What kind of occupation does the cyclops do

How does Penelope test Odysseus? What is happening at the beginning of The Odyssey? Why does Athena help Odysseus so much? Why does Nestor invite Telemachus to the feast before knowing his identity? Why does Calypso allow Odysseus to leave her island? Why does Odysseus sleep with Circe?

Why does Odysseus travel to Hades? Why does Odysseus fail to reveal his identity to Penelope when they are first reunited? Does Penelope really intend to marry one of her suitors? How do Odysseus and Telemachus defeat the suitors?

Summary Book 9. Summary Reluctantly, Odysseus tells the Phaeacians the sorry tale of his wanderings. Odysseus insists on crossing over and visiting the inhabitants, whose fires he can see. They take the cheese, they fill up, and against the advice of his men, Odysseus has them wait: wait for the return of the inhabitant. Odysseus is hoping to receive from this inhabitant, whoever he might be, a guest gift, the proper token of hospitality.

This is a transcript from the video series Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature. Watch it now, on The Great Courses. The inhabitant turns out to be a massive Cyclops; his name is Polyphemus, a son of the sea god Poseidon.

As a Cyclops, he has one round eye in the middle of his forehead. Polyphemus, as soon as he notices Odysseus and his men, asks who they are; bad manners.

He then tells his first useful lie, Odysseus telling the Cyclops that their ship is nowhere to be found, it was destroyed on the rocks. This is a tight spot, and only through considerable trickery does Odysseus get most of his men out.

As the Cyclops sleeps, Odysseus thinks seriously about killing the monster, even feeling for the place in his chest where he might stab him. Why does Odysseus kill the suitors? How does Penelope test Odysseus?

What is happening at the beginning of The Odyssey? Why does Athena help Odysseus so much? Why does Nestor invite Telemachus to the feast before knowing his identity? Why does Calypso allow Odysseus to leave her island? Why does Odysseus sleep with Circe? Why does Odysseus travel to Hades? Odysseus does not discuss, at this point, why he was blown off course and unable to return directly to Ithaca.

Phemius, the renowned Ithacan bard, outlines the tale early in The Odyssey 1. Many critics see Odysseus' wanderings as a series of trials or tests through which the hero attains a certain wisdom and prepares to be a great king as well as a great warrior. If so, then judgment seems to be a key.

If Odysseus is to survive, he must ultimately become wise as well as courageous and shrewd. The first test is against the Cicones. Some scholars suggest that Odysseus raids Ismarus because the Cicones are allies of the Trojans.

Others conclude that he sacks the city simply because it is there. Certainly piracy and marauding were legitimate professions for Ithacans. At question is not the raid but Odysseus' men's foolish disregard for his advice. Having gained victory and considerable plunder, Odysseus wants to be on his way.

His men, on the other hand, drink and feast as the Cicones gather reinforcements, skilled warriors who eventually rout the Greeks. Odysseus loses six men from each of his ships and is lucky to get away by sea.

Odysseus escapes, but storms and a strong north wind drive his ships off course. As he rounds Cape Malea near Cythera, north and slightly west of Crete , he needs only to swing north by northwest miles or so to be home. The winds drive him away.

Nine days later, he reaches the land of the Lotus-eaters. Homeric geography is suspect, but some scholars place this at or near Libya. Students familiar with some of the legends of The Odyssey but new to the epic itself might be surprised to see that the section on the Lotus-eaters is only about twenty-five lines long 9.