The Odyssey is one of the most famous epic poems of all time. Written by the Greek poet Homer. Odysseus demonstrates his wit and intelligence on many occasions. From his clever escape from the Cyclops to his great thinking when visiting the Laistrygonians. Odysseus is a master strategist who always manages to stay one step ahead of his enemies. Even when you think things are going to turn out badly. In Chapter 5 “The Cyclops” Odysseus and his men come across the Cyclops and their Island. Odysseus thinks they will show their hospitality like the other islands he encountered before the cyclops. When they get to the land they see a cave-like area with a massive opening and giant footsteps and they start to wonder who lives here. As they keep going forward they come across the home of one of the cyclops named Polyphemus. Polyphemus asks why he and his men are here and how many more there are. Odysseus makes a smart move just in case of an emergency and says “Our ship was broken up on the rocks, I replied, thinking quickly. “We are the only survivors.” He says this just in case something goes wrong the cyclops would think that Odyyseus has nowhere …show more content…
But as they escaped the island and started to leave he said, “Now I want you to know that it wasn't Noman who blinded you but Odysseus, son of Laertes, the destroyer of Troy.” “Hear me, my father, Poseidon the earthshaker, and grant your son his heartfelt prayer. May Odysseus never see his home again; however, if he's fated to return, make sure that his journey’s long and miserable, that all his companions die, and that his is a bitter homecoming.” What the cyclops said did happen because he was the son of Poseidon and because Oddyseus made him never to see again. Poseidon made Odysseus' journey home take an extra 10 years. Chapter
He would rather compete in the Phaeacians' games to prove his own egotistical power, even though it meant delaying his return home. Choosing to stay away longer is one of the many selfish choices of Odysseus on his journey, and just proves how pretentious he truly is. His popular taunts on others’ who he thought of as less worthy resulted in many consequences. As Odysseus fled after attacking Polyphemus, he called the Cyclops an idiot and told him "you had it coming (Homer 425)”. His crew replied with, “Why are you being so insistent and taunting this wild man?
Odysseus’ trait of being risky as a leader overrides the crewman’s idea of quickly leaving. Even though Odysseus survives, many of his crewmates die to the cyclops. This not only makes his crew weaker because they have less men, but it also decreases the crewmates’ trust in Odysseus, harming them as a whole. His idea satisfied his personal desires, but it ended up being harmful to his crew. Odysseus and his men later end up blinding the cyclops and escape his cave.
The Odyssey, and the video version of this myth named Odysseus and the Cyclops Part I and II emphasize that Odysseus’s ambition and bravery are the significant characteristics that make him a great epic hero. Odysseus’s passion to venture leads him to start his arduous exploration of the Cyclops. He is always ambitious, and never hesitates when it comes to excavate something dreadful. After the crews’ ship has arrived, he and his men decide to approach the unaccustomed island to have a closer look of a type of creature that people rarely seen—Cyclops. In the text, it says, “Odysseus and his company of men set out to learn if the Cyclopes were friends or foes” (Homer 98) to describe Odysseus’s ardent feelings to discover things that he had never known, and moreover, how curious and aggressive he is.
During the Cyclops incident in The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew get stuck in the Cyclops’ cave. While losing some of his best men,
When hearing this, Polyphemus prays to his father Poseidon, the king of the sea, to give Odysseus troubles during his voyage. He wants it to take a long time to get back home and him to only arrive there after a number of shipwrecks. He also wants Odysseus to be welcomed home to find out that his house had been invaded by men trying to replace him as king of Ithaca. If Odysseus had listened to his men telling him not to provoke the Cyclops, then Odysseus would not have been through these
Odysseus makes many stops throughout his journey, such as the island of Aeolus, Circe’s island, the island of Phaeacians and in each of these islands Odysseus has been treated with much respect, he receives extravagant feasts and gifts. Odysseus, after being treated greatly, expects that every island he lands will give his amazing gifts and feast. But once he arrives at Polyphemus island, he is blinded by his riches and his cattle that he doesn’t realize that him and his men are going to be in danger. “ But I would not give way-and how much better it would have been-not till I saw him, saw the gifts he’d give” (9.256-258). Odysseus is blinded by the Cyclops plunder and doesn’t realize that he puts his men in peril, which later results with many of his men getting eaten by Polyphemus.
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus encounters numerous challenges and trials on his journey home after the Trojan War. One of his memorable challenges was his encounter with Polyphemus, a Cyclops, which showcases Odysseus’ intelligence and leadership qualities while highlighting his arrogance. Odysseus and his men become trapped in the cave of Polyphemus after unknowingly taking shelter and consuming his food. The Cyclops was angered by this and devoured some of his men.
After escaping from Polyphemus’s cave, Odysseus, and his crew were looking for their ship. “Oh, Captain!” exclaimed the worried men that stayed on the ship. “Are you alright sir, where have you been?” “Calm down my loyal men”, said Odysseus calmly. I’ll tell you what happened to me.
Throughout the story, Odysseus demonstrates his courage that ultimately allows him to survive. One of these moments was during his journey back to Ithaca, where he faces a race of man eating giants called the Cyclops. Odysseus originally stops his ship there to relish a feast while on his journey back to Ithaca, but while doing so, out of curiosity explores the island. Soon, he finds a deserted house and decides to wait of the owner. The owner was unknowingly one the Cyclops, named Polyphemus.
In the section “In the One-Eyed Giant’s Cave” from Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as a hero through his character traits and behaviors. When Odysseus and his men attack the city of Ismarus, the Cicones’ strong hold, Odysseus made sure to fairly distribute the spoils among his men. Odysseus’s behavior shows that he is a great leader, a characteristic of a hero. While Odysseus and his crew are in the Cyclops’ cave, Polyphemus, the cyclops, notices them. Polyphemus asks who they are with a monstrous tone, “‘Strangers!'
Summary: Cyclops In the story, Odysseus is still speaking to the Phaeacians, but is now telling them of his encounter with Polyphemus, the cyclops. Strong winds blew Odysseus and his men to Polyphemus’ island, where they unloaded and entered a cave that Polyphemus happened to live in. When he entered the cave, he closed the entrance with a large boulder that only he could move, trapping himself, his sheep, and Odysseus inside. After he ate some of Odysseus’ men, Odysseus devised a plan to get the cyclops to move the boulder so that the men could escape.
Throughout the tales and books of the epic poem, The Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus exemplifies a variety of traits that embody the characteristics of a hero. During the tales of Odysseus, The son of Laertes, and Greek king Odysseus uses his intellectual skills in order to aid himself and others. On their way home from the conclusion of the Trojan war
The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.