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Polyphemus Is Wanted In Homer's The Odyssey

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Polyphemus is Wanted
In Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Odysseus meets a cyclops named Polyphemus. The Ithacan army finds a cave full of food, and they decide to collect some goods. The cyclops then comes and encloses them in the cave. Since cyclops eat man, Odysseus must come up with a plan. His plan is to give Polyphemus wine, so then he falls asleep and he can poke his one eye out. Poseidon, the sea god, then gives Odysseus a challenging ride back to their hometown, Ithaca.
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After Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, then revealed himself, Polyphemus screamed out, “Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca, never reaches home”(9. 588-590), to Poseidon. He acted like an arrogant monster without thought, and then the monster unleashed the most monstrous revenge on him. By revealing himself he indirectly turned himself into even more of a monster. Then when his crew eats the cattle Zeuss rings out, “I’ll hit their racing ship with a white-hot bolt, I’ll tear it into splinters.

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Odysseus was quick on his toes, he said "'Cyclops, try some wine. Here's liquor to wash down your scraps of men. Taste it, and see the kind of drink we carried under our planks... Give me another, thank you kindly...' The Cyclops drank three bowls of wine and became very drunk that was what Odysseus was trying to do so

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1155 Words | 5 Pages

He then uses the stake to blind Polyphemus and escape from his cave. However, Odysseus also uses strategy by first getting Polyphemus drunk on wine and also telling Polyphemus that his name is “Nobody.” This allows him to trick the other Cyclops’ into thinking nobody hurt Polyphemus when he is blinded, making it more difficult for Polyphemus to seek revenge. Overall, Odysseus’ use of strength and strategy in this scene show that he is a skilled warrior and leader who is able to overcome even the most difficult challenges. In the story “The Odyssey '', Odysseus faces the villainous sorceress Circe and receives help from the god Hermes.

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After blinding the cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus can not stand the thought of no one ever knowing his accomplishment, so he jeers at the cyclops and tells him that Odysseus of Ithaca is who blinded him. Obviously, Polyphemus is enraged, and since Odysseus had just basically given him his address, the cyclops prays to Poseidon, wishing that Odysseus never returns home. For the rest of the time Odysseus is at sea, he is dogged by Poseidon, as the surly god sends storm after storm to harry Odysseus and prevent his safe return home.

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726 Words | 3 Pages

Odysseus and his men had gotten stuck in Polyphemus’s cave with no way out and unluckily for them, this cyclops liked to snack on men. Odysseus needed to think of a way to get them out of there and fast before they all became lunch to Polyphemus. Odysseus’s plan was to offer him wine and to get on his good side before he had gotten drowsy and went to bed. After the cyclops had fallen asleep, Odysseus started putting his plan into action. He had taken the trunk of an olive tree and started carving away at the edges to make a spear shape.

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639 Words | 3 Pages

In his cannibalistic acts, he consumes Odysseus’s men without any semblance of humanity, but instead eats them raw, chasing them with milk and cheese. The uncooked components of his meal along with the rotting elements accentuate Polyphemus’s

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1064 Words | 5 Pages

Earlier in the epic, Odysseus frequently abuses his role as captain of his crew because of his curious nature. He makes several stops on their journey home in search of more opportunities to prove his skillfulness, even though he is already a king and has won a major war. One of these stops is at the Island of Polyphemus, home to the cyclops famed for eating all humans that enter his cave. Even though Odysseus is well aware of the danger ahead, his curiosity tempts him to

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448 Words | 2 Pages

In The Odyssey, the Cyclops is a monster because of his key differences from mere human beings, specifically his lack of wit and of morals. Depicting these qualities as monstrous support that cleverness and a general regard for human life were heavily valued in Greek culture. Odysseus easily trick the Cyclops bragging, “I poured him another fiery bowl - three bowls I brimmed and three he drank to the last drop, the fool”(9.404-406). To describe the bowls of wine as fiery foreshadows the demise of the Cyclops. Odysseus was able to use his brain, not strength, to make the Cyclops drink himself into a stupor.

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Although it is not explicitly stated or described in the ancient myth of The Odyssey as it was in Tarzan and the Apes, Polyphemus devouring Odysseus’ men can be interpreted as an act of cannibalism. This action stems from the idea of the archetypal feral child myth where the cyclops, Polyphemus, is so far removed from human society that he does not understand the traditional hospitality of human beings that Odysseus was seeking. Even though Polyphemus is considered a cyclops, the epic does not mention the dissimilarities between man and cyclops aside from a cyclops having one eye. Polyphemus does come from a lineage of the god, similar to Odysseus. While both Odysseus and Polyphemus may not have the same biological make-up, they could be considered distant relatives.

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686 Words | 3 Pages

Introduction: Polyphemus is the son of Poseidon the Greek God of the Sea, and Thoosa, a sea Nymph. Most of the information of Polyphemus was from the Odyssey. His appearance is the shape of a human with an eye on his forehead, and he’s classified as a Cyclops. Cyclops were usually depicted as enormous beings who were commonly virile Polyphemus was no exception, he was seen as unreasonable and typically violent and strict. He naturally ate any men that he met or came across.

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318 Words | 2 Pages

Second, in the epic, Odysseus makes a sacrifice when he gives up his wine in order to be able to escape Polyphemus’ cave. He sacrifices his gifted wine to the cyclops, but is able to blind him and escape his cave as a result of it. The cyclops drank the wine, fell asleep and Odysseus stabbed him in the eye. In addition, Odysseus

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511 Words | 3 Pages

The men had an idea and told Odysseus that they should take the cheeses and the lambs on to the ship and sail away. Through Odysseus refused because he wanted to see the Cyclops and what he had to offer. Once the Cyclops, Polyphemus, arrives Odysseus explains that Poseidon wrecked there ship and that they are survivors. Then the Cyclops picked up two men and ate them for his dinner. Odysseus and his men went to hide, but then in the morning the Cyclops ate more men for breakfast.

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416 Words | 2 Pages

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!'

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922 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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384 Words | 2 Pages

Odysseus blinds and taunts the Cyclops Polyphemus, which leads to Polyphemus praying to his father, Poseidon, to curse Odysseus. The curse bestowed upon Odysseus by Poseidon is mentioned in book 9 lines 445-451 of The

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