[The scene is outside the cave of POLYPHEMUS beneath Mount Etna in Sicily. Buckets of water and a cauldron stand in front of the entrance. SILENUS emerges from the cave, holding a rake.]

SILENUS: O Bromius, on your account I’ve performed no end of mighty tasks, now and in the days when I was young and strong! First there was the time you upped and left behind your nurses, the mountain nymphs, when Hera had robbed you of your wits; then, in the battle with the Sons of Earth,¹ I stood with my shield, protecting your right flank, and, striking Enceladus in the middle of his shield with my spear, I killed him – hang on, let me see, is this a dream I’m describing? No, by Zeus, it’s not; I even showed the spoils to Bacchus.

But this task that’s draining me right now is even greater [10] than those. For when Hera roused the Tuscan pirates² against you to have you taken off to a far country, I got wind of it and put to sea with my sons to track you down. Taking hold of the rudder myself, right at the stern, I began steering the double-oared ship, while my sons, seated at their oars, continued the quest for you, my lord, turning the grey sea’s surface to white with their splashing. But when we had almost rounded Malea an east wind blew down on our ship and drove us ashore [20] here under rocky Etna,³ where the sea-god’s one-eyed sons, the murderous Cyclopes, live in lonely caves. It is one of these who has captured us and made us slaves in his home; Polyphemus is the name they give to the master we serve. We used to shout Bacchus’ praises as we danced in his honour but now we’re shepherds, tending the flocks of a godless Cyclops!

[Enter the CHORUS with attendants, driving sheep.]

My sons, young fellows themselves, herd the young sheep 30 on far-off hillsides, but my allotted task is to stay here, keeping the drinking troughs full and sweeping out this home of his, while I attend his one-eyed unholiness at his godless meals. And now, orders are orders, I must sweep his house clean with this rake – can’t have my absent master, the Cyclops, and his sheep coming back to a dirty cave! But now I see my lads approaching, driving their flocks before them. What’s this, though? It’s a lively dance you’re treading there – can it have the same rhythm as the time you [40] went revelling at Bacchus’ side to Althaea’s palace,⁴ sauntering in with your songs sung to the lyre?

CHORUS [addressing a ram that has strayed]: Son of a noble sire, yes, and a noble mother, what pathway, tell me, are you following as you make for the rocks? Is this not the way to breezes soft and gentle and pastures green? Water from whirling streams lies in the drinking troughs hard by the cave, where your bleating young are to be found.

[50] Shoo! This way, I say, this way! Here’s the place for you to feed, along this dewy slope! Hey, I’ll throw a stone at you in a moment! Get along with you, on you go, you horned beast, to the minder of the fold for the shepherd, the Cyclops who roves in the wild!

[Addressing a ewe in the flock] Unburden your swollen udders. Give the welcome of your teats to the lambs you left behind in the cave. Your little bleating children have slept all day and are missing[ 60] you. Won’t you go into the field, leaving your grassy pastures behind, and make your way inside Etna’s rocky cavern?

No Bromius is here, no dancing bands, no Bacchants bearing the thyrsus, no resounding drums, no wine dripping fresh by gushing springs of water. I cannot join the nymphs on Nysa’s slopes and sing the song ‘Iacchus, Iacchus’⁵ to Aphrodite, whom I chased so swiftly together with the white-footed Bacchants. O Bacchus, dear friend, where are you going without followers, tossing your golden locks, while I, your attendant, serve this Cyclops with his one eye, a slave in banishment, wearing for a cloak this miserable goatskin, and robbed of [80] your precious company?

SILENUS: No more words, my children! Order your attendants to drive the sheep together inside the cave with its rocky roof!

CHORUS-LEADER [to the attendants]: Carry on! [They make their way into the cave with the flock.] But what is it that so concerns you, Father?

SILENUS: I see a Greek ship by the sea-shore and the masters of the oars approaching this cave with a man who must command them. They carry empty pots about their necks, since food is what they need, and pails for water. O sirs, I pity you! Who [90] are they, I wonder? They do not know the nature of my master Polyphemus or how inhospitable is this land they have set foot on; they do not know their own misfortune in coming to land in a Cyclops’ man-eating jaws. But calm yourselves, so we may learn where they have sailed from to Sicilian Etna’s crag.

[ODYSSEUS enters with members of his crew.]

ODYSSEUS: Strangers, be so good as to tell me where we may find a stream of water to cure our thirst, and if anyone is willing to sell food to needy seafarers. [Noticing that they are not normal men] But what’s this? It looks as if we’ve marched into Bacchus’ town! I see a crowd of satyrs outside the cave! I’ll pay my [100] respects to the eldest first: Greetings!

SILENUS: Greetings to you, sir! But say who you are and what is your homeland.

ODYSSEUS: Odysseus of Ithaca, lord of the land of Cephallene.

SILENUS: I know of the man, a sharp-tongued chatterer, Sisyphus’ son.⁶

ODYSSEUS: That’s me all right; but there’s no need to be rude!

SILENUS: Where have you come from on this voyage that brings you here to Sicily?

ODYSSEUS: From Ilium and the laborious war at Troy.

SILENUS: How? Did you not know the course to sail for home?

ODYSSEUS: Stormy winds drove me here against my will.

[110] SILENUS: Oh dear! The fate that dogs you is the same as my own!

ODYSSEUS: Were you also forced to come to these shores?

SILENUS: Yes, as I chased pirates who had kidnapped Bromius.

ODYSSEUS: What is this country and who are its inhabitants?

SILENUS : This is Mount Etna, the highest mountain in Sicily.

ODYSSEUS: And where are the walls of the city and its fortifications?

SILENUS: There are none; no humans occupy these headlands, sir.

ODYSSEUS: Then who live in this country? Wild animals?

SILENUS: Cyclopes, who make caves, not houses, their homes.

ODYSSEUS: Who is their ruler? Or is it the people who govern?⁷

[120] SILENUS: They live solitary lives; no one owes allegiance to anyone else.

ODYSSEUS: Do they sow the grain of Demeter? Or what do they live on?

SILENUS: On milk and cheese and the flesh of their sheep.

ODYSSEUS: Do they have the drink of Bromius, the juice of the vine?

SILENUS: Certainly not; and that is why their land has no dancing.

ODYSSEUS: Are they hospitable folk, respecting the gods in the way they treat strangers?

SILENUS: It’s strangers’ flesh that they say tastes sweetest.

ODYSSEUS: What are you saying? They kill men and make a feast of them?

SILENUS: Not a soul has come here without being slaughtered.

ODYSSEUS: And where is he, the Cyclops himself? In his house?

[130] SILENUS: He’s away, hunting beasts on Etna with his hounds.

ODYSSEUS: Then do you know what you must do if we are to get away from this land?

SILENUS: Odysseus, I do not; but I’ll oblige you in any way I can.

ODYSSEUS: Sell us some bread; that’s what we lack.

SILENUS: As I said, all we have is meat.

ODYSSEUS: Well, that too is an agreeable antidote to hunger.

SILENUS: There’s curdled cheese as well, and cows’ milk.

ODYSSEUS: Bring them out; daylight’s the thing when there’s buying and selling to be done.

SILENUS: And, on your side, tell me, how much gold will you give in return?

ODYSSEUS: It’s not gold I carry but the drink of Dionysus.

SILENUS: [Oh, that’s excellent news! Just what we have been 140 without for so long!]

ODYSSEUS: Yes, I had the drink as a gift from Maron, the god’s son.⁸

SILENUS: The boy I raised once in my own arms?

ODYSSEUS: The son of Bacchus, to make it clearer.

SILENUS: Is it stored on your ship, or do you have it with you?

ODYSSEUS [producing a wineskin]: Here’s the wineskin that holds it, as you see, old fellow.

SILENUS: I wouldn’t get even one mouthful out of that!⁹

{ODYSSEUS: You couldn’t drink this wineskin dry.

SILENUS: You mean it produces new wine by magic?}

ODYSSEUS: Yes; twice as much drink as flows from inside it.

SILENUS: What a splendid fountain you describe! I like the sound of that!

ODYSSEUS: Do you want me to give you a taste of it neat to start with?¹⁰

SILENUS [grabbing hold of the wineskin] : That’s fair; tasting invites [150] buying, after all!

ODYSSEUS [politely restraining him]: I have brought along a cup with the wineskin, actually.

SILENUS: Well, splash some in, to bring the taste of drinking back to me!

ODYSSEUS [pouring, but not yet offering, the wine]: There we are.

SILENUS: Well I never! What a splendid bouquet it has!

ODYSSEUS: Saw it, did you?

SILENUS: Don’t be daft, I’m smelling it!

ODYSSEUS [giving him the cup]: Taste it, then. Let’s have more than just lip-service!

SILENUS [taking a gulp]: Oh, yes! [Beginning to hop up and down] Bacchus is inviting me to dance! Whahey!

ODYSSEUS : That sloshed nicely down your throat now, didn’t it?

SILENUS: I’ll say – all the way down to my toenails!

[160] ODYSSEUS: Now, that’s not all: we’ll be giving you money as well.

SILENUS: Just keep the wine coming. Forget the gold!

ODYSSEUS: Then bring out your cheeses or lambs.

SILENUS: And so I shall! Who cares what the master thinks? Once I had downed a single cup of this, I’d go mad – giving away all the Cyclopes’ flocks and flinging myself off the Leucadian rock into the sea, well and truly sozzled, with my eyes shut tight! Anyone who doesn’t enjoy drinking is off his 170 head: when you drink you can make this stand to attention, grab a handful of breast, look forward to stroking her bush, having a ball and forgetting your troubles. Shall I not, then, kiss a drink like this and tell that fathead Cyclops – and the eye in the middle of his head – to take a running jump? [SILENUS turns and goes into the cave, cup in hand.]

CHORUS-LEADER: Listen, Odysseus; there’s something we’d like to chat to you about.

ODYSSEUS: Of course; you are my friends, as I am yours.

CHORUS-LEADER: Did you Greeks capture Troy and make Helen your prisoner?

ODYSSEUS: We did – and we sacked the royal seat of Priam’s sons – every stone of it!

CHORUS-LEADER: Once you had caught the woman,¹¹ didn’t [180] you all take turns in banging her, since having many partners was what she enjoyed? The traitress! One look at the fancy-coloured trousers on the man’s legs and the gold necklace he wore round his neck and she was all a-flutter, leaving Menelaus behind, that fine little fellow! Ah, how I wish the female sex were nowhere to be found, except in my bed!

[SILENUS comes out of the cave.]

SILENUS: Look! Here they are, Odysseus, my royal lord, the flocks I promised you, nurslings of the bleating sheep, and no [190] shortage of cheeses, made from curdled milk. Take them. Leave the cave straightaway, once you have given me the drink of Bacchus’ vine. [Catching sight of POLYPHEMUS] Oh, no! Here comes the Cyclops! What are we going to do?

ODYSSEUS: Then we’re done for, old man. Where should we run to?

SILENUS: Here, inside the cave, you’ll find a place to hide from him in there.

ODYSSEUS: That’s a risky idea, putting our heads in the trap!

SILENUS: No risk at all; there are many places to hide in the cave.

ODYSSEUS: No, I’ll not do it! Troy would grieve loud and long if I now turn in flight from one man, I who stood my ground so many times, shield in hand, against a countless host of[ 200] Trojans.¹² No, if die I must, nobly shall I die, or live on and preserve my fame of old.

[POLYPHEMUS enters, carrying a club.]

CYCLOPS: Right then, hold up, come along now! What’s going on here? Why are you all being so slack? Having a holiday for Bacchus, are we? There’s no Dionysus here, no bronze clappers or rattling drums. How are my new-born lambs surviving in the cave? Are they at the teats and running under their mothers’ sides? Has the milk for the cheeses been curdled and put in rush baskets? Nothing to say for yourselves, eh? This [210] club will soon make one of you cry! Eyes up, not on the ground!

CHORUS–LEADER [craning his neck to look up at POLYPHEMUS]: There! I’ve raised my head to Zeus himself and the stars and I see Orion!

CYCLOPS: Is my supper well prepared?

CHORUS–LEADER: It is; just make sure your gullet is ready.

CYCLOPS: And what about milk? Are the mixing bowls filled?

CHORUS – LEADER: Enough for you to drink up an entire storage jar, if you want.

CYCLOPS: Is it sheep’s milk or cows’ or a mixture of the two?

CHORUS-LEADER: Whatever you wish; only mind you don’t swallow me down!

[220] CYCLOPS: Have no fear of that; you lot would be the death of me with your twists and turns, leaping around in the middle of my stomach. [Suddenly catching sight of ODYSSEUS and his men] Hey! What’s this collection I see near my cave? Some pirates or thieves who have landed here? I certainly see lambs here from my cave, tied up tight together with twisted willow-twigs, and cheese-baskets all mixed up, and an old man with his bald head swollen from blows.¹³

SILENUS: Poor old me! Oh! Oh! What a beating I’ve had! My face is on fire!

CYCLOPS: Who did it? Who has been punching you on the head, old man?

[230] SILENUS [pointing to ODYSSEUS and his men]: These fellows, Cyclops, because I wouldn’t let them carry off your property.

CYCLOPS: Did they not know I am a god with gods as forefathers?

SILENUS: That’s what I kept telling them, but they didn’t stop plundering your goods, and then they started eating the cheese, though I tried to stop them, and carrying out the lambs. And then they said¹⁴ they would put a king-size collar on you and pull out your innards by force, in full view of your central eye, and flay your back good and proper with a whip, before trussing you up and throwing you under their ship’s benches, to be [240] sold to someone needing boulders shifted, or flung into a mine.

CYCLOPS: Is that a fact? [Turning to one of his servants] Off you go, double quick, and sharpen up my carving knives, then put a big bundle of wood on the hearth and start a fire! [The servant hurries off into the cave.] They will be slaughtered at once and fill my belly, providing the server with a banquet hot from the coals, and the rest boiled and tenderized from the cauldron. I’ve had a sufficient taste by now of mountain game: lions and deer have supplied my table quite enough, and a meal of human flesh is long overdue.

[250] SILENUS: Some new items on the menu will give more pleasure, master, after your customary fare. It’s certainly a long time since you’ve had any other strangers coming to your cave.

ODYSSEUS: Cyclops, give us strangers a hearing too. We came from our ship to your cave because we wanted to buy food. The lambs were sold to us by this fellow, handed over for a cup of wine once he had sampled it, all fair and above board, with no coercion. But there’s not a single honest word in this rogue’s tale, as he’s been caught selling your goods while your [260] back was turned.

SILENUS: Who, me? I hope you rot in hell!

ODYSSEUS: Fine, if I’m lying.

SILENUS: In the name of Poseidon, your own father, Cyclops, and of the mighty Triton, in the name of Nereus, of Calypso and the daughters of Nereus, in the name of the sacred waves of the sea and all the brood of fishes, I swear – dear Cyclops, dear, handsome Cyclops, best of masters – I wasn’t selling off your goods to strangers! If this is a lie, may my sons here be damned utterly,¹⁵ these naughty lads their father dotes on!

CHORUS-LEADER: Wish that on yourself! I saw you selling the [270] property to the strangers. [Addressing POLYPHEMUS directly] Now, if I’m telling a lie, I hope my father may be damned. But don’t punish these strangers unjustly.

CYCLOPS [replying to the CHORUS-LEADER]: You’re lying. I put more trust in this man than in Rhadamanthus, and I consider him more honest. [Turning his attention to ODYSSEUS and his men] But I wish to ask you a question. Where have you sailed from, strangers? What is your homeland? What city raised you?

ODYSSEUS: We are Ithacans by birth, and have come from Ilium. We sacked that city and then storms at sea forced us to land on your shores, Cyclops.

CYCLOPS: Are you the men who went to punish Ilium’s city on [280] the Scamander for the theft of that trollop Helen?

ODYSSEUS: We are, and what a fearful struggle it cost us all!

CYCLOPS: A shameful enterprise that was – sailing off to the land of the Trojans for the sake of one woman!

ODYSSEUS: A god prompted the business; don’t put the blame on any mortal. But now, noble son of the ocean’s god, we are your suppliants and will speak plainly with you. When men have come in friendship to your cave, do not have the heart to [290] kill them and make them a godless meal for your jaws. We are the ones, my lord, who kept your father safe¹⁶ to enjoy his temple-dwellings at the farthest points of Greece: holy Taenarum’s harbour and Cape Malea’s inlets remain unharmed; safe, too, is Sunium’s rock, rich in silver and sacred to divine Athena, and safe Geraestus’ refuge for ships in distress. We did not yield up to the Phrygians what belonged to Greece – an intolerable disgrace. You also share in the benefits of this, living as you do at the edge of the Greek world under Etna, whose rocky summit drips fire.

[POLYPHEMUS starts to yawn.] But if you have no interest in these considerations, there is a convention among men that [300] one should welcome suppliants who have been exhausted by their sufferings at sea, giving them the presents that hospitality requires and furnishing them with clothes, not skewering their limbs on spits for roasting oxen and then filling your jaws and belly. The land of Priam has caused enough bereavement in Greece, drinking the blood of many a dead warrior slain by the spear, turning wives into wretched widows and robbing grey-haired old men and women of sons. Now, if you are going to cook and consume in some grisly banquet those of us who have survived, where is any man to turn? No, do what I[ 310] ask, Cyclops: disappoint those greedy jaws of yours and choose to honour not to insult the gods; many a man in making sinful gains has earned the reward of punishment.

SILENUS [to POLYPHEMUS]: Let me give you some advice: do not leave a scrap of this man’s flesh. And if you chew his tongue, you will become smart, too, Cyclops, and a regular talker.

CYCLOPS [looking down at ODYSSEUS]: Wealth, my mannikin, is what the wise think of as divine; everything else is idle chatter and high-sounding phrases. As for the promontories on which my father’s temples stand, I care nothing for them. Why did you make an issue of them in your speech?

Zeus’ thunderbolt¹⁷ holds no terrors for me, stranger, and I [320] am not aware of Zeus being a more powerful god than I. He causes me no concern for the future, and let me tell you why this is so. Whenever he sends down his rain from on high, I have my snug shelter here in my cave; I dine on roasted calf or some wild beast, then, lying on my back, I give my belly a good soaking, drinking down ajar of milk, and poking against my tunic as I make a noise to match the thunderclaps of Zeus. And when the north wind from Thrace drives down the snow, wrapping myself up in the hides of beasts, I light a fire and give [330] no more thought to snow.

The Earth from necessity, whether she wills it or not, brings forth the grass to keep my flock fat. I sacrifice them to no one except myself, never to the gods, but to the greatest divinity there is, this stomach. Drinking and eating every day, and avoiding all pain to oneself– this is Zeus in the eyes of sensible men. As for those who passed laws, complicating the lives of men, they can go hang themselves! I will not stop gratifying [340] my heart – by eating you up. As for gifts of hospitality, you’ll get the following – I don’t want to be thought mean – fire and this bronze pot, that will bring your flesh, torn in pieces, to the boil and give it a nice overcoat. Now off inside with you, so that you can stand around the altar of the god in the cave and provide for my great feast.

[POLYPHEMUS lifts up the cauldron and starts herding the Greeks into the cave with his club, assisted by SILENUS. As they leave, ODYSSEUS lingers to make this speech.]

ODYSSEUS: Oh, this is past endurance! I have won through hardships at Troy and on the sea only to make port now in a godless man’s cruel and harbourless heart! O Pallas,¹⁸ o Lady [350] Divine, child of Zeus, now is the hour for you to help! The trouble I now face is worse than any at Troy; I stand on danger’s very altar-base! And you, Zeus who champions guests, dwelling in the shining realm of the stars, look upon our treatment!

[POLYPHEMUS appears threateningly at the mouth of the cave and gestures to ODYSSEUS with his club.] If you have no regard for these things,¹⁹ then men are fools to worship you as a god, Zeus, when you are worthless. [ODYSSEUS enters the cave, followed by POLYPHEMUS.]

CHORUS [Strophe]: Draw back those lips, Cyclops, open wide your gaping throat; the limbs of your guests, boiled, roasted or hot from the [360] coals, are ready for you to gnaw, tear and gobble up as you lie at ease in your woolly goatskin.

[Mesode:] No share of this for me, please, none for me! Load your cargo into your ship’s hold for yourself with no one else’s help! Oh, I want nothing to do with this dwelling, nothing to do with this sacrifice that the Cyclops of Etna performs, remote from any altar, joyously consuming the flesh of his guests!

[370] [Antistrophe:] A heartless wretch is he who sacrifices guests who have taken refuge as suppliants at the hearth of his home, feasting on their boiled flesh warm from the coals, as he rips and devours it with teeth defiled ²⁰ † †

 

[ODYSSEUS emerges from the cave. He still carries the wineskin.]

ODYSSEUS: O Zeus, what should I say, now I’ve witnessed in the cave terrible things beyond belief, such as might be told in stories, not found in the acts of men?

CHORUS-LEADER: What is it, Odysseus? Surely your dear comrades have not made a feast for the godless Cyclops?

ODYSSEUS: Yes; he looked at them and chose two, running his [380] hands over them to check who were the fattest and best-nourished ones.

CHORUS-LEADER: Poor man, how did your comrades come to suffer this fate?

ODYSSEUS: When we entered this rocky dwelling of his, he first kindled a fire, piling onto the spacious hearth logs from a lofty oak, so heavy that three wagons would be needed to carry them, and he set a bronze cauldron to boil over the flames. Then he spread out on the ground next to the blaze a bed of fir branches. After he had milked his cows, he filled to the brim with white milk a mixing bowl – it could hold as much as ten jugs – and beside it he set a drinking cup of ivy wood, four and [390] a half feet wide, and what looked like six feet deep from rim to base. Then he put down spits of buckthorn wood, their tips burnt in the fire, but the rest of them trimmed smooth with a scythe.²¹ † †

When that hellish cook, hated by the gods, had everything prepared, he snatched up two of my comrades. He slashed the throat of the first over the bronze cauldron with a sweeping motion, killing his victim, and then he grabbed the second by the tendon at the end of the foot and, striking him against the [400] sharp edge of a rock, he dashed out his brains. Then, cutting them up with a vicious knife, he began to roast their flesh over the fire, flinging the rest of them, their limbs, into the cauldron to boil. As for me in my misery, with tears welling from my eyes, I was close by the Cyclops’ side, acting as his assistant. The others huddled in the recesses of the cave, cowering like birds, their faces quite drained of blood.

But when he had eaten his fill of my companions and had fallen on his back, belching a foul vapour from his throat, I was [410] suddenly inspired by a thought from the gods. [ODYSSEUS holds up the wineskin.] I filled his drinking cup with this wine of Maron’s and offered it to him to drink, saying these words: ‘Cyclops, son of the ocean’s god, come and taste this gleaming draught of Dionysus; see what kind of heavenly drink this is that Greece supplies from its vines!’ Though his stomach was crammed with that disgusting meal, he accepted and gulped it down in one continuous draught. Then he lifted up his hands and spoke these words of approval: ‘Dearest of guests, you crown a splendid feast with a splendid drink!’ When I realized [420] he had enjoyed it, I filled his cup a second time, knowing that the wine would do him harm and he would soon get his come-uppance. Sure enough, he proceeded to burst into song, while I kept providing him with cup after cup, making his insides glow with the drink. His tuneless singing is now mingling with the weeping of my shipmates nearby and the cave echoes with the noise. I have crept out here, intending to save my skin, and yours, if you are willing. Now tell me: do you or do you not want to escape from this barbarous man and [430] live with the water-haunting nymphs in the halls of Bacchus? Your father inside did agree to this but his strength is gone and he has been taking advantage of the wine too much; he’s attached to his cup like a bird trapped in birdlime and flapping its wings in distraction. But you’re a young fellow, come, join me in escaping and get back your old friend Dionysus, someone quite different from the Cyclops.

CHORUS-LEADER: O my dear friend, if only we could escape the clutches of the Cyclops, that ungodly creature, and live to [440] see that day! My poor old siphon²² here has been widowed for ages now, and has no place to find relief.

ODYSSEUS: Then listen now as I tell you how to punish that villainous beast and bring your days of slavery to an end.

CHORUS-LEADER: Speak on; the sound of the Asiatic lyre would not please my ears more than the news of the Cyclops’ death!

ODYSSEUS: This drink of Bacchus has pleased him so much that he wants to go and have a party with his brother Cyclopes.

CHORUS-LEADER: I get it; your plan is to ambush him, alone, in woodland and slit his throat, or to shove him off some cliff.

ODYSSEUS: Nothing of the sort; it’s cunning that inspires me. [450] CHORUS-LEADER: Well, what is your plan? We’ve long been told how clever you are.

ODYSSEUS: To rid him of this idea of going to have a party by telling him that he shouldn’t share this drink with the Cyclopes but rather have a happy time keeping it for himself. And when he nods off, conquered by Bacchus, there’s a branch of olive-wood in his home that I mean to sharpen at one end with this sword and then put into the fire. Then, when I see it is glowing, I’m going to lift it, all hot, and ram it right into the [460] Cyclops’ face, causing his eye to melt. And just as a carpenter building a ship uses two leather thongs to spin his drill round and round,²³ I’lI whirl my firebrand round in the Cyclops’ orb of sight until I scorch his eyeball out.

CHORUS-LEADER [starting to dance] : Yippee! I’m overjoyed, quite mad at your inventions!

ODYSSEUS: And then I’ll bring you, your friends and the old man aboard my black ship, safely stowed, and with all hands to the oar I’ll quit this land.

CHORUS-LEADER: Is it at all possible that I, too, could grasp the [470] firebrand as it blinds his eye, just as happens with a libation made to a god? I want to play a part in this task.

ODYSSEUS: Oh, yes, you have to; it’s a big brand and you must help in holding it.

CHORUS-LEADER: I could lift the weight of a hundred waggons if we are going to smoke out the eye of that pernicious Cyclops like a wasps’ nest!

ODYSSEUS: Now, no talking about this! You know the plan and when I give the order obey the master-builder. No running [[480]] off for me, leaving my friends behind in the cave and saving my own skin!

CHORUS-LEADER: Come, who will be first,²⁴ who second to take up his post and grip the firebrand’s handle tight, then shove it under the Cyclops’ brow and grind out his bright eye?

[POLYPHEMUS is heard singing in the cave.] Hush! Hush! Our friend is drunk. Here he comes now, making his way out of his rocky home, producing a hideous attempt at music, a dismal [490] singer who will answer for it. Come on, let’s educate the ignoramus with our revelling songs! Whatever happens, he’s going to lose his sight.

[POLYPHEMUS enters slowly from the cave, winecup in hand. He is supported by SILENUS .]

CHORUS [Strophe I]: Happy the man who cries out in honour of Bacchus, as the precious liquid of the vine sets him fair on course for the revel. He leans on his friend’s arm and, waiting for him on her bed, he has his voluptuous mistress, with her shining, golden hair, as, [500] with scented locks himself, he asks, ‘Who will open the door for me?’ CYCLOPS [Strophe 2] : Ho! Ho! Ho! I’m full of wine. My spirits soar with the joy of the feast! I’m like a freighter, with hull loaded right up to the deck at the top of my stomach. This merry cargo brings me out to revel in the springtime with my brother Cyclopes. [To SILENUS] [510] Come on, friend, come on, give me the wineskin, do.

CHORUS [Strophe 3]: With beautiful glance he steps forth in beauty from the house. But who loves us? The lamp is kindled and awaits you; a rosy-skinned, tender nymph is in your moist cave. But more than one colour will stain the garlands that will soon deck your head!

[520] ODYSSEUS: Cyclops, I’m well acquainted with this Bacchus²⁵ I gave you to drink.

CYCLOPS: Who is Bacchus? Do people worship him as a god?

ODYSSEUS: In bringing joy to men’s hearts he has no equal.

CYCLOPS: Well, I certainly enjoy belching him out!

ODYSSEUS: That is the god’s nature; he harms nobody at all.

CYCLOPS: But a god like him, how can he be happy living in a wineskin?

ODYSSEUS: He accommodates himself to wherever he is put.

CYCLOPS: Gods shouldn’t wear animal skins.

ODYSSEUS: So what, if he gives you pleasure? Have you something against skin?

CYCLOPS: I’m not keen on the wineskin; but this here drink I do like.

[530] ODYSSEUS: Stay here, then, and have a good time drinking, Cyclops!

CYCLOPS: Shouldn’t I give my brothers a share in this drink?

ODYSSEUS: NO, keep it for yourself and they’ll think more highly of you.

CYCLOPS: But if I share it with my family I’ll be more helpful to them.

ODYSSEUS: Revelling can often end in punches and heated words.

CYCLOPS: I may be drunk, but just the same no one will dare touch me!

ODYSSEUS: My dear fellow, when you’ve been drinking it’s best not to leave your home.

CYCLOPS: Only a fool dislikes revelling after drinking.

ODYSSEUS: But the man who stays at home when he’s the worse for drink is wise.

CYCLOPS: What should we do, Silenus?²⁶ Do you think we should stay?

SILENUS: I do; why do we need others to drink with us, Cyclops? [540]

ODYSSEUS: Yes, and the ground is softly carpeted with flowers and grass.

SILENUS: Besides, it’s nice drinking when the sun’s warm. Lie down here, please, and stretch out on the ground.

[POLYPHEMUS lies down with the help of SILENUS, who slides the mixing bowl behind him.]

CYCLOPS: There we are! Hey, why have you put the bowl behind me?

SILENUS: In case someone knocks it over in passing.

CYCLOPS: Oh no, it’s a drink on the sly that you’re after! Put it down between us. [Turning his attention to ODYSSEUS] And you, stranger, tell me the name I should call you by.

ODYSSEUS: ‘Noman’. But what gift have you for me in order to earn my gratitude?

CYCLOPS: I’ll have all the rest of your company for dinner before [550] I eat you.

SILENUS: A generous gift to offer your guest, Cyclops! [He surreptitiously helps himself to some wine.]

CYCLOPS: Hey, you! What are you up to? Having a secret drink, are you?

SILENUS: No, the wine kissed me because I look so handsome.

CYCLOPS: You’ll be sorry for taking a fancy to the wine when it doesn’t fancy you!

SILENUS: It does, I tell you; it says it loves me for my good looks.

CYCLOPS: Here, pour away; don’t give me the cup till it’s filled to the brim.

SILENUS: Have I got the mixture right? [Peering into the bowl] Let me see.

CYCLOPS: You’ll be the death of me! Give me that and no more nonsense!

SILENUS [placing a garland on POLYPHEMUS’ head]: Oh no, not until I’ve seen you wearing a garland and I’ve had another taste.

[560] CYCLOPS: What a twister of a wine-pourer!

SILENUS: No, I protest – mind you, it’s delicious wine. But now you must wipe your mouth clean; here comes your next drink.

CYCLOPS: There, it’s done; my lips are clean, and my beard.

SILENUS: Now lean on your elbow in a graceful way and then drink it down, just as you see me drinking – or can’t see me, now! [SILENUS has buried his head in the bowl.]

CYCLOPS [sitting up with an effort]: Hey, there, what’s the idea?

SILENUS [raising his head slowly]: Excellent! That’s the end of that!

CYCLOPS [throwing his bowl to ODYSSEUS]: Here, stranger, catch! You’ll be my wine-pourer from now on.

ODYSSEUS: Well, my hand is not unacquainted with the vine.

CYCLOPS: Come on, then, fill me up!

ODYSSEUS: I am pouring; just stop talking, will you?

CYCLOPS: That’s a tall order for anyone who’s had a lot to drink.

[570] ODYSSEUS [handing him the filled cup]: There you are; now take it and down the lot – don’t leave a drop! The tippler and the tipple should end together.

CYCLOPS: Oh, yes, yes! What a clever tree the vine is!

ODYSSEUS: And if you sink a lot of wine on top of a big meal, filling your belly till its thirst is quenched, it will send you to sleep. But if you leave any in the cup, Bacchus will make your throat unbearably dry.

CYCLOPS [downing a lot of wine quickly]: Yeehah! That was a narrow escape from drowning! What undiluted pleasure! I seem to see the sky and the earth floating along together; I see [580] the throne of Zeus and the gods in all their holy majesty. Shall I not kiss them? [Looking at the SATYRS] The Graces are giving me the eye. Enough! [Turning to stare at SILENUS] Ganymede here²⁷ will give me a nicer time than the Graces if I take him to bed. Boys somehow give me greater pleasure than females.

SILENUS: Oh, help! I’m Zeus’ boy Ganymede, am I, Cyclops?

CYCLOPS [grabbing hold of him]: You certainly are, and I’m carrying him off from Dardanus’ land!

SILENUS: I’m done for, lads! A monstrous fate awaits me now!

CYCLOPS: Are you criticizing your lover? Getting fussy because he’s had a drink?

SILENUS: This is awful! That wine will soon be the bitterest drink I’ve had!

[POLYPHEMUS exits into the cave, with the reluctant SILENUS under his arm.]

ODYSSEUS: Come now, children of Dionysus, noble lads, the[ 590] fellow’s gone inside, and soon, stretched out in sleep, he’ll be spewing flesh out of his shameless throat. The firebrand has been prepared inside the cave, giving off its smoke, and all that remains is to set the Cyclops’ eye on fire. But now see that you behave like men!

CHORUS-LEADER: We will show a spirit as hard as rock or steel! But go into the cave before something awful happens to our father; we have everything in hand here, don’t worry.

ODYSSEUS [raising his hands in prayer]: Hephaestus, Etna’s lord, burn out the glittering eye of your wicked neighbour and then [600] have done with him once and for all! And you, Sleep, offspring of black Night, with all your strength invade this beast detested by the gods, and, after their illustrious efforts at Troy, do not allow Odysseus, himself and his crew, to be destroyed by a man who cares nothing for gods or mortals. Otherwise we must regard chance as a god and its powers as greater than the gods’. [ODYSSEUS goes into the cave.]

CHORUS: He who feeds on his guests will have his throat firmly gripped by the tongs; in no time the fire will make him lose his bright eye [610] Already the brand, reduced to charcoal, is hidden in the ashes, that huge offspring of oak. Let Maron’s wine come now and do its work! Let it take out the mad Cyclops’ eye so he gets a hangover! Then I want to leave the Cyclops’ lonely home behind and to set eyes on [620] Bromius, my longed-for lord, who loves to wear ivy in his hair. Shall such joy ever be mine?

 

[ODYSSEUS comes out from the cave, angry.]

ODYSSEUS : In heaven’s name stop your chanting,²⁸ you brutes, button your lips and keep quiet! I forbid any one of you even to breathe or blink or clear his throat, in case the vile Cyclops wakes up before his eye has its contest with the fire.

CHORUS – LEADER: We’re holding our mouths tight shut, saying not a word!

[630] ODYSSEUS: Come on, then, I want you to come inside²⁹ and grab hold of the firebrand; it’s glowing nicely now.

CHORUS – LEADER: We need instructions! Who should be the first to seize the stake itself and to burn out the Cyclops’ eye? We must share in the same fate! [The CHORUS now divide into two groups, each with its spokesman.]

FIRST SPOKESMAN: Oh, we are standing too far from the cave’s entrance to thrust the fire into his eye!

SECOND SPOKESMAN: And we have just become lame!

FIRST SPOKESMAN: That’s just happened to me too; I was standing here and suddenly got a sprain in my feet – no idea how!

[640] ODYSSEUS: A sprain, while you were standing?

FIRST SPOKESMAN: Yes, and something has made my eyes full of dust or ashes.

ODYSSEUS: They’re timid fellows, good-for-nothing, these allies.

CHORUS – LEADER: Just because I’m sorry for my back and spine, and don’t want my teeth knocked out, does this make me timid? But I know a really good spell of Orpheus³⁰ that will make the firebrand march of its own volition right up to the skull of the one-eyed son of Earth and set him on fire.

[650] ODYSSEUS: I’ve long since known the stuff you are made of, but now I know it even better. I must resort to my own friends for help. If you are so feeble when it comes to lending a hand, then at least give us your encouragement, so that we may find our friends brave in heart thanks to your support. [ODYSSEUS disappears into the cave.]

CHORUS-LEADER: I will do this and let others take the risk for us. If cries of support can do any good, let the Cyclops sizzle!

CHORUS: Ha, ha! Ha, ha! Shove bravely, don’t be slow, burn out the eyebrow of the brute who makes a meal of guests! Burn him, yes, singe him, yes, the shepherd of Etna! Spin it round, pull it round, so he [660] doesn’t do you some terrible harm in his agony!

[POLYPHEMUS staggers out of the cave, his face streaming with blood.]

CYCLOPS: Aargh! My bright eye has been burnt to cinders!

CHORUS-LEADER: Now that’s a victory-song that makes good hearing! Sing me that one again, Cyclops!

CYCLOPS: Aargh, the pain! How I have been abused, how ruined! But there is no way you will get away from this cave to boast about it, you miserable little wretches! I’ll take my stand at the entrance to the cave here and stretch my arms across it.

CHORUS-LEADER: Why all this shouting, Cyclops?

CYCLOPS: I’m destroyed!

CHORUS-LEADER: You certainly look ugly. [670]

CYCLOPS: And wretched into the bargain!

CHORUS-LEADER: Did you fall into the middle of the coals when you were drunk?

CYCLOPS: Noman was my destroyer.³¹

CHORUS-LEADER: Then no one has done you wrong!

CYCLOPS: Noman has blinded me in my eye.

CHORUS-LEADER: Then you are not blind!

CYCLOPS: How’s that?

CHORUS-LEADER: How would no man make you blind? CYCLOPS: You are making fun of me. But this Noman, where is he?

CHORUS-LEADER: No where, Cyclops.

CYCLOPS: To make it plain to you, it was my guest who destroyed me, that contemptible creature, who scuppered me with the drink he gave me.

CHORUS-LEADER: It’s a terrible thing, wine, a hard wrestler to throw.

CYCLOPS: In the name of the gods, have they run away or are they still inside the cave?

[680] CHORUS-LEADER: They are standing here in silence, sheltering by the overhanging cliff.

CYCLOPS: On my left-hand side or my right?

CHORUS-LEADER: On your right.³²

[POLYPHEMUS moves away from the entrance, so that ODYSSEUS, his men and SILENUS are able to slip out quietly.]

CYCLOPS: Where?

CHORUS-LEADER: Right up against the cliff. Do you have them?

CYCLOPS [bumping into the rocky cliff]: What I have is one pain after another! I’ve bashed my skull and broken it!

CHORUS-LEADER: Yes, and they’re getting away from you.

CYCLOPS [still searching with his hands]: Wasn’t it somewhere here, you said, over here?

CHORUS-LEADER: No, it’s over here I mean.

CYCLOPS: Where do you mean?

CHORUS-LEADER: Turn round that way, to your left.

CYCLOPS : Oh, no, I am being mocked! You are making fun of me in my affliction!

CHORUS-LEADER: I won’t any longer; there he is in front of you.

CYCLOPS: You utter wretch, wherever are you?

[690] ODYSSEUS: Some way from you, keeping watch over Odysseus’ body here.

CYCLOPS: What did you say? That’s a new name you’re using; you’ve changed it.

ODYSSEUS: It’s the one my father called me by: Odysseus. You were destined to pay the penalty for your sinful feast. With little credit would we have burnt Troy to the ground, if I had failed to punish you for murdering my comrades!

CYCLOPS: Oh, no, no! An ancient oracle is being fulfilled!³³ It said that I would be blinded by you after you had sailed away from Troy. But it also prophesied that you would be punished for this act by having to drift on the sea for many a year.³⁴ [700]

ODYSSEUS: Go hang yourself! And I’m not just saying it, I have done what I promised! I shall go down to the shore and set sail over the Sicilian sea to my native land.

[Exit ODYSSEUS and his men.]

CYCLOPS: No you won’t! I’m going to break off part of this rock, hurl it and crush you to bits, you and your shipmates.³⁵ I’ll go up to the hilltop, blind though I may be, climbing through the cave’s back entrance. [Exit POLYPHEMUS into his cave.]

CHORUS-LEADER: But we will become shipmates of Odysseus here and give our service to Bacchus for evermore.

[SILENUS and the CHORUS hurry off to join ODYSSEUS and his men.]