Reading Notes: Odyssey, Part A

 Odyssey: The Cyclops Defeated
When dawn came, the cyclops did his morning tasks. He milked the goats and put the goats in order along with their young. When he finished his work he took another two men and ate them as breakfast. After his meal, he took his healthy flock out from the cave. He lifted the gigantic stone door as if it had no weight at all and put it back just as effortlessly leaving us trapped in his lair. As he left to the mountains whistling and guiding his flock. As we were sure he was leaving for the day we had to devise a plan to escape this murderous beast stomach and take vengeance to my follow comrades killed by this beast. I prayed for Athena to grant me a plan to escape the cyclops and inspiration struck me. The best escape seemed to be:


Looking around to see what materials I could gather I saw the cyclops huge club laying next to the sheep pen. It was so big it could be the mast of a twenty-foot ship. I cut off a sixfoot length portion of the club. I handed it to my men and told them to smooth the wood. once it was smooth I sharpened the point of the stake and hardened the end with the blazing fire. I then hid the stake in a pile of excrements that was on the ground of the cave. I spoke to my men asking them which would take courage with me to help me raise the stake and stab the cyclops eye once he sleeps. The men i would have chosen stood with brave hearts to help me in my task. The men were four that took courage and with myself, it made five to conquer this giant.


He then returned and did his evening tasks of guiding his well-fed goats into the cave, milking the female goats, and putting them in order along with their young. once he finished his chores he took two of my men again and devoured them for supper.
That was when I took the initiative to tell the cyclops to drink wine as I held it in front of him in an ivy-wood bowl.
" here cyclops have some wine to help wash down my men you have eaten. This wine was a gift for you as a gesture of our respect hoping you would help us to reach a way to our home. Your heart was too cruel and you trapped us here for your meals.  Drink the wine we brought you for no one will ever come and visit you again with gifts.


the cyclops took the cup and drank it. He found great pleasure in the wine and asked for more.
Give me more and tell me your names, so I may give you a gift, this gift will please you.


Ad he finished speaking I took to him the wine which he drank with no hesitation and again three times I poured it for him and three times again he drank hastily.

 I then took the courage to say " you asked my name cyclops I go by the name of Nobody"
to which the cyclops answered, " My gift is that I will eat nobody and all your men." 

 The wine soon brought the cyclops sweet slumber. In his deep sleep, he threw up wine along with human flesh. We took the opportunity to thrust the stake in the ashes to heat it. I then spoke to my men to inspire courage and when the stake was red from the heat we took it from the ashes and my men surrounding me. we Held the stake thrust it into the eye of the cyclops. I then threw my weight on it and twisted it around hearing the juices of the eye steam and sear from the heat of the stake. We continued to twist round and round as blood poured out from the eye.

He screamed in great pain and the cave trembled from his voice. the terror over too\k us and we hid covered in blood from his eye. He took the stakeout and tossed it away from him and called for his neighbor cyclopes who lived close by.

They came and surrounded the cave and said to him"Polyphemus why do you wake us with such yells? is a mortal stealing from you or trying to kill you with tricks?"

Polyphemus came out of his cave and said " nobody! nobody is trying to kill me with tricks!"

To this, they replied " If nobody is trying to kill you and you are alone then Zeus has surely sent a sickness to overcome you. Pray to our father Poseidon. 

 

Polyphemus being stabbed 

Bibliography source: Homer's Odyssey, translated into English by Tony Kline. (2004).