Polyphemus
The King of Cyclopes
Description
Polyphemus was a one-eyed giant, which would be known as a Cyclops. He was a huge creature that had the power to throw boulders the size of houses. The king of Cyclopes was known for eating all kinds of flesh, including humans. He was a very angry man and was evil for the things he wanted.
(http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/468991/Polyphemus)
Background Information
Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon, the God of the Sea, and Thoosa, a sea nymph. Before he became a Cyclops he was a shepherd who kept goats and sheep. Once he became a Cyclops he lived in a cave with his sheep on the island of Sicily with all of the other Cyclopes. Two legends he is commonly known for involve the characters Odysseuss, Galatea, and Acis.
(http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/entertainment/polyphemus.html)
Odysseus
The legend of Polyphemus and Odysseus started when Odysseus and his men went to the island of Sicily because they were traveling home from the Trojan war. Polyphemus trapped them in his cave because he wasn't okay with them on his island and he ate two of the for dinner and then two more for breakfast. The next night Odysseus got Polyphemus drunk and blinded him by plunging a burning stake into his eye while he was sleeping, and the men then escaped the cave. Odysseus stole some of Polyphemus' sheep and hid under them when they escaped. Once Polyphemus was aware with the fact that they had escaped his cave, he had his father Poseidon put a spell on Odysseus and his men to have a hard time on the rest of their journey over seas.
(http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/greek/articles.html)
(Myth and Legends of the World Explored)
Galatea and Acis
One legend about Polyphemus is the time when he became very jealous of Acis ,the river god of Sicily. Acis was in a relationship with the seanymph, Galatea, who Polyphemus was very attracted to, so Polyphemus crushed Acis’ skull with a boulder the size of a house and Acis was later turned into a river which Galatea traveled on to move away from Polyphemus.
(http://search.ebscohost.com/)
(Myth and Legends of the World Explored)