How do odysseus escape from the cyclops

He yells once, taunting him, and the Cyclops hurls a huge chunk of a mountain out at the ship. He misses, throwing it beyond the ship and driving it back to the shore. No more. But Odysseus has given the Cyclops enough information to call down upon him and his men a curse; that is exactly what he does.

He asks his father Poseidon to destroy Odysseus and his ships, or at least make sure that Odysseus, if he makes it home, gets there all alone and finds trouble awaiting him there. Thus, in this final taunting of the Cyclops, we see that Odysseus is unable to distance himself completely from the values dear to the Iliadic heroes; he feels the need to identify himself to the Cyclops, so others will know of his skill and cunning.

Learn more about how memories of the Mycenaean era were preserved in oral stories of gods and heroes. Therefore he blinds it , rendering it disabled but capable of letting them out. Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is Nobody as he knows that when he attacks, the Cyclops will cry out and be asked by other Cyclopes if it needs help. By telling the Cyclops his real name, Odysseus opened himself up to the curse Polyphemus places upon him as Poseidon is his father and they are at sea. By David J.

He claimed that they had been hoping to win the favor of the great giant that ruled the island, but he saw now that Polyphemus was too mighty and wild to win over. Polyphemus drank until he became sick, then fell asleep in a stupor. Once the giant had passed out, Odysseus and his surviving men put their plan in motion. The four who had drawn lots, along with Odysseus, hoisted up the heavy stake they had made that day and held it over the fire. As the giant slept, they plunged it into his eye.

The giant awoke screaming and flailed around. The men hid in the furthest corners of the cave, however, so that he could not find them. Polyphemus had two brothers that lived elsewhere on the island and they, too, awoke when he screamed.

They called out to him, asking what had happened. The cyclops yelled back that Nobody had attacked him and Nobody had blinded him. The clever trick of Odysseus led the other giants to believe that their brother had not been harmed. The men hid through the night and when morning came the blinded giant moved the boulder aside to let his sheep and goats out.

Odysseus and his men had expected this, though, and clung to the undersides of the sheep. Even though he stopped the ram Odysseus hid beneath, the largest of the flock, the captain and his six surviving men all made it out of the cave undetected. Once clear of the cave, the men hurried back to the ship. When they began to sail away, however, Odysseus shouted one last insult back to the blinded giant. He yelled that he was not called Nobody. If anyone asked who had blinded them, the giant should tell them that it was Odysseus of Ithaca.

In many ways, it set up both the character of Odysseus and the later trials he would face. The encounter with Polyphemus showed Odysseus to be an exceptionally clever and intelligent man.

While he was tempted to kill the giant outright, he realized that doing so would leave him and his men trapped. Instead, he came up with a smart plan to free his men, even though it meant losing two more. He used the scant materials he had on hand to fashion an effective weapon and provide means of escape.

Giving the name Nobody is often regarded as the most ingenious trick the hero devised during his long voyage. 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? 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. Polyphemus drank the wine and asked Odysseus for his name. Odysseus and the men then tied sets of three sheep together and strapped themselves to the belly of the middle sheep. Categorized in: Greek Mythology. Share this Greek Mythology Article:. Most Famous Children of Zeus Mar 23rd,