The Odyssey (Odysseus' Journey Part 1)

I would like to start the post off with this statement, "I know that the Odyssey did not start out as a book, but instead was passed on by oral tradition, well, it would have been a book if they made books in that time, which is why I am classifying it as one." However, I have changed this to "Greek Mythology" so it doesn’t matter anyway. Continuing, this will be talking about the story that Odysseus told Nausicaa, from when he left Troy until he washed up on Calypso's island. This is the best part of the book and it is shocking how he was able to survive all this. Too bad everyone else died in the process.


First on the trip came the Lotus Eaters. Odysseus stayed on an island for a little while with a group of lethargic people. They left soon after some of the crew members became lethargic like the others and forget all about going home. This happened because of a lotus. When I originally read this, I thought nothing of it, but a lot of sites tend to describe the lotus in a drug-like manner. I thought of it just as something they were not supposed to eat because it wiped their memory until they were far enough away from it. The drug context does make sense, but I still prefer to think of it my way. In the end, Odysseus locks them in the ship and sails away so that they can not stay.

Next is the Cyclops, Polyphemus. When his crew first got there, he went ashore with them and was trapped by Polyphemus and two of the twelve crew members were eaten. Odysseus thinks of a plan to escape as four more of his crew members are eaten as he goes. He makes the Cyclops drunk and says that his name is "no man." When Polyphemus falls asleep, the crew pokes his eye out with a large flaming club. Immediately, he awoke screaming in rage "He blinded me! He blinded me! No man has blinded me!" I bet you know what the other giants thought of this. Anyway, the next day when Polyphemus let out the sheep, Polyphemus felt them to make sure that the men were not riding on top of them. Instead, they were riding under them. In the end, Odysseus, showing his true hubris, said that he was the one who blinded Polyphemus. Polyphemus is Poseidon’s Son. Poseidon is already angry with him. That wasn’t the best idea.

In a world where the forces of nature are sentient beings, you do not want to get them angry. Odysseus’ act of hubris virtually guaranteed rough sailing.

At this point, I will draw this part of the adventure to a close and begin again later. As for why I am doing this, it can carry on for a while, and these were distinct events in the Odyssey.

Anyway, I am sorry that this was more of a summary, but I will try and do better next time.