Odysseus And The Sirens In The Odyssey

In The Odyssey, Odysseus’s journey to his home of Ithaka was abundant with challenges. These challenges were often very dangerous, both to Odysseus’s life, and his mission of returning home. The most dangerous ones being the Lotus-eaters, the Cyclops Polyphemos, and the Sirens. Out of all these challenges, the most dangerous was facing the great Cyclops Polyphemos. Some people may think that the Lotus-eaters or the Sirens were more dangerous than Polyphemos, but they were not. Many people think that the Lotus-eaters posed a threat to people’s lives, but the Lotus-eaters were in no way a physical threat. They are described, “Dark faces pale against the rosy flame, The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came.”(Tennyson, 26-27). When Odysseus and his men dragged the others onto the ship, the Lotus-eaters made no attempt to stop them. They were free to go. They were pale, mild-eyed, and melancholy beings, who showed no physical threat. Others argue that the Sirens were more dangerous because there was almost no way to escape them once you were captured. It is said that “There is no homecoming for the man who draws near them unawares” (Cartwright). While that may be true, avoiding the capture of the Sirens was actually very simple. Sailors simply

The most obvious reason is his stature and strength. Cyclopes are described as “strong, stubborn, and abrupt of emotion.” (Baldwin) On top of that, Polyphemos was an especially large and strong cyclops. He would not be persuaded to let anyone free of his grasp due to his stubbornness, and if anyone tried to escape, he would use his great strength. A demonstration of his strength is when Odysseus and his crew were in the cave. Polyphemos “heaved up and sit into position the huge door stop, / a massive thing; no twenty-two of the best four-wheeled / wagons could have taken that weight off the ground and carried it” (Homer, 2007,