Homer is a Greek literary icon. His two most renowned works are The Iliad and The Oddysey. The Oddysey is about a man named Odysseus. He spends multiple years traveling back home from the Trojan War. He and his Achean (Greek) comrades have many adventures on their excursion home. Book 9 addresses their encounter with the Cyclopes. Homer detailed their way of life. I will examine his description and determine if they were or weren’t a civilization.
The Oddysey stated that the cyclopes lived on the same island. Clearly, they communicated with each other. That was proven when a Cyclops trapped Odysseus and his men inside a cave. After the Cyclops feasted on human flesh for two days, Odysseus pierced a flaming stick into the Cyclops’ eye, taking vengeance for his fallen soldiers. As the Cyclops’ eyeball burned, he screamed until all of the other Cyclopes rushed to aid him. That proves they weren’t downright individualistic and hostile to each other.
But they weren’t tribes either. All the Cyclopes lived in their own caves; they shepherded (their means of production) alone; they didn’t follow one rule of law. In other words, the Cyclopes didn’t live in a concentrated area, work together, or agree on ethics. In every way, they weren’t one “people.”
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines civilization as “a relatively high level of culture and technological development.” The Cyclopes were not technologically advanced. The beginning of book 9 stated they couldn’t build boats. Boats were commonplace in the rest of the world. The Cyclopes were technologically behind.
So, in conclusion, the Cyclopes were not a civilization. It’s ludicrous to say they were. A more accurate but imperfect description is tribal nomads.
Asher Sisneros 