The great king of the Greek island of Ithaka, Odysseus was trying to get home from the Trojan War, when he and his shipmates ended up on Sicily - the island the Cyclops. The Cyclops were one-eyed giants, the size of trees who lived in caves around the volcano Mount Etna. Some Cyclops were peaceful shepherds, but some liked the taste of human flesh.

Odysseus's ship was out of food, so Odysseus took a dozen of his best men out foraging. They came to a cave and found it to be kitted out as home. Odysseus and his men helped themselves to some food and being polite waited for the owner to come home so they could thank him. Unfortunately the owner of the cave was Polyphemus - the nastiest of all the Cyclops. Polyphemus sealed the cave door with a large boulder and ate two of Odysseus's men alive. In the morning he had two more for breakfast and then went out to look after his sheep, sealing the door behind him.

Unfortunately for Polyphemus, Odysseus was the cleverest of the Greek kings and he started to plan an escape. He and his men sharpened an olive branch and then hardened it in the fire. When Polyphemus came back Odysseus offered him some wine. Polyphemus wasn't used to wine and started to get drunk. He offered Odysseus a present if he told him his name. Odysseus said his name was Nobody. "Well Nobody," said Polyphemus "My present is that I will eat you last!". Whereupon he ate two more of Odysseus's men and bloated with human flesh and wine fell asleep. Odysseus and the six men he had left took the olive branch, which was now red hot and thrust it into Polyphemus's only eye.

The screams of the blinded Polyphemus brought the other Cyclops running. But when they asked him what was the matter, he said "Nobody has hurt me!". The other Cyclops told him to go back to sleep and not to bother them if nobody had hurt him. In the morning Polyphemus removed the stone from the cave entrance, and sat in the doorway feeling the sheep as they went out to graze, to make sure Nobody and his men didn't get away. But Odysseus had tied his men to the sheep so that Polyphemus couldn't feel them. Odysseus himself clung to the belly of the ram and escaped.

Back at his ship Odysseus and his relieved companions quickly set sail. Once he was safely at sea - Odysseus mocked Polyphemus telling him that he had been tricked by the great Odysseus. Outraged, Polyphemus picked up a large rock and threw it after the ship. He cursed Odysseus and asked his father the sea-god Poseidon to drown Odysseus or if that was not possible to make Odysseus' journey home as dangerous as possible. Poseidon did just that - but that is another story.