In Episode IX of The Odyssey,
            Odysseus and his men reach the Island of the Cyclopses.  The men enter the cave of
            Polyphemus, who rolls a boulder to cover the exit.  Odysseus and the men expect to be
            treated as guests, but Polyphemus says that he has no law and does not honor Greek
            customs.  The giant proceeds to eat many men before Odysseus, telling him his name is
            "No Man," conceives a plan to get him intoxicated with wine.  After Polyphemus falls
            asleep, the men sharpen a large stake and bore into his one eye.  Blinded, the giant
            moves the boulder to call to his brothers, "No Man has blinded me!"  Meanwhile the men
            tie themselves under the giant's sheep to escape.  Once outside, Odysseus makes the
            mistake of revealing his name to Polyphemus, who calls Poseidon, his father, to avenge
            him and punish Odysseus of Ithaca.
In Episode XII, Odysseus
            is told that he must sail past the Sirens, sea nymphs whose haunting songs promise
            infinite knowledge, but they are a trap to lure men to their deaths.  Odysseus tells him
            men to put wax in their ears and tie him to the mast of the ship.  Then men obey, and
            Odysseus weeps and cries to home when he hears their enchanting melodies.  His fate is
            to hear their song so that he will long for Ithaca.
 
No comments:
Post a Comment