POLIFEMO

The myths of the Mediterranean tradition are reproduced here in a collection full of suggestions and charm, made in an artistic ceramic that stands out for the elegance of the shapes and the bright colors.

Today we present Polyphemus, the son cyclops of Poseidon, according to the version narrated by Homer. The Greeks located the land of the Cyclops, gigantic one-eyed deities, at the foot of Etna, in Sicily.

And Ulysses lands here, on his return journey from the Trojan War. Driven by curiosity, the protagonist of the Odyssey decides to enter, together with his companions, into the cyclops cave, which on its return closes the exit with a huge boulder and immediately begins to devour them one by one.

Ulysses then invented a stratagem to save himself and his surviving companions. He offers wine to Polyphemus and manages to put him to sleep. Then he sticks a pointed and red-hot stick in his eye.

The Cyclops then invokes the help of his brothers with a loud voice, but they do not intervene, as Ulysses had told Polyphemus to be called "Nobody", and when they ask his brother who hurt him, he replies that "Nobody" was trying to kill him.

The next morning, with another trick, Ulysses manages to get out of the cave, together with the his companions: he makes them cling to the belly of the sheep of the flock that Polyphemus must bring to pasture, and he himself last attaches himself to the belly of the ram, thus escaping the control of the cyclops.

When Polyphemus notices of the escape of the Greeks, begins blindly to throw rocks on the sea, in an attempt to sink the ship. Ulysses mocking him, then reveals his real name , provoking even greater wrath in the cyclops who curses him, invoking the revenge of his father Poseidon, so that he will never let him return home.

The wonderful stacks of Aci Trezza, the small seaside village immortalized in "I Malavoglia", are said to have originated from the large boulders launched by the Cyclops Polyphemus thousands of years ago. < / span>