CIRCA 510-500 B.C.

Odysseus’ encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemos is vividly described in Book 9 of Homer’s The Odyssey. After leaving the land of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus and his crew arrived on the island of the Cyclopes, where they entered a cave filled with provisions. When Polyphemos returned home and discovered the intruders, he proceeded to devour several of the hero’s companions, and locked the remainder in his cave by placing a large boulder over the entrance. Odysseus devised a plan to escape. Since Polyphemos kept his flock in the cave for the night, Odysseus instructed his men to first intoxicate the monster, and once he fell into a stupor, they blinded him with a wooden stake. When Polyphemos opened the cave in the morning to let his flock graze, Odysseus’s men escaped by securing themselves to the underside of the sheep. Odysseus himself fled attached to the belly of Polyphemos’ best ram.

According to B. Cohen (p. 33 in D. Buitron and Cohen, eds., The ‘Odyssey’ and Ancient Art), the “adventures of Odysseus in the cave of Polyphemos count among the very first myths that we can identify – clearly and unequivocally – in early Greek art.” This lekythos is centered by Odysseus fastened to the underbelly of a ram. To the left is one of the hero’s companions and to the right is Polyphemos, seated on a rock and holding a club. In the background is a palm tree and in the field are nonsense inscriptions. For another lekythos with the same subject but without the inclusion of the Cyclops or Odysseus’ companion, see no. 15 in Buitron and Cohen, eds., op. cit.