Read Online Mythology of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Karen Bornemann Spies - Free Book Online

especially developed the tradition hostile to Odysseus because they claimed Aeneas, a Trojan, as their founder. In his
Divine Comedy
, Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) follows this tradition, for he saw legitimate political power in his own world as descending from the Roman state. Dante’s is the first important portrayal of Odysseus in a nonclassical language. 4
    The positive viewpoint of Odysseus did not resurface until the nineteenth century:
    The pro-Odysseus tradition reappears in
Ulysses
of Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1902), the most famous English poet of the Victorian age, who glorifies the very qualities Dante condemns. The poem is set on Ithaca. Ulysses has grown old, but is determined to leave home again in pursuit of fresh adventure.... 5
    To Homer and the Greeks, Odysseus was a real character in a real world. An important part of both of Homer’s epics is plot and character:
    Homer realized the need for a plot in a story describing a struggle that has a beginning, middle, and end. As far as we know, the device of a plot was Homer’s invention: subsequent long poems, drama, novels, and feature films are indebted to him.... Homer is also the inventor of character (“imprint”) in literature, although his methods of portraying character are different from a modern novelist’s. He never describes to us the inner life of his characters, but places them directly in the midst of events where they speak and act. He gives the sense that we are witnessing the lives of real men and women living in a real, though stylized, world. 6

The Cyclops
    After the adventure in the land of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus unknowingly sailed his ships to an island where an even more terrible fate awaited his sailors. Odysseus went ashore with a dozen of his finest fighters, carrying a skin full of wine. He left the rest of the crew to guard his ship.
    Odysseus soon discovered a cave with a gigantic stone rolled to one side of the entrance. “Come, comrades, let us explore this cavern. Perhaps we will find rich treasure hidden inside.”
    Quickly, the men strode through the rough entrance. Large, flat racks stored stacks of cheeses. Pails brimming with sheep’s milk stood nearby. Lambs bleated in their corrals.
    “Well, I had in mind treasures of gold and jewels to fill our ships. But treasures of rich food will stand us well on our journey,” said Odysseus. He and his men offered the best of the cheeses in thanks to the gods, and then began to eat.
    Just then, in stomped the shepherd who owned the cave, herding his sheep before him. High overhead, he hoisted a massive slab of rock and wedged it in front of the door to his cave. This was no ordinary shepherd—it was the Cyclops Polyphemus, a gigantic one-eyed monster, son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Polyphemus was terrible to look at, with straggling hair, a wild beard, and a single, bulging eye.
    “Strangers!” the monster roared. “Where have you sailed from? Why do you steal my food?”
    Even mighty Odysseus found himself trembling in fear at the sight of the monster, but he gathered courage and answered. “We are men of Achaea, bound for home after our victory at Troy. Warring winds drove us far off course. Please welcome us as guests, as Zeus commands.”
    “You must think me a fool,” retorted Polyphemus. “I never trouble myself over what the gods want. I have no fear of Zeus.” Then he reached down and grabbed two of Odysseus’ men and swallowed them. After a few bites, he washed down his feast with some sheep’s milk. Giving a mighty yawn, Polyphemus staggered over to the corner of the cave, wrapped himself in a sheepskin blanket, and fell asleep.
    Odysseus whispered to his remaining men, “I am tempted to stab the creature in the heart with my sword. But if I do, we will be trapped in this cave. Although we are strong, we cannot roll away the vast stone from the door.”
    When morning came, the Cyclops ate two more of Odysseus’ men. Then, he drove his sheep