Interview with Cyclopes
Shmoop investigators recently uncovered a treasure trove of ancient poetry, which seems to have been written by several famous Cyclopes. This amazing discovery shows that the big guys were more than just man-eating, one-eyed giants. The following is an annotated edition of what we're calling The Cyclopedia.
The Cyclopedia
"Twice Buried" by Arges
First buried
Buried by Father Sky
Buried in Mother Earth
Hate Father for burying us
Hurt Mother, but don't want to
Hurt Mother, buried in her heart
Second buried
Buried by Brother Time
Buried in deep black hole
Hate Brother for burying us
Hurt Brother, want to hurt brother
Love Zeus for bringing back light
In this piece by Arges, we get a window into his rage at having been buried along with his Cyclopean brothers deep under his mother, Gaia (the Earth), by his Father, Ouranus (the Sky), and later being thrown into Tartarus by his brother Kronos (Time). The end of the poem gives homage to Zeus, who eventually freed the Cyclopes and enlisted them in his war against Kronos.
"Song for Galatea" by Polyphemus
Galatea, Galatea, Galatea, Galatea, Galatea
Sweet pretty nice
Sweet pretty nice
Love so much
Wanna squish squish squish
Love so much
Wanna squish
Galatea, Galatea, Galatea, Galatea, Galatea
Smell like seaweed
Smell like squid
Love so much
Wanna eat eat eat
Love so much
Wanna eat
The song lyrics above may be from the actual song with which Polyphemus tried to woo the sea nymph Galatea. It may also make completely clear why she ran away from him.
"Rahhh! Rahhh! Kill!" by Steropes
Rahhh! Rahhh! Kill!
Smash!
Bang!
Boom!
Crush skulls!
Break bones!
Crunch skulls!
Break!
BREAK!
Rahhh!
Kill!
Kill!
Kill!
In this poem, of dubious merit, one can see why both Ouranus and Kronos might want to bury the Cyclopean brothers.
"Stone Walls" by Brontes
Stone walls
Rock walls
Big big rock walls
Big stones
Me build big stone walls
This poem seems to support the claims by some that several huge stone structures of the ancient world were built by Cyclopes.
"Nobody Came, and Now It's Dark" by Polyphemus
Nobody came
And now it's dark
Nobody came
And each day is only sheep sounds
Bleating
Bleating in dark
Nobody came
And now no one comes by
Nobody came
No one like a Cyclops without his eye
Crying
Crying in dark
In this heartbreaking piece, we get a window into the suffering of Polyphemus after Odysseus blinded him. Interestingly, Polyphemus still uses the name Nobody for Odysseus even though the hero shouted his real name at the Cyclops while sailing away. Could it be alluding to the fact that, without his eye, Polyphemus now feels like a "nobody" himself?