it in wicker baskets, and put it away. The other half of the milk was put into vessels for him to take and consume whenever.
  • Only then did he notice the mortal men in his cave. He got angry at the men and ate two of them before going to sleep. This left Odysseus and his crew terrified.
  • When the giant woke up the next morning, he ate two more men and left the cave to graze his flock, using the rock to block the entrance and trap Odysseus and his men.
  • While Polyphemus was out, Odysseus started devising a plan for their escape.
  • Two more men were eaten when the giant returned in the evening. Odysseus then gave Polyphemus some strong, undiluted wine.
  • The drunken Polyphemus asked Odysseus his name in exchange for a guest-gift.
  • Odysseus replied “Οὖτις”, meaning “nobody”, to which Polyphemus responded with a promise of eating “nobody” last, before he fell asleep due to drunkenness.
  • While the cyclops was asleep, Odysseus retrieved the wooden stake which he sharpened and hardened in the fire the morning before. He then impaled Polyphemus in his eye, blinding him.
  • Polyphemus shouted to the other cyclopes for help, crying out “nobody” hurt him, making his kin think that think that Polyphemus was being disturbed by divine power, recommending that he should pray.
  • The next morning, Polyphemus let his flock out to graze. He felt the back of each sheep to make sure that none of his captive men escaped.
  • But Odysseus and his crew had tied themselves to the bellies of the sheep, enabling them to escape.
  • As they sailed off from the island, Odysseus boastfully shouted his real name to the cyclops, an arrogant act that caused him problems later on.
  • Polyphemus prayed to his father for revenge, and hurled huge rocks to the ship, which the men barely escaped.
  • Centuries after the Odyssey, classical writers and poets depicted Polyphemus as a lover who fell in love with the sea nymph Galatea.
  • In these works, Polyphemus was a romantic musician, and unlike the earlier versions of Polyphemus, Classical poets, Philoxenus of Cythera being the first to do so, made the cyclops a creature that understood civilization, human nature, and even literature.
  • Most writers showed Polyphemus’ advances to be unsuccessful.
  • In Metamorphoses, Ovid makes Polyphemus a little more like the monster he was as in the Odyssey.
  • Ovid introduced the character Acis, a man whom Galatea falls in love with.
  • The giant was oblivious to his uncivilized demeanor, ugliness, and enormous size, and continued to court Galatea with his songs.
  • Galatea hid from the giant with her lover Acis.
  • When Polyphemus found out about Galatea and Acis, he got jealous and, in anger, crushed Acis with a boulder.

Polyphemus in Art

  • The blinding of the cyclops was a popular theme on ancient Greek ceramics.
  • Polyphemus is often portrayed naked, with beard and the ears of a satyr. In front of him are a few men about to thrust a sharpened pole into his eye.
  • An example of this scene can be found on a krater made in the 7th century BCE, by Aristonothos.
  • Polyphemus’ affection for Galatea was also depicted in a number of murals.
  • One such mural is at Pompeii, at the Casa del Sacerdote Amando. In this piece, Galatea sits on a dolphin, and Polyphemus, characterized as a shepherd, watches the nymph.

Polyphemus Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Marcelo Vieira across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Polyphemus worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Polyphemus who in Greek Mythology was the giant offspring of Thoosa and Poseidon.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Eye of Truth
  • Two-Face
  • Playing with an Eye
  • Watching Giant
  • Gigantic Opera
  • Giant Cave
  • Working Giant
  • Artistic Polyphemus
  • One Vision
  • Polyphemus’ Moth

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Link will appear as Polyphemus Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 19, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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