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Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse, 1891, via National Gallery Victoria This way, he could experience the beauty of their song without being lured toward them. To avoid succumbing to the Sirens’ song, Odysseus orders his men to plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast of the ship. During their journey, Odysseus and his crew had to navigate the perilous waters near the island of the Sirens. Their voices were said to be so captivating that sailors would become mesmerized and unable to resist their call, leading to their deaths by crashing their ships onto their rocky shores. In Greek mythology, the Sirens were alluring half-bird, half-woman sea creatures who used their enticing voices to lure sailors to their deaths. Sirens: The Hypnotic Enchantresses Ulysses and Sirens by Carl von Blaas, 1882, via Wikimedia Commons In ancient Greece, xenia was an essential moral obligation involving the mutual respect between host and guest expressed through gifts, food, and shelter.Ģ. By consuming his guests, the Cyclops completely defiles the concept of hospitality or xenia.

The Cyclops can be viewed as embodying the ancient Greeks’ fears and anxieties about the other and the foreign.

Polyphemus, on the other hand, represents the uncivilized with his lack of refinement, cruelty, and violence, consumed by primitive instincts such as eating his human visitors. Odysseus is aligned with values of reason, intelligence, and rationality that were celebrated by the Greeks. Ulysses deriding Polyphemus by Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1829, via The National Galleryįrom a broader perspective, the episode can be interpreted as a metaphor for the conflict between civilization and barbarism. When Polyphemus asks Odysseus and his men for their names, Odysseus lies and tells him that his name is “Nobody.” Later, this proves to be a clever ploy, for when Odysseus blinds Polyphemus and the other Cyclopes hear his cries for help, Polyphemus tells them that “Nobody” has hurt him, leading them to believe that he is unharmed. Throughout the episode, Odysseus displays resourcefulness as he seeks to outsmart the Cyclops and save his men. Polyphemus’ one eye is also symbolic, representing a primitive type of one-dimensional thinking that is vulnerable to cleverness and wit. The Polyphemus episode represents the dangers of the unknown as well as the importance of cunningness and strategy in overcoming adversity.