Polyphemus

Polyphemus embodies the uncivilized brute—a creature of enormous size and strength whose lack of law, social structure, and reason makes him a natural antagonist to the cultured Odysseus (Ulysses). As a Cyclops dwelling in a cave apart from other civilized beings, he represents a mode of existence entirely removed from human society and its codes of hospitality and mutual respect. His relationship to the land is purely exploitative; he tends sheep but practices no agriculture, farms no crops, and maintains no government or assembly with his fellows—each Cyclops is sovereign unto himself, answering to no one.

His downfall comes not through superior strength but through Odysseus (Ulysses)' superior cunning. When Polyphemus traps Odysseus (Ulysses) and his men in his cave, devouring several of them, Odysseus (Ulysses) devises an ingenious escape plan involving the blinding of the Cyclops' single eye. The encounter represents both a test of Odysseus (Ulysses)' resourcefulness and a commentary on the superiority of civilization, law, and intelligence over mere brute force. Polyphemus serves as foil to all that Odysseus (Ulysses) represents—the cultured, law-abiding man of reason who triumphs over barbaric strength through wit and strategic thinking.