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The Odyssey, Book 9
In the One-Eyed Giant's Cave
The Odyssey is an epic poem that contains both adventure and wit. It is written in the span of twenty-four books by the ancient greek poet, Homer.
Focusing on book nine of The Odyssey, we follow the protaganist, Odysseus, who recounts his adventures to the Phaeacians. The entirety of the story is recounted in Odysseus perspective, which might fool someone into taking his words for truth.
A Brief Recount of Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemus.
After many days of sailing the sea in a heavy storm induced by Zeus, Odysseus and his sailors arrive one night in a land inhabited by one-eyed giants. The sailors and Odyesseus tour the island and come across a cave, that upon examining, the host was not inside. Rather than waiting for the host, Odysseus and his sailors plan to steal the flock of sheep inside the cave, including all the food found within their reach. Once the host returned--known as Polyphemus--the giant was disturbed upon seeing the men who had made their way into his home without invitation. Polyphemus brutally kills some of the sailors, and keeps Odysseus captive. Odysseus finds a way of tricking Polyphemus, and is able to make his way out of the cave leaving Polyphemus both injured and stripped of his sheep. As Odysseys concludes the story, he characterizes himself as heroic and fearless, but what of Polyphemus?
Polyphemus is blinded by a stake to his eye by Odysseus and his men.
Illustration taken from The Odyssey of Homer.
Xenia
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Greek for Hospitality
While Odysseus makes himself appear as a hero, it is quite clear that his perspective is contradictory to his heroic morals. Odysseus invaded the home of Polyphemus without an invitation, and yet still expected a gift to be bestowed upon him as a guest. According to the custom of Xenia, guests can expect gifts from their hosts; however, it is interesting to note that Polyphemus is not a host, as he never invited Odysseus and his men inside his cave.
At first glance, it can be easy to simply view Odysseus as a brave character who is not afraid of the unknown and clearly clever in defending himself. But taking a closer look at his actions, it's quite obvious he is not perfect and defected in his own nature. When Odysseus describes the land of the giants, he refers to them as "brutes" who are misguided and "lawless", lacking any structure and rule (Homer 215). Odysseus attempts to portray himself as a righteous man compared to the roaming giants, but by resisting bias, we can see Odysseus was in the wrong by invading Polyphemus' cave to begin with.
The Nature of Polyphemus in Connection to Worldbuilding
By viewing Odysseus' passage with no bias, I was able to see Odysseus point of view in a larger sence, and realized that I found myself feeling more sympathetic for Polyphemus. Storytelling can be powerful and easily persuade us into believing the narrator, but sometimes it is also up to us to judge a piece and carefully and decide whether the narrator is reliable to begin with. Odysseus' actions were opposite of the righteous man he might have believed himself to be, and Polyphemus might not be as savage as Odysseus describes him.
By resisting bias, we can see how Polyphemus may not be so monstrous as defined by Odysseus' point of view. Polyphemus is a creature that roams on an island, similar to how man on earth first started by roaming in the wild and simply surviving. In connection to worldbuilding, this shows how structure and law have played a crucial role in the world we have built in our current society, because it draws boundaries and maintains order, rather than living a savage life similar to that of Polyphemus and the other giants on the island.
Art by Odilon Redon (1840-1916)
Citations
Giannopoulou, Gina. “Deconstructing Odysseus.” Humanities Core, 27 September 2022, ALP 1300, Irvine.
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Viking, 1997.
Homer. The Odyssey of Homer. Translated by George Herbert Palmer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1929.
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