Comparing The Cyclops And Odysseus

When they were involved with the Cyclops, Odysseus was a very brave, smart, and caring man (although he did do some bad things as a leader too). He came up with a very clever plan to hurt the Cyclops, which he did do. Then he told the Cyclops his name was “Nobody” so he

Odysseus yells to the cyclops, “If I could take your time away I would./ and hurl you down to hell!” (book 9, 438-439). Because Odysseus says that he will “hurl him down” to hell, it is clear how he is not scared of the cyclops or scared of him hurting his men. This demonstrates that Odysseus is self indulgent for attention. Therefore, if Odysseus kept yelling at the Cyclops, he most likely would've gotten himself and his men killed.

The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus encounters the trial of The Cyclops and he is put in the position where his survival is jeopardized and that leads to fear. In The Odyssey ,while Odysseus is venturing back to his homeland in Ithaca, one of the three trials he faces is a deadly cyclop. After experiencing the trial of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus and his men sail to the islands of the Cyclops. When they land, the crew notices a lot of dairy and sheep. Odysseus and his crew explore the island and they meet a cyclop. The cyclop appears approachable and humane until he starts eating two of Odysseus’ men. Additionally, the cyclop keeps Odysseus and his men as hostages in his cave.“He clutched at my companions and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering on the floor. Then, he dismembered them and made his meal, gaping and crunching like a mountain lion” (The Odyssey 233-237). Odysseus realizes that him and his men’s lives are in jeopardy if they do not find a way to escape the Cyclop, they will die. The horrific scene of when his men were severely beaten and killed causes Odysseus to fear but, actively think of a way to escape. Odysseus is aware that he can not just go and kill the Cyclop. He has to devise a smart and sly plan to inflict pain on it some way to escape and survive. His plan was to revert to violence by stabbing the Cyclop’s eye to take away his sense of sight so that they could have a swifter escape. Violence and fear are dependent to each other. If one feels very fearful they will go to the extreme to try to alleviate their

He believes he has a higher status than the cyclops. Because of his excessive pride in himself, many men are eaten by the cyclops and Odysseus loses a huge portion of his

This suggests that Odysseus is not a forgiving person and that he will punish anyone who is in the way of his wrath. His uncontrolled anger is a hazard to his life and those around him. Narcissism (hyperephania) is also characterized in the book, and it can allow a person to always have an expectancy for praise and adulation from others, and this can lead a person to think too highly of oneself, when truly one is not able to be compared to that esteem. In “The Cyclops” Odysseus had not told Polyphemus his name, but when he was sure of success, Odysseus proclaimed his name with pride, “...how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye’ (503-504):” Odysseus once again cannot leave without the cyclops knowing who did this atrocity to him, so that when he gets home people will know his name and of the great things he did. This tells us that Odysseus is a man that needs other people to know his accomplishments and achievements for he himself to feel accomplished. This means that everything that Odysseus does, he will need to receive praise from others, for it to mean

Odysseus reveals his pettiness when he amuses himself with humorous guile. Odysseus not only uses his cunning at the expense of his enemies, but he also uses his cunning and guile as a way of entertaining himself. After Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is "Noman," Odysseus stabs Polyphemus in the eye and Polyphemus cries for help saying, "Friends, Noman

Odysseus is shown to be uncivilized through his interactions with Polyphemus. Although Odysseus was originally a very civilized king of Ithaca, the Trojan War brutalized him. In the midst of constant bloodshed, Odysseus transformed from a civilized king who always respected the hospitality rules into an uncivilized man who disregards the rules of hospitality when it does not benefit him. Odysseus ends up acting more uncivilized than the Cyclopians, who are known for their lack of society. The Cyclops lack culture, agriculture, and community. Odysseus explains, “These Cyclopians have no parliament for debates and no laws, but they live on high mountains in hollow caves; each one lays down the law for wife and children, and no one cares for his neighbours” (108). As Odysseus and his crew arrive at the cave of Polyphemus, they do not wait for him to return home; instead, Odysseus and twelve of his men enter the cave, uninvited. While they do bring gifts, something important to hospitality, they cannot resist all of the food and end up helping themselves “to as many cheeses as [they] wanted to eat” (111). By eating Polyphemus’s food, Odysseus disobeys the rules of hospitality by not waiting for Polyphemus to return. While the cyclops defies the hospitality rules by eating several of his guests, he only does this in response to the crew’s violation of hospitality. Hospitality is considered one of the cornerstones of civilization. By disobeying hospitality before Polyphemus even has a chance to follow its rules, Odysseus acts even more uncivilized than the monster who lacks civilization.

In Book 9, Odysseus does battle with a popular Greek Mythology creature the Cyclopes. Here Odysseus shows us how cunning he can be. While trapped Odysseus really fears that he will never see that homeland of Ithaca ever again. He is very mournful and we see just how much he misses home. He finally realizes how to escape from the Cyclops. He stabs the Cyclops in his only eye blinding him. He then tells the monster

When Odysseus is introduced to the malicious Cyclops, Odysseus quickly learns Cyclops negative outlook toward strangers. While Odysseus pleads for the Cyclops acceptance by stating "we're at your knees in hopes of a warm welcome, even a guest-gift, the sort that hosts give strangers", The Cyclops ruthlessly responded after Odysseus claimed his identity as a nobody, "Nobody? I'll eat Nobody last of all his friends- I'll eat the others first! That's my gift to you!" (Homer 219-220, 223). The Cyclops appears to have no difficulty in expressing negative hospitality while he states, "we Cyclops never blink at Zeus and Zeus's shield of storm and thunder, or any other blessed God- we've got more force by far" (Homer 220). Although, Odysseus experienced unpleasant hospitality within his journey, he was also lucky to find townspeople and their kings that accepted strangers with a positive outlook.

Odysseus’s escape from the Cyclops is one of great intelligence. A Cyclops is a giant one eyed monster. Homer said, “The booming voice and the very sight of the monster filled us with panic” (IX, 256). From the first moment Odysseus and his men set eyes on the Cyclops they know they are in trouble and will not be able to get out easily. The Cyclops, Polyphemus, eats two of Odysseus’ men from the start. As soon as this happens, Odysseus

When Odysseus becomes trapped in the Cyclops, Polyphemus’s, cave, he realizes that now is the time to use his strategy rather than strength. It all starts with his ‘libations’ to the Cyclops. Odysseus consistently gives Polyphemus wine “to top off the banquet of human flesh [he has] bolted down!” which is the crew members that Cyclops has eaten ( 9. 222). The most crucial part of Odysseus’s plan is when he tells Polyphemus his name is “Nobody- so my mother and father call me” (9. 223). This particular name that he tells Cyclops helps him escape the other cyclops on the island. Once they stab Polyphemus’s eye with a burning hot stick, the other cyclops wake up to ask him if anyone else is in there with him. Polyphemus, thinking that Odysseus’s name is actually ‘Nobody’, tells them that ‘Nobody’ is in there with him, While escaping death from the cyclops, Odysseus also blinds the cyclops, and saves the rest of his crew. Odysseus chose to use his strategy in place of trying to use his strength which would not have helped him escape. In this situation, strength is no use, seeing as the cyclops is ten times as strong as him.

Heroic, Strong, Brave, Confident. A hero is these things and many more. Two heroes who are very alike are Odysseus from the Odyssey and Hercules from the Disney movie Hercules. Not only did they both battle fearsome monsters, they were both working against an angered Greek god and shared many common characteristics. Odysseus and Hercules may have been uncannily alike but in the beginning they had their differences in motive. Although towards the end their purpose became more alike than ever.

Odysseus’s arrogance is shown throughout the poem, but it is clearly shown during his time with a cyclops named Polyphemus. When Odysseus and his men enter a dangerous cave because of their leader’s foolish curiosity and meets Polyphemus, Odysseus says “It was our luck to come here; here we stand,/ beholden for your help, or any gifts/ you give-as custom is to honor strangers,” (256-268). Here Odysseus is practically demanding that the cyclops treat him and his men with courtesy just because he is a guest. His arrogance and pride makes them stay with the dangerous cyclops even though they had a perfect chance for escaping from cyclops at the very beginning before the conversation even started. If only they quickly left with some cheese or nothing at all, Odysseus wouldn’t have lost so many men. Because of Odysseus’s arrogance, six of his men were eaten by the cyclops. Another example when Odysseus arrogance is shown was just

The Cyclops is obviously pleased with the spoken words and gestures, and as a result, he gives in to his greed as he takes the wine. Odysseus's confidence in his own ability was the first step towards his success with the Cyclops. However, he has to take it a step further in order to make a successful get-away. Once again, a demonstration of his sharp intellect shows how Odysseus is smarter and more cunning than the average human. A quote that demonstrates his intelligence is,

Throughout the Odyssey, the struggles of Odysseus are revealed to the reader through the well written epic. His journey is very difficult and he is haunted with the loss of his entire crew and seemingly impossible task of getting home to his family. While journeying homewards, Odysseus makes the mistake of harming the Cyclops, who happens to be Poseidon's son. Poseidon is so angry at Odysseus for the harm he inflicted on the Cyclops, that through the influence of all powerful Zeus, he punishes Odysseus along with his other children, the Phaeacians, who can be seen to parallel as well as contrast with the Cyclops.