| “ | You frightened my sheep. That's a real no-no in this town. | „ |
| ~ Polyphemus |
Polyphemus is an infamous cyclops. During Odysseus's journey, he and his crew entered a cave filled with provisions that belong to Polyphemus. The cyclopean caught them and ate some of the crew but Odysseus managed to trick Polyphemus by getting him drunk and blinding him which allowed him and his crew to escape.
He appears in Hades II as the boss encounter of the City of Ephyra.
Characteristics and Personality[]
Polyphemus is a Cyclops with tremendous physical strength. However, since his eye was gouged out by Odysseus, he's "blind" with rage. Though he still misses it, his heightened sense of smell and hearing compensate; he still seems unsure about his sight and adorns himself with fake eyes. If anyone startles his sheep, he'll destroy everything in his path.
Despite being brutish, he has a special fondness for the sheep and can be quite gentle, guiding them well. He has absurd laws to protect them. He is very naive and believes literally in everything. Easily prone to explosions of anger and quick to be irritated by anything, devoid of emotional intelligence, he doesn't mind acting like an animal. Apparently, Polyphemus hasn't learned that it's wrong to eat people and goes back to sleep.
He displays an affable exterior, willing to converse with passersby and even to thank them for any service they provide him. However, this courtesy is tempered by his hunger for flesh, which he will satisfy with barbaric force; he nearly devoured Odysseus's entire crew in the past. Nevertheless, he seems to have a minimal sense of humanity, saying that it would be strange to devour a "relative".
Physical description[]
Although Polyphemus is a cyclops, the distinctive single eye of his race is concealed beneath a blindfold with a blue eye drawn on the middle. However, his towering stature and sharp teeth still betray his monstrous nature. He has a curl of pale green hair on his forehead, and similar green hair on his forearms and under his arms. He wears a tunic lined with sheepskin and a crudely made woolen mantle which appears to have been made by sewing entire sheep together, given that one of them is still alive and occasionally blinks. His chest is bare, but similarly to his blindfold, there are eyespots painted on his pectorals, perhaps invoking the Nazar amulets. He's also seen holding a sheperd's crook comically undersized for his stature which his portrait is seen picking his teeth with.
History[]
Past[]
Polyphemus was a shepherd who lived on an island with other cyclopes. When Odysseus and his crew landed on his island during their journey back home from the Trojan War, they became trapped in his cave, and Polyphemus ate some of his crewmen. To escape, Odysseus jabbed Polyphemus' one eye out with a sharpened stick while he was drunk. After that, he stopped actively seeking human prey.
At some point, Poseidon fooled Polyphemus into thinking that he was his father. Polyphemus later discovered this deception, and was relieved to find out that he was not related to the gods.
Hades II[]
When Chronos launch his war against the Gods, Polyphemus allied with him. Polyphemus moved into the City of Ephyra after the forces of Chronos drove out the human inhabitants, and began grazing his flock in a field in front of the city's harbor. This brought him into conflict with the daughter of Hades, Melinoë, who passed through that field on her way to Mount Olympus.
Book of Shadows Entry[]
Trivia[]
- Unlike some of the bosses, Polyphemus will not die and instead he'll be knocked out at the end of his boss fight.
- If a resource pickup spawns in Polyphemus' boss room and Melinoë tries to collect it during the fight, he'll hear her and attack with a shockwave.
- The eyes decorating his headband and pectorals seem inspired by the classic Nazar amulet beads to ward off "Evil Eye" in many mediterranean cultures, including Greece. Many accessories shaped like a round, azure eye are commonly sold as lucky amulets and often called "greek eyes" in some countries.
- The eyes on Polyphemus's pectorals could also be a nod to the eye designs found on the wings of the Polyphemus moth.
- In Greek Mythology, Poseidon is Polyphemus's father. In Hades II this is not the case with instead, Poseidon playing a 'prank' on him and making him believe he was his father, although Poseidon states he still 'looked after him.'
- Similarly he can cause earthquakes which is interestingly one of Poseidon's domains.
- Whenever the gods speak of him, they tend to allude to Brontes, Steropes and Arges, three cyclops brothers said to have helped the gods against the Titans, talked only by Hesiod, and thus considered Hesiodic. Polyphemus is part of the Homeric cyclops, talked only by Homer in the Odyssey.
Additional notes[]
For additional information on Polyphemus that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Polyphemus
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