Book 9 - The Cyclops Flashcards
Book 9
Odysseus ……………….. tells the Phaeacians the sorry tale of his wandering
reluctantly
Book 9
Where is the first place Odysseus & his men go after Troy
- Ismarus, the City of the Cicones
Book 9
What happens with Odysseus’ encounter with the Cicones
- With apparent ease, they sack the city, kill the men, enslave the women, and enjoy a rich haul of plunder
- Odysseus advises his men to leave immediately with their riches, but they ignore his warnings
- The Cicones gather reinforcements & counterattack
- Odysseus and his crew finally escape, having lost six men per ship
Book 9
What intervention from Zeus carrys Odysseus on on his journey
- A storm sent by Zeus sweeps them along for nine days
Book 9
Where does Odysseus go after encountering the Cicones
The Land of the Lotus-eaters
Book 9
What happens when Odysseus encounters the Lotus-eaters
- the natives give some of Odysseus’s men the intoxicating fruit of the lotus
- As soon as they eat this fruit, they lose all thoughts of home and long for nothing more than to stay there eating more fruit
- Only by dragging his men back to the ship and locking them up can Odysseus get them off the island
Book 9
Where does Odysseus & his men go after the Lotus-Eaters
- The Land of the Cyclops, a rough and uncivilized race of one-eyed giants
Book 9
What does Odysseus and his men do before encountering the Cyclops
- After making a meal of wild goats captured on an island offshore, they cross to the mainland.
- There they immediately come upon a cave full of sheep and crates of milk and cheese.
- The men advise Odysseus to snatch some of the food and hurry off, but, to his and his crew’s detriment, he decides to linger, stealing some cheese
Book 9
What does the Cyclops do when he first greets Odysseus & the men
- Polyphemus makes a show of hospitality at first, but he soon turns hostile, agitated by Odysseus’ eloquence & kleos.
- He devours two of Odysseus’s men on the spot and imprisons Odysseus and the rest in his cave for future meals.
Book 9
Why must Odysseus devise a plan, instead of using violence and tact to escape
- he knows that only Polyphemus is strong enough to move the rock that he has placed across the door of his cave
Book 9
How does Odysseus & his men tactically escape the Cyclops
- The next day, while Polyphemus is outside pasturing his sheep, Odysseus finds a wooden staff in the cave and hardens it in the fire.
- When he returns, Odysseus gets him drunk on wine from the ship.
- Feeling jovial, Polyphemus asks Odysseus his name. Odysseus replies its “Nobody”
- As soon as Polyphemus collapses with intoxication, Odysseus and a select group of his men drive the red-hot staff into his eye.
Book 9
How is the cunning of Odysseus’ plan revealed through the neighbours coming to find Polyphemus
- Polyphemus wakes with a shriek, and his neighbours come to see what is wrong, but they leave as soon as he says, “Nobody’s killing me”
Book 9
How do Odysseus & his men leave in the morning
by clinging to the bellies of the monster’s sheep as they go out to graze
Book 9
How does pride overcome Odysseus after escaping the Cyclops
- Odysseus calls to land and reveals his true identity, ridiculing him
- With nothing but oceans between him and Ithaca and the god of the sea as his new enemy, Odysseus has paid a hefty price for his pride.
Book 9
What does Polythemus do in response to odysseus’s derisive words towards him
- Sends a prayer to his father, Poseidon, calling for vengeance on Odysseus:
- to see that Odysseus never makes it home.
- Or, if the fates have already determined that he must, then may he arrive late, broken, and alone, finding great troubles in his household
