Wrol c llfrl The on+eyed giairB that OdySseus encoun. tered were unrelated to the nearly divine beings who forged thunder- My, lilhot o Big Eye you Havel bolts for Zeus durlng the war Odysseus with the Titans Chapter next put in at a wooded island lperhaps Sicily). {see Unknown 5). Thts race of Cyclops was to Odysseus and his men, the savage, one_eyed entfu ely uncivilized. They giants known as Cyclops lived here. never plowed, sowed, or With_a dozen men, Odysseus climbed planted the soil. They never to a cave where they found a bounty of cheese, left the island trecause none lambs, and kids. Though the crew wanted to take of them had ever leamed how these spoils and run, Odysseus oriered them to build a boat And they had to wait and see who lived there. A giant Cyctops named no reveience fot Zeus-*or his Polyphemus returned with his flocks at dusk, irapping everyone laws, inside when he closed off the entranc" to fri, .ulre with a massive boulder. odysseus appealed for kindness under the laws of hospitality. But polyphemus, who recognized neither gods nor laws, demonstrated his idea of irospitatrty by devouring two of odysseus's men. odysseus kept his wits about him. He knew he could not kill the c,rcloqs because only Polyphemus was strong enough to reopen the cave,s mouth. So he ploned their escape throughout the night. when morning came, polyphemus ate two more Greeks, then left to tend to his flocks_ but not until he had again closed off the entrance to the cave with the giant boulder. The Cyclops returned that night and devoured two more men. Odysseus, who cleverly introduced himself to the ,,Nobody" Cyclops as (Outis), filled his host with Maron's delicious wine that night. When the giant passed out in a drunken stupor, Odysseus droie a heated stake through his eye. polyphemus roared with pain, which brought his fellow Cyclopes running to the entrance of his cave. But when they asked *iut *u, ,,Nobody wrong, Polyphemus screamed, has blinded a man naured Odyssepr would. mel Nobody is killing me!,, The Cyclopes, simulta_ bltnd him. But polyphemus neously relieved and annoyed by this news, told him to w*rtrioh€artbrokentopay l be quiet and go back to sleep. attention to thls oracte- The gmteqoecydoFshadloved l polyphemus The next morning, shoved the boulder the sea nynph Galatea, but aside, but blocked the entrance with his own body, she only had.eyes fe tJrr. ,. hoping to catch the remaining seven men as they tried handsome human youth Acir to leave. But during the night, Odysseus had tied Polyphemus had crushed his rival under giant himself and his men to the undersides of rams in the a rocL But polyphemus Galatea only hated him ogre's flock. As sent the animals out to more after this murder, whi.le Ads- graze, he stroked each on its back to make sure it was in aruwer to h€r pnyers-wru indeed a sheep. But because he failed to stroke their changed tnto a rlver god. underbellies, the Cyclops never discovered their passengers. Once safely outside, Odysseus and his men quickly led the flocks to their ship. The Poseidon f,dventgres After the ships had reft the shore, odysseus shouted taunts at the giant, proudry revealing his true-name. porlphemus norrecated the prophery of relemus] Th".igt hu io"ra punish his tormenters himself, the cyclops pi"y.d to'hir father poseidon'for rru.rg.ur,.".'* Poseidon, who hated odysseus from that day forward, would plague odysseus utli., urra again, transforming his return to Ithl:alnto a long, lonely, u"O ."orUy ,.;;;;;-*' r ! i Fi!: Ancient Greeks and Romans told stories about one-eyed giants called Cyclopes (sye-KloH-peez).In some stories, Cyclopes made lightning bolts for the Greek god Zeus (ZOOS). In other stories, Cyclopes threw large rocks at ships and attacked sailors. People told about the Cyclopes in myths. These stories said the Cyclopes were extremely ugly. Even the gods did not like to look at them. The Cyclopes stood as tall as mountains and were very strong. They also had mean tempers. In one myth, a Cyclops (SYE-klahpss) dropped part of a mountain on a man who made him angry. Polyphemus (pahl-i-FEE-muhss) is the most well-known Cyclops. FIe trapped the Greek hero Odysseus (oh-DlSS-ee-uhss) in a cave. Polyphemus ate several of Odysseus' companions before the hero found a way to escape. f lF *c k .i; . !., t,t. ... :,.:,,i ..lr.i:.,:.,,rt,.-,.,",,:l;, .: 'i..:a: ,,t: lFrt I?'*dry : #._5t-! ]:i,1""'s ,.r 1i i:i Long ago, people used myths to explain natural events that they did not understand. Ancient Greeks and Romans did not know what caused thunder and lightning. So, people told stories to explain their cause. Myths said the Cyclopes helped create thunder and lightning. The first three Cyclopes were children of Gaea (GAY-uh) and Uranus (YUR-uh-nuhss). Gaea was the goddess of the earth. uranus was the first god of the sky. The three Cyclopes were skilled builders and blacksmiths. They made a magic weapon called a thunderbolt for Zeus. The Cyclopes also made lightning bolts. Zeus used the thunderbolt to throw lightning bolts at his enemies. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed Zeus caused thunder and lightning. The sound of thunder happened when Zeus used his thunderbott. Lightning was one of Zeus' lightning bolts streaking across the sky. 7 $l*," o'i :#it affi:|pir ir,{;"hr""' i;,'" ,1"'j Caea and Uranus had 12 children called Titans. J'hcse giarrts were gods of nafure. The Titans controlled the wirrds and the seas. The Titan Cronus (KRoFl-nuhss) ruled the sky and the gods. Cronus was not a kind ruler. He trapped the Cyclopes under the earth. FIe also imprisoned his own children. Cronus worried that they might grow stronger than he was and overthrow him. Cronus/ youngest child, Zeus, got away. Zeus then helped his sisters and brothers escape . Zeus and his siblings fled to Mount Olympus in Greece and became known as the olympians. zeus knew cronus might imprison the olympians again. So, he decided to overthrow Cronus and the other Titans. Zeus freed the Cyclopes and asked them to help overthrow Cronus. The Cyclopes helped by making magic weapons for the Olympians. For Zeus, they made the thunderbolt. With their magic weapons, the Olympians defeated Cronus. Then, Zeus became ruler of the sky and the gods. I Apollo was the god of light, music, and healing. He had a human son named Asclepius (ahs-KlEE-pee-uhss). Asclepius was a skilled healer like his father. Myths say Asclepius knew how to bring the dead back to life. Zeus did not want a human to have this power. He killed Asclepius with a lightning bolt. Apollo was angry at Zeus, but he knew he was not strong enough to harm Zeus. So, Apollo killed the three Cyclopes. They had made the lightning bolt Zeus used to kill Apollo's son. Zeus punished Apollo for killing the Cyclopes. He made Apollo take care of King Admetus' (ad-MEE-tuhss) cattle for one year. This task embarrassed Apollo. Late{, Zeus felt sorry that he had killed Asclepius. Asclepius had performed many good deeds by healing people who were sick. Zeus brought Asclepius back to life and made him a god of healing and medicine. 11 ;,", i.ii, Myths tell about another group of Cyclopes. They lived in mountain caves on Sicily. Sicily is an island near ltaly. Some myths say the Cyclopes on Sicily were related to the first three Cyclopes. But they were not as skilled as the first three Cyclopes. The island Cyclopes were neither blacksmiths nor builders. Instead, they raised sheep and goats. The Cyclops Polyphemus was the son of the sea god Poseidon (poh-SYE-duhn). Polyphemus was the biggest and strongest of the island Cyclopes. Myths say that he liked to sink ships and eat sailors. One day, Telemus (TE-1i-muhss) visited Sicily. Telemus was a seer and told people about their future. He told Polyphemus that a great hero would come to Sicily and blind him. At the time, Polyphemus did not listen to Telemus' warning. All Polyphemus thought about was a beautiful sea nymph named Galatea (gah-luh-TEE-uh). 41l-J Polyphemus loved Galatea, but he worried that she thought he was an ugly monster. So, he combed his messy hair and trimmed his shaggy beard. Polyphemus even sang a love song to impress Calatea. Galatea did not love Polyphemus. She loved a young man named Acis (UH-siss). Acis was the son of a sea nymph. As Polyphemus sang, Galatea and Acis hid together behind a rock. After Polyphemus' song was over, Calatea and Acis thought it was safe to come out from their hiding place. But Polyphemus saw them together. He became very angry. Galatea and Acis tried to flee from Polyphemus. Galatea dived into the ocean, but Acis did not escape. Polyphemus picked up a piece of a mountain and dropped it on Acis. Acis'blood flowed from under the mountain. Myths say his blood slowly turned to water. Acis'blood became a river that flows from the foot of Mount Etna in Sicily. 15 Myths hcl1"'' l"tr'(!ltlr'lr',rt'tr ,rlrrrrrI ilrrr'irrtl euItures. Historians are nOt Surc wlt\, lrt'rlrlt' tllt,t;-,irtt'rl llttill*tt'l's t,r'itI One eye.The idea may hat,t'c'()rrrt'It'rrrrl *ur{'irlrl l,},rt.ksrrrit}rs.