Storytelling: A Twist of Tales and Tongues

An Analysis of the True Dispositions of Odysseus and Polyphemus

"Nobody–that's my name" - Odysseus, Odyssey, Book IX

Hidden behind the impaling of Polyphemus’s eyes and the self-inflicted reveal of nobody’s name, lies the root of doom: Xenia. An aspect repeatedly touched upon in Homer’s Odyssey, Book IX, xenia is a practiced ritual of hospitality that allows the offering of an invitation towards guests–absent of bias and prejudice. But this makes us draw the questions: Who are Odysseus and Polyphemus–truly–beneath the assumptions that we draw of their dispositions from their respective violations of xenia?

Above: Hospitality scene, from the Collection of Greek Vases by Mr. Le Comte de Lamburg (Paris, 1813-1824). Image Credit: © DE AGOSTINI, HULTON ARCHIVE / GETTY IMAGES / IDEAL IMAGE

More Instances of Practicing Xenia in Greek Mythology

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Sparking the Trojan War

A very violation of xenia would spark the advent of the Trojan War when Paris, the expelled son of the King of Troy, abducts King (of Myceanean Sparta) Menelaus's wife, Helen. Apart from the obvious fact that kidnapping someone's wife is immoral, Paris's actions violate xenia in direct disrespect of King Menelaus's property and wife. In deserved retaliation, Menelaus assembles a Greek army alongside his brother, Agememnon, to defeat Troy.

Image Credit: commonera.com

The Romance of Baucis & Philemon

Unlike Troy, who heinously violates xenia, the romantic tale of Baucis and Philemon offer a much more endearing rendition of practicing xenia. Baucis and Philemon, who openly welcome disguised gods Zeus and Hermes for a meal when other residents of their town fail to, meet a much greater fate in their observation of xenia. For their charitable hospitability and friendship, the two gods grant the old couple their wish to die together as trees when a flood devastates their town.

Who is Odysseus behind his story’s self-portrayal?

Even with a brief context of Odysseus’s journey prior to reaching the land of the Cyclopes, the audience is somewhat aware of our protagonist’s personality and purpose in his storytelling. A cunning man who constantly violated xenia in his ravaging of Ismarus and Polyphemus’s cave despite his own hypocritical expectations of gifts from others, understanding the intent behind Odysseus’s past and current actions in Odyssey, Book IX, lends us a deeper understanding to who he truly is behind his stories. As to to whom Odysseus wants the Phaeacians to know him as in his tales, Odysseus is the ultimate leader. Ensuring that not one of his men “would go deprived of his fair share of spoils” (9.49) after their days of plundering and that the ram he covertly occupied would be the last to leave Polyphemus’s cave, our protagonist paints the perfect picture of selflessness, courage, and just reasoning. But what his audience may not notice is his clever twist and use of language to conceal the aspects of himself that give away his true nature. Though he makes sure each of his men get their share of the spoils of war with the Cicones, his subtle remark that his men failed to obey him to “cut and run, set sail” (9.50) leads us to question his true authority over his comrades. If his influence over them was as compelling as he desires the Phaeacians to believe, then why would his men disobey such an urgent order from their leader? Odysseus may have a hold over his men, but that hold proves to be futile in comparison to their satisfying of their own desires with riches gained without observation of xenia towards the Cicones.

Throughout his journey towards the entrance and exit of the land of the Cyclopes, Odysseus continues to cite the orders of Zeus, asking that Polyphemus grant them “a warm welcome, even a guest-gift” (9.300). Odysseus uses Zeus’s name to twist the Phaeacians perspective of the cyclops, ensuring that Polyphemus’s noncompliance with their request of xenia is seen as an unwillingness to grant him and his men a gift from the order of the gods. But who truly failed to observe xenia initially? The first step of xenia is to be welcomed by a host into their home, but did not Odysseus’s men barge into Polyphemus’s dwelling with no invitation, browsing his belongings and home without his knowledge? Odysseus’s direct attack of the cyclops’s failure to observe xenia allows him to overshadow his own initial violation of the ritual, gradually building his audience’s negative opinion of the so-called “lawless brutes” (9.120). Though Odysseus’s efforts to earn the gift of xenia from the Phaeacians are persistent and cunning, subtle details strung throughout his tales slip through the cracks, revealing his own violations of xenia and manipulations of his stories. Now that we’ve briefly analyzed our protagonist’s true nature…

…What is Polyphemus’s true nature in spite of Odysseus’s stories?

Where Odysseus is painted as a powerful leader in his stories, our antagonist, Polyphemus, is painted as a monster. Described in dramatic detail as a “ruthless brute” (9.323) and “man-mountain” (9.213), right off the bat, Odysseus leads way for the Phaeacians to set the cyclops apart from themselves, ensuring that his audience sees Polyphemus in a negative light and deems him to be non-human. But between Odysseus’s great description of the cyclops, examination of Polyphemus’s actions, interactions with other cyclopes, and reliance on his father–Poseidon–reveal his true nature outside of our protagonist and his men’s invasion of his home.

Above: Guido Reni's Polyphemus painting & Redon's The Cyclops. Image Credit: thecollector.com.

Above: Blinded Polyphemus Checks the Sheep As They Leave the Cave, print by JG Walker. Image Credit: bmiamges.com

Spending his days tending to his sheeps and goats while producing sustenance from the fruits of his own labor for himself, Polyphemus’s actions seem to be rather idyllic, his actions reflecting that of a typical farmer–albeit one who greatly treasures his privacy and isolation from foreign bodies such as Odysseus and his men. Though he eats Odysseus’s men, but only after they station themselves in his great cave without observations of xenia, he gives great care to his rams–referring to them as “dear old ram” (9.498) in great affection as he turns to them in moments of his pain. In reality, Polyphemus seems docile and tenderhearted, with his horrid actions towards Odysseus and his men only in retaliation for their invasion of his home, initial violation of xenia, and use of the gods to intimidate him into welcoming them into his home.

The Changing Renditions of Polyphemus in History

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HEAD OF POLYPHEMUS, SECOND HALF OF 2ND CENTURY IN COLOSSEUM, ROME, ITALY

In Roman depiction, art reflected Polyphemus to have three eyes and a human-like face–contrary to the Greek's depiction of Polyphemus as a one-eyed, disfigured monster. This depiction greatly contradicts Odysseus's description of the cyclops, allowing its viewers to see Polyphemus in a more humanizing light and manner.

Image Credit: wikipedia.com

LE CYCLOPE (THE CYCLOPS) BY ODILON REDON, 1898-1914 IN FRANCE

The French painting, Le Cyclope, by Odilon Redon offers a very different depiction of Polyphemus compared to that of Greek Depiction. Redon portrays the love between the cyclops and naiad, Galatea–contrary to the Greek portrayal in which readers of Odysseus, Book IX would most likely infer Polyphemus to be incapable of loving tendencies and the lack of a capability to love another due to his monstrous qualities.

Image Credit: gamerant.com

POLYPHEMUS IN HADES II (VIDEO GAME) BY SUPERGIANT CAMES, 2024, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA

Where Rome and French depiction contradicts Odysseus's depiction of Polyphemus, an American video game–Hades II–follows it to a tee. With their explicit statement of their intent to portray Polyphemus just as he had been portrayed by Odysseus to the Phaeacians, players must defeat the secret final boss/villain–Polyphemus–just as Odysseus had to defeat the cyclops in Odyssey, Book IX.

In final reflection...

...analysis of Odysseus and Polyphemus actions in the cracks of xenia offerings (or lack thereof) and our protagonist’s portrayal of himself and his enemy reveal their true dispositions. This now leads us to the question: Would Polyphemus have reacted differently had Odysseus and his men not violated xenia first and had properly carried out a simple request to enter his home? Odysseus and his men’s actions deprive Polyphemus of his right to prove this otherwise by offering them a gift of xenia, also depriving the Phaeacians of an alternative perspective of the cyclopes in a more positive connotation. Though this question may never be answered due to our protagonist’s lack of basic decency, we and his audience–the Phaeacians–are free to make our own inferences and interpretations now that we’ve revealed the true natures of Odysseus and Polyphemus.

WORKS CITED:

Homer. Odyssey, Book IX. Nabu Press, 2010.

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