The Cyclops by Euripides

The Cyclops

Background Information

The myth of the Cyclops is a well-known tale among the ancient Greeks.  Everyone knew that Cyclops were monsters of a gigantic manner, yet with human qualities and only one eye.  The Cyclops by Euripides, translated by E.P Coleridge focuses on the tale of how Odysseus is lost on the island at the foot of Mount Aetna.  Euripides was born around 484 B.C, and he wrote an estimated total of 92 plays.  He only won four first prizes for his works in his lifetime, but now after his death he is known to be the most famous of the three Athenian tragedian writers:  Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus.
The epic poem The Odyssey by Homer was written in 800 B.C, about 400+ years before Euripides time.   It is arguably one of the most famous pieces of literature, rooted, of course, in the fact that it is one of the oldest pieces of literature in the world.  Needless to say, the story of the Cyclops has been around for ages.
The play The Cyclops by Euripides is the only full satyr play of ancient Greece in existence today.  A satyr play is a play that tries to bring comedic relief to the audience.  In ancient Greece, plays were preformed in groups of three or four.  The other plays in the collection were usually tragedies, and the last play to perform was a satyr play.  The purpose of presenting a satyr play last is to let the audience leave the performances of the day lighthearted.  Satyr plays usually included light themes that consisted of, for example, drinking or sexual content.

History of the Cyclops
There are two known generations of Cyclops.  The first generation is said to be the sons of Gaia and Uranus (the earth and the sky).  They were disowned by their father Uranus, however, and imprisoned deep into the earth.  Cronus eventually set them free by defeating Uranus.  Their freedom, unfortunately, did not last long, for Cronus feared they would take over his kingdom.  The Cyclops were known for being huge, burly, stubborn creatures that roamed the land.  Therefore, he banished them to Tartarus, deep in the underworld.  The Cyclops were trapped until freed by Zeus, who needed their help in the battle against the Titans.  The first generation of the Cyclops were three brothers named Brontes, Steropes, and Arges.  They were known as the first blacksmiths, and they helped Zeus by making his thunderbolts.  In a sense, they were also his protectors.  Since, they helped Zeus; he allowed them to stay in Olympus. 
The second generation of the Cyclops were ruthless shepards.  They descended from Poseidon, and the most noteworthy of these Cyclops is Polyphemus.  Polyphemus is the Cyclops that Euripides based his play on.   

Characters
The main characters in the play the Cyclops by Euripides are, of course, the Cyclops Polyphemus.  Polyphemus is grumpy and encompasses the traits of the other Cyclops.  Another character in this play is Silenus.  He was enslaved by Polyphemus when his family got lost at sea. This is a picture of Silenus.  He is displayed as a fat, jolly old man with a beard.  He is often depicted holding wine with some sort of farm animal by his side because of the fact that he was enslaved by Polyphemus.  He Silenus is joined in the play by Odysseus and his crew.  They, too, become lost at sea and find their way to Polyphemus’ island.  Throughout the play, these characters are accompanied by a chorus of satyrs.

The Plot
Euripides play opens with the parados, which is the opening speech of the chorus, complaining about the Cyclops.  The chorus mentions the children of Silenus, and also, how there is no food or wine.  This parados is broken into a strophe and antistrophe.  The first episode begins with Silenus raking and cleaning the Cyclops cave.  An episode is the part of the play where all the action takes place.  Silenus’ children are in the fields collecting the herds and milking the cows.  Silenus notices off in the distance of the shores, there is a lost boat.  As the play unfolds, it turns out that this is the boat of Odysseus and his crew, and they are lost.  Odysseus and his crew are searching for food.  They are delighted to see Silenus in high spirits of finding food, but he sorrowfully tells the crew that there is no food.  Odysseus begs once again, and he offers wine in return.  The Cyclops is spotted returning home in the distance, and Odysseus and his crew panic.  Silenus tells them to go into the cave and calm down.  He will take care of everything.  All Odysseus and his crew have to do is follow his lead.  The Cyclops comes into the cave.  He sees Odysseus and his crew, and is infuriated.  Silenus tells the Cyclops they are robbers.  This makes the Cyclops even angrier.  Odysseus is appalled that Silenus is lying to the Cyclops.  He speaks up to make things clear.  He tries to explain that he and his crew are not robbers.  They are merely looking for food.  The Cyclops begins to eat them one by one out of anger.  The chorus then has another choral ode, which is called the stasimon.  The stasimon is a choral ode in the middle of the play, between episodes.  The stasimon discussed how the Cyclops was going to eat all of Odysseus’ crew members one by one.  The next episode continues with Odysseus, who has a plan.  The next stasimon discusses this plan.  In the next episode, Odysseus offers the Cyclops wine, and Polyphemus gets drunk.   While he is drunk and passed out, Odysseus sets fire to him, and burns out his eye.  The Cyclops wakes up and screams in agony.  He demands to know who did this to him.  Odysseus answers that Noman did; Noman meaning no one.  Odysseus escapes while the Cyclops is occupied trying to find Noman.    The play concludes with an exodus, otherwise known as the final choral ode, with the chorus leader saying that we will all be servants of Bacchus, and we will carry the voyage of Odysseus with us. 
The picture is an ancient Greek vase painting.  Vase paintings were common in ancient Greece to depict many different stories.  This one tells the tale of the Cyclops Polyphemus.  In this picture, he is getting his eye burned by Odysseus.   Vase paintings are either black figured or red figured.  This one happens to be a black figured painting. 

Conclusion
Everything in ancient Greek culture is based upon myths and legends that come from the Gods.   They center their lives on the Gods, and how the mere mortals can make the Gods happy.  Most of the stories that have become famous in modern times were common knowledge in ancient Greek times, and common tales in Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus’s times.  The three Athenian tragedians were just the first people to write down these legends. 

Works Cited

“Cratinus and Euripides.”  Jstor.org.  Tanner, Rollin H. 
http://www.jstor.org/view/00659711/ap010018/01a00120/0?currentResult=00659711%2bap010018%2b01a00120%2b0%2cBFF7FBFF07&

searchUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fsearch%2FBasicResults%3Fhp%3D25%26si%3D1%26Query%3Dthe%2Bcyclops%2Banalysis

• This site gives a brief analysis of The Cyclops by Euripides compared to Cratinus.  Each one can help you translate the other one.

“Cyclops.”  Monstrous.com. http://www.monstrous.com/monsters/cyclops.htm

• In this site, you can read about the history of the family of the Cyclops.

“Cyclopes.”  Pantheon.org.  Anne Baldwin.  March 3 1997. 
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/cyclopes.html

• In this site, you can read about the history of the family of the Cyclops.

“Euripides.”  Imagi-nation.com.  http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc4.htm

• In this site, you can read background information on Euripides.

“Short Review.”  Jstor.org.  Wetzel, Wilfried. 
http://www.jstor.org/view/0009840x/ap020465/02a00700/0?currentResult=0009840x%2bap020465%2b02a00700%2b0%2c07&searchUrl=

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fsearch%2FBasicResults%3Fhp%3D25%26si%3D1%26Query%3Dthe%2Bcyclops%2Banalysis

• This site gives a brief analysis of Euripides version of the Cyclops versus Homers version.

“The Cyclops.”  Classics.mit.edu. E. P. Coleridge. Aug 30 2006.
http://www.classics.mit.edu/euripides/cyclops.html

• This site provides the text to The Cyclops by Euripides, translated by E.P Coleridge. 
• Carly Symington
• First Document
• The Cyclops by Euripides