pickWhen I first encountered Polyphemus the Cyclops in The Odyssey, I pretty much felt like he got what was coming to him. Now that I‘m older & wiser 🙃, I was rooting for the one-eyed giant. His monologue in Euripides' rendering, where he rants about the human civilisation, the gods, & his father's shrines, is too funny. In this only extant satyr play from Greek antiquity, the Cyclops is almost a Rabelaisian philosopher. It's short & entertaining.
batsy I read the translation by William Arrowsmith. Image from Wikipedia: "Late Classical terracotta figure depicting Polyphemos reclining while drinking a bowl of wine." 2y
Graywacke (He‘s quite cute in that statue.) Such an appealing review. It sounds like great fun. 2y
batsy @Graywacke He is, isn't he 😂 It's a short one but engaging, & an interesting contrast to the tragedies! 2y
vivastory The Cyclops episode always struck me as the most gruesome in the Odyssey & Odysseus definitely doesn't come off well as he's sailing away listening to him cry out in torment looking for Nobody 2y
batsy @vivastory I agree, actually! The more I think about it now the more miffed I am at Odysseus about the smug cleverness of it all. In this play he also comes off like a snobby school perfect, so it was easy to be #TeamCyclops 😆 2y