Week 3 Story: Odysseus and Polyphemus


    Odysseus and his men came upon an island filled with greenery, goats, and plenty to eat. The men killed many sheep to eat, and once their hunger was satisfied, Odysseus and a few others set off to see who lived on the island. They stumbled across a cave, filled with cheese and wine. Seeing that someone lived here, Odysseus and his men waited. The first sign they had of something coming toward the cave was a rumbling noise, almost like an earthquake. A herd of goats made their way into the cave with a giant following them. The giant then moved a boulder that Odysseus and his men could not move even with a team of horses in front of the door. Odysseus and his men paled. This giant only had one eye, right in the center of his forehead. He was a Cyclops, a child of Poseidon. Odysseus, thinking quickly, rose to greet this Cyclops. Before he could say anything, however, the giant saw that his stores of cheese and wine had been depleted. Enraged, the Cyclops accused Odysseus and his men of being thieves. Odysseus, who was very clever, said that Nobody had stolen from him. The Cyclops, Polyphemus, snatched up two of the men, bashed them against the cave floor, and then ate them. Odysseus and his men were horrified. Polyphemus then laid down and went to sleep.



    The next morning, Polyphemus ate another two men before moving the door and allowing the goats to exit the cave. He trapped Odysseus and his men in the cave. Odysseus noticed the Cyclops’ club resting against the pen for the goats. He broke off a piece of it, sharpening it and holding it over the fire to temper it. That night when Polyphemus had eaten another two of the men, Odysseus approached him and offered him wine. Polyphemus drank deeply, and Odysseus ensured that his cup was never empty. When Polyphemus passed out, Odysseus and six others got the stake ready. They knew they could not kill him, because then they would be trapped in the cave forever. Instead, they blinded him, stabbing the spear deep into Polyphemus’ one eye. Polyphemus woke with a scream and thrashed around, knocking several things over but not managing to hit any of the men. The other Cyclopses, concerned, came to see what was wrong. Polyphemus yelled that Nobody had blinded him. The other Cyclopses were convinced that Zeus had cursed Polyphemus and advised him to pray to the King of the Gods before leaving. Polyphemus, now blinded, began feeling along the backs of the rams before letting them out of the cave. Odysseus and his men strapped themselves to the underbellies of the creatures and made their way out of the cave. Then, they hurried to the ship.

When they were out on open water, they heard a great shrieking noise, and then a boulder came crashing down beside their ship. It was Polyphemus, who had realized they were not in the cave anymore and must be leaving. Odysseus, feeling quite good about managing to escape the clutches of a murderous Cyclops, yelled to Polyphemus and told him his true name. Polyphemus, who was a son of Poseidon, asked the god of the sea to curse Odysseus and his men. Poseidon, hearing this prayer, did so. He pushed Odysseus and his men to Circe’s island, where they would face a new obstacle to getting back to Ithaca.



                                  Odysseus and His Men Blinding Polyphemus








Author’s Note:

The original story says that Odysseus and his men find the cave of Polyphemus and are trapped there while Polyphemus eats them two by two. Odysseus and his men fashion a spear out of a club while waiting for Polyphemus to return. They cannot kill him because they would be trapped in the cave forever. Instead, Odysseus gets him drunk on wine and they blind him. When the other Cyclopses come to see what is wrong, Polyphemus tells them that Nobody (Odysseus) has blinded him. The next morning, they tie themselves to the underbellies of the rams in the cave. Polyphemus only feels the backs of the rams, so they slip out that way. Polyphemus figures out they got out somehow and chases them to their ship. There, he asks his father Poseidon to curse Nobody and his men. Odysseus, feeling cocky for having gotten away, yells his name to Polyphemus, who then asks Poseidon to curse Odysseus. Poseidon does so and pushes them to Circe’s island. I decided to stick pretty close to the original story and re-tell it in my own words.


 Bibliography

Homer's Odyssey, translated by Tony Kline

Comments

  1. Hi Cady,

    I like your retelling of Homer's Odyssey focused on the part where Odysseus and his men encounters the cyclop Polyphemus. I understood the translation by Tony Kline but your retelling makes it way easier to read. It is straightforward and since you only focused on a tiny part of Odyssey, you're able to include a lot of details which is enjoyable to read.

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  2. Hey, Cady. This is a very competent retelling of the story. You may have the first story I've read where I don't disagree with any of the grammatical choices. That, in my book, is amazing. Since you are so good at the structure and communication of ideas, I'm wondering what original ideas you have to offer. I'm interested to see in the future.

    What changes would you make to this story if you had to? All I can think of is making the cyclops a woman, and that seems pretty boring. If I had any problems with your story, it would be your author's note. Because you retell the story in your own words, I don't see why you need to explain the story again. Then again, I don't know what the heck else you would do. In other words, I have no complaints. Good job. I hope to read an original soon.

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