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blacksmithing skills.

The new Cyclopes were a group of lawless shepherds, raising sheep and goats. They lived in the remote sections of Sicily, although the area is often called Cyclops as well. These Cyclopes are said to be descendents of Poseidon, and would be of absolutely not note, if Odysseus had not encountered one of their number.

The story of this encounter is found in the Odyssey' by Homer. The encounter involves Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and Thoosa, a nereid (sea-nymph). Odyesseus and twelve of his shipmates are trapped in Polyphemus' cave, having feasted on the food found in it. The Cyclops has a taste for human flesh, and eats several of the ships crew. Odysseus realises that he could kill Polyphemus , but they would be unable to move the boulder blocking the cave entrance.

Odysseus therefore decides to get the Cyclops drunk before taking a spit from the cave's fire and driving it through Polyphemus' only eye. The Cyclops believes that Odysseus' name is Nobody' and so he cries for help saying Nobody is attacking him'. His cries are obviously ignored by his fellow Cyclopes. The blinded Polyphemus, rolled the boulder away the next morning to allow his flock out to graze. Feeling the backs of his sheep as they pass, he misses Odysseus and the remaining members of his crew as they were tied to the sheep's undersides.

Odysseus cannot go without an act of bravado, and so as he sets sail, having taken a part of the Cyclops' flock, he yells out his own name. As Polyphemus throws rocks at the departing ship, he calls upon Poseidon his father to prevent Odysseus' return to Ithaca.

The only other mention of Cyclopes in the Greek myths comes from two poems by Theocritus. Both poems are about Polyphemus as well, showing how indistinct the Cyclopes had become. These poems related the love life of Polyphemus prior to the arrival of Odysseus, and tell of his love for the sea nymph Galatea.

There has been much recent supposition about the origins of the Cyclopes myth. There are two current trains of thought. Smiths were well regarded in ancient times. Smiths would often wear an eye patch over one eye to prevent the possibility of being blinded by sparks in both eyes. Thus smiths would often be viewed as being one-eyed.

The second train of though is based on the ancient Greeks uncovering the skulls of prehistoric elephants in Greece. An unknown species, the skull of the elephant would have a single round hole, where the trunk would have been attached. The Greeks could have mistaken it for the skull of a one-eyed giant.

Through Homer's Odyssey', the tale of Polyphemus has become much more well known than the tale of Arges, Brontes and Steropes. Yet it can easily be argued that they played a much more pivotal role in Greek mythology. As yet no reason can be given as to why the Cyclopes suffered a demotion from being the armourers to Zeus, to lawless shepherds. Though the goodness' of the trio of brothers should outweigh the actions of one.

Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
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