Student+Notes-Cyclops


 * 1) Summarize (5-8 sentences) what happens in this part of Odysseus's journey.
 * 2) What is revealed (positive characteristics) about Odysseus during this episode?
 * 3) What is revealed (negative characteristics) about Odysseus during this episode?
 * 4) How is Odysseus's **//heroic flaw//** developed or diminished during this episode?
 * 5) Describe in one paragraph (5-8 sentences) the stage of the hero's journey known as **//The Belly of the Whale//**.
 * 6) How do the events of this episode with the **//Cyclops//** fit this stage of the hero's journey? (Think about the name that Odysseus chooses to use with the cyclops)

1. Odysseus and his men drifted off to the island of Sicily, home of the Cyclopes. Ahead of them was a low cliff and as they drew near to it they could see the opening of a cave. The men set to work. They squatted in a circle round the fire as they ate hungrily. Now when they looked round to see why it had gone so dark, they saw the gigantic figure of Polyphemus blocking the cave entrance completely. He was a terrifying sight; even Odysseus was afraid, though he put on a brave show. But the giant only grunted in reply. Odysseus sprang to his feet. They crept quietly to the cave entrance, but try as they might, the gigantic boulder which blocked the opening could not be moved.Eventually they had to give up. They attack the giant while he slept.Odysseus crept quietly to where the wooden shaft was hidden. Taking it out from under the skin, he heated the point in the fire until its sharpened end glowed red. Before it had time to cool he had crossed the cave to the sleeping figure and plunged the glowing stake into Polyphemus’s single eye,succeed in killing him. With a great roar of rage and pain the blinded giant staggered to his feet. Helplessly he blundered about the cave, arms outstretched, trying vainly to find his attackers, as they dodged away, always managing to keep behind him. At length he gave up and felt his way towards the entrance to the cave. Once there, he groped for the boulder and pushed it aside, but he did not venture out. Instead he crouched waiting by the opening, his huge, hairy fingers. Obviously he knew the men would try to escape as soon as they could, and he was ready to seize them as they tried to pass him. At the sound, Polyphemus came out from the cave, the huge boulder with which it had been closed held high above his head.

2 Odysseus was brave.

3.Odysseues still has too much pride.

4.Odysseus' flaw was that he was too prideful.

5.

6.This episode fits with the story by

Their next call was at the island of Sicily, home of the Cyclopes. These were giant men, wild and unkempt, who lived on human flesh. Each had one eye only, gleaming balefully from the middle of his forehead. The terrible Polyphemus, taller even than all the rest, was their leader. He was a son of Poseidon and a nymph, and in his early days he and his followers had lead a more peaceful life. They had worked in the island forge doing fine metalwork and making thunderbolts for Zeus, guided by the watchful smith god Hephaestus. But under the evil influence of Polyphemus they had abandoned their trade and now lived by preying on the towns and villages of the countryside, stealing corn and herds and frightening the people.

All of this was unknown to Odysseus, and when he and his men had landed they set out to explore. They climbed the steep hillside above the bay where they had anchored, making their way between the rocks and boulders that dotted the slope. Ahead of them was a low cliff and as they drew near to it they could see the opening of a cave. In front of it, some long-eared goats were grazing.

“Wait here,” Odysseus told his men, “and keep out of sight.” The men took cover behind the rocks while their leader went on alone, moving with great caution. Close to the cave he paused and listened, but there was no sound except the sighing of the wind across the bleak hillside. He was reassured, but nonetheless he drew his sword as he crossed the last few meters to the cave entrance and looked inside. At first it was too dark to make out anything, but as his eyes became accustomed to the gloom he could see that the place was empty. It was much larger than he had imagined from outside, but there was no sign that it was occupied. There was only a pile of bones in one corner, indicating that it had been, or possibly still was, the lair of a wild animal of some kind. If so, the animal was not there now. Odysseus and his men would give it a rough welcome if and when it returned. Odysseus went out into the afternoon sunshine and called to his men. “We will make this our camp until we can find a better one,” he said. “Tomorrow we will look for a town or village and buy grain and oil and other provisions. For today, we could do worse than feast on goats’ meat.”

The men set to work killing some of the goats and roasting them over a fire which they lit in the cave. They squatted in a circle round the fire as they ate hungrily: fresh meat was something they had not seen for many weeks. Evening was drawing in by the time they had finished and the light in the cave was fading fast. Then, with dramatic suddenness, it vanished completely.

Foolishly they had posted no sentries and they had heard no sound. Now when they looked round to see why it had gone so dark, they saw the gigantic figure of Polyphemus blocking the cave entrance completely, his single eye glowing red in the light from their fire. He was a terrifying sight; even Odysseus was afraid, though he put on a brave show.

“Can it be, stranger, that we have inadvertently made ourselves free with your flocks and your home?” he asked. “If so, you must pardon us, for we are strangers and it seemed the place was deserted.”

But the giant only grunted in reply. Then he turned and went outside once more. Odysseus sprang to his feet.

“Quickly!” he said. “Before he comes back we must get But he had no time to finish his sentence, for the cave mouth had darkened once again as Polyphemus came back, driving his flock of goats in front of him. Once inside, he pulled a gigantic boulder across the cave mouth so that it was closed completely. Then, ignoring Odysseus and his companions, he lay down on the floor. Soon his snores echoed through the cave like thunder.

As it seemed unlikely that any sound they made would wake him, the men began to talk together, though they kept their voices low. “I have heard of giants such as these,” Odysseus said. “It would seem that we are among the Cyclopes, which is not the happiest place to be.”

“Do they not feed on human flesh?” one of the sailors asked. Odysseus nodded. “So they say. But they may go several days between their feasting,” he told them. “Just the same, only luck has saved us from being roasted on this fire. We must escape as quickly as possible, for who knows what tomorrow may bring?”

They crept quietly to the cave entrance, but try as they might, the gigantic boulder which blocked the opening could not be moved.

Eventually they had to give up. They dared not attack the giant while he slept, for even if they did succeed in killing him, they would still be trapped.

An uneasy night passed. In the morning Polyphemus drove the goats from the cave and pulled the rock across the opening from outside. They saw no more of him that day. The imprisoned men passed each hour in dread. Another night must inevitably come and with it, who knew what horrors?

But while some of the men gave themselves up to despair, Odysseus was busy plotting and planning. After a while he thought of a possible way in which they could escape. He took a shaft of wood and after sharpening one end, hardened it in the embers of the fire. Then he hid it under a goat skin on the floor and settled down to wait with the others.

That night Polyphemus came back and behaved just as he had done before. He brought in the flock of goats, moved the great slab of rock across the entrance, and settled down to sleep. Perhaps he had already fed or perhaps the band of Greeks were just lucky to have been in the cave during a period of fast, but soon his snores rumbled through the cavern once more.

When he judged that the night was nearly gone, Odysseus crept quietly to where the wooden shaft was hidden. Taking it out from under the skin, he heated the point in the fire until its sharpened end glowed red. Before it had time to cool he had crossed the cave to the sleeping figure and plunged the glowing stake into Polyphemus’s single eye.

With a great roar of rage and pain the blinded giant staggered to his feet. Helplessly he blundered about the cave, arms outstretched, trying vainly to find his attackers, as they dodged away, always managing to keep behind him. At length he gave up and felt his way towards the entrance to the cave. Once there, he groped for the boulder and pushed it aside, but he did not venture out. Instead he crouched waiting by the opening, his huge, hairy fingers curled like talons. Obviously he knew the men would try to escape as soon as they could, and he was ready to seize them as they tried to pass him.

Odysseus had briefed his men well. Already each had captured a goat and now, clasping the long hair of the goats” sides, they hung underneath them as the frightened animals made for the open doorway. Hearing the skuffle of their hooves on the stone floor, Polyphemus began to feel about, but all his hands touched was the familiar hair of the goats’ backs and he suspected nothing. One by one the goats trotted past him out into the open air, and with them went the men, to freedom.

They lost no time in scrambling down the hill to their ship. As they rowed clear of the shore and hoisted their sail, Odysseus, standing in the stern, raised his voice and cried:

“Farewell, blind giant! Know that it was not the gods who took your sight, but mere weak men whom you could have destroyed with one finger!”

At the sound, Polyphemus came out from the cave, the huge boulder with which it had been closed held high above his head.

“Farewell!” Odysseus called yet again. The giant turned to the direction of the sound and hurled the boulder with all his strength after the fleeing ship. Then he stumbled to his knees. The boulder fell short, but not much more than a boat’s length from the ship’s stern. The vessel rocked dangerously, but it soon recovered itself. The crew looked back to see Polyphemus, a lonely, helpless figure, kneeling on the hillside.










 * The Belly of the Whale
 * The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. It is sometimes described as the person's lowest point, but it is actually the point when the person is between or transitioning between worlds and selves. The separation has been made, or is being made, or being fully recognized between the old world and old self and the potential for a new world/self. The experiences that will shape the new world and self will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the person shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to die to him or herself.