Polyphemus

Polyphemus was a gigantic one-eyed Cyclops, a son of Poseidon numbered among the mightiest of his kind. Renowned in older legend for his clash with the hero Odysseus, in the age of Kratos he was held bound in chains within the Desert of Lost Souls.

A son of Poseidon#

Polyphemus was a Cyclops of immense size, towering above ordinary giants, with a single eye set in his brow. He was a son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, born to the sea nymph Thoosa, and among the new generation of Cyclopes bred from the bloodline of the sea god he was reckoned the most prominent of all. His strength and might were said to rival even those of the elder Cyclopes who had been born long before from Heaven and Earth.

In the age of Kratos, Polyphemus was held bound in chains within the Desert of Lost Souls, a colossus too dangerous to roam free. Though enchained, he remained a threat to any who drew near, lashing out with his great hands and striking the ground hard enough to throw warriors from their feet.

The legend of the blinded eye#

The name of Polyphemus was already old when Kratos walked the Greek world, for he was remembered as the Cyclops who had once trapped the hero Odysseus. Returning from war, Odysseus and his men came ashore at the island of the Cyclopes and entered a vast cave filled with sheep and goats. There Polyphemus found them, sealed them within, and devoured several of the crew.

To escape, Odysseus offered the Cyclops strong, undiluted wine until Polyphemus grew drunk and unwary, and when the giant asked his name, the hero answered that he was called Nobody. Once the Cyclops had passed out, Odysseus and his men drove a flaming stake into his single eye and blinded him. When Polyphemus cried out, his fellow Cyclopes asked who had harmed him, and he answered that Nobody had hurt him, so they left him alone. In the morning the giant let his sheep out to graze, feeling their backs for the hidden men but never their bellies, and so Odysseus and his crew slipped free clinging beneath the rams. As the hero sailed away and named himself at last, the blinded Polyphemus hurled a great rock after the ship and, missing, prayed to his father Poseidon to make Odysseus pay for taking his eye.