169 ULYSSES AND POLYPHEMOS 
 
 
    The tottering image was dashed 
      Down from its lofty pedestal; 
    On Ulvfagre's helm it crashed. 
    Helmet, and skull, and flesh, and brain, 
    It crushed as millstones crush the grain. 
                      Campbell, Reullura. 
 
  Ulysses, a corrupt form of Odusseus 
[0. dus'.suce], the king of Ithaca. He is 
one of the chief heroes in Homer's !/iad, 
and the chiet hero of the Odyssey. Homer 
represents him as being craftily wise and 
full of devices. Virgil ascribes to him the 
invention of the Wooden Horse. 
  Ulysses was very unwilling to join the 
expedition to Troy, and pretended to be 
mad. Thus, when Palamod~s came to 
summon him to the war, he was plowing 
the sand of the seashore and sowing it 
with salt. 
   Ulysses's bow.  Only  Ulysses, could 
draw this bow, and he could shoot an 
arrow from it through twelve rings. 
  William the Conqueror had a bow which 
no arm but his own could bend. 
  Robin Hood's bow could be bent by no 
hand but his own. 
  ** Statius says that no one but Ka- 
p~neus [Kap'.a.nuce] could poise his spear. 
  His cypress spear with steel encircled shone, 
  Not to be poised but by his hand alone. 
                             Thebaid, v. 
  Ulysses's Dog, Argus, which recognized 
his master after an absence of twelve 
years. (See THERON, King Roderick's 
dog.) 
 
  Ulysses and Polyphemos. 
  Ulysses and his crew, having reached 
the island of Sicily, strayed into the cave 
of Polyph~mos, the giant Cyclops. Soon 
as the monster returned and saw the 
strangers, he seized two of them, and, hav- 
ing dashed out their brains, made his sup- 
per off them, "nor entrails left, nor yet 
their marrowy bones;" then stretched he 
 
 
his huge carcass on the floor, and went to 
sleep. Next morning he caught up two 
others, devoured them for his breakfast, 
then stalked forth into the open air, driv- 
ing his flocks before him. At sun-down 
he returned, seized other two for his sup- 
per and after quaffing three bowls of wine, 
fell asleep. Then it was that'Ulysses 
bored out the giant's eye with a green 
olive stake heated in the fire. The mon- 
ster roared with pain, and after searching 
in vain to seize some of his tormentors, re- 
moved the rock from the mouth of the cave 
to let out his goats and sheep. Ulysses 
and his companions escaped at the same 
time by attaching themselves to the bellies 
of the sheep, and *made for their ship. 
Polyphemos hurled rocks at the vessel, 
and nearly succeeded in sinking it, but the 
fugitives made good their flight, and the 
blinded monster was left lamenting.- 
Homer, Odyssey, ix. 
  *** An extraordinary parallel to this tale 
is told in the third voyage of Sindbad, the 
sailor. Sindbad's vessel was driven by a 
tempest to an island of pygmies, and ad- 
vancing into the interior, the crew came 
to a "high palace," into which they en- 
tered. At sundown came home the giant, 
"tall as a palm tree; and in the middle of 
his forehead was one eye, red and fiery as 
a burning coal." Soon as he saw the in- 
truders, he caught up the fattest of them 
and roasted him for his supper, then lay 
down to sleep, and "snored louder than 
thunder." At daybreak he left the palace, 
but at night returned, and made his meal 
off another of the crew. This was re- 
peated a third night, but while the monp 
ster slept, Sindbad, with a red-hot spit, 
scooped out his eye. "The pain he suf- 
fered made him groan hideously," and he 
fumbled about the palace to catch some of 
his tormentors "on whom to glut his 
rage;" but not succeeding in this, he left 
                                   IV 
 
 
ULVFAGEE