Polyphemus And Gilgamesh Research Paper

Physical attractiveness and physical ability have been held to a very high standard for thousands of years, and are still being viewed as an important societal value today. Men are said to place more importance on the physical attractiveness of women than women do on the physical attractiveness of men (Mazur 281). Men may place more importance on physical standards of women, but in the myth of Polyphemus the Cyclops from Mythology and the tale of King Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh men were being criticized for their looks or honored for their physical prowess. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the myth of Polyphemus both enforce the unspoken social rule of being a prime physical specimen, whether it be due to physical capability or physical

The Odyssey follows the journey of a Trojan War hero, Odysseus, on his long trip back home to Ithaca. On his trek, Odysseus encounters Polyphemus. The Cyclops is an ugly and evil giant with one eye; the Cyclops Polyphemus traps Odysseus and his men when they accidentally enter his cave. As the men were trapped in the cave, they feared the giant: The hearts inside us shook, terrified by his rumbling voice and monstrous hulk” (Homer and Fagles 144). Polyphemus then proceeds to eat a majority of Odysseus men, while holding them hostage. With bravery and a cunning plan, Odysseus manages to escape with his remaining men. Unfortunately, Odysseus let his bravery inflate his ego, when he blinded Polyphemus with a stake to the eye. The unspoken rule for the Ancient Greeks of one having to be beautiful made Polyphemus be seen as being a “monster” and having a “brutal heart” (Homer and Fagles 144-145). Due to his size and irregularity of having only one eye, made people look down on Polyphemus, resulting in him becoming evil, cynical, and a savage. His looks are emphasized in both Mythology and the Odyssey; Hamilton wrote in the 1950’s. In the fifties, looks were very important, but not as valued as it was in Ancient Greece. Hamilton made comments about Polyphemus’ monstrous appearance, such as “At last he came, hideous and huge, tall as a great mountain crag,” (Hamilton