The Odyssey Book 9
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"Nobody-That's My Name?"
"Nobody-That's My Name?"
Homer's epic The Odyssey portrays the heroic struggle of the Greek hero Odysseus against the monstrous cyclops Polyphemus, famously outwitting the brute with wit, the name "Nobody" and technological ingenuity. Despite this popularized reading of Odysseus' journey, upon closer analysis the status of Odysseus as a storyteller falls short as his supposed heroic feats are revealed to be simply acts of a savage plunderer.
Odysseus And His Crew In Polyphemus' Cave.
Odysseus in the Cave of Polyphemus, by Jacob Jordaens 1635.
The plot of Book 9 of The Odyssey begins with presenting himself as the "host" (Homer 19) and "sworn friend" (Homer 20) to the audience of the Phaeacians, narrating his epic tales as a return of hospitality and gift to the people who have offered Odysseus food, shelter and safety before his return home to Ithaca. Immediately from the beginning Odysseus claims the space as the host and main storyteller of Book 9, however this claim lacks authority and must be questioned as Odysseus purposefully exaggerates his adventures in order to sway his guests, the audience of the Phaeacians, in favor of his actions and character to present them with a proper return of hospitality. With this lack of reliability within the truth of Odysseus' tales, the true nature of Odysseus' claims against the cyclops Polyphemus come to light.
Polyphemus Stroking His Prized Ram.
Odysseus Escaping From Polyphemus the Cyclops, Engraved by I.G. Walker 1808.
While describing the nature of the cyclopes to his audience, Odysseus reveals them to be "lawless brutes," (Homer 120) each "a law to himself" (Homer 127) and solitary monstrosities that lack structure or society upon their island. However, later in his tale when Odysseus reveals how he blinded Polyphemus with his own club Odysseus narrates how upon hearing Polyphemus' cries, his neighbors "lumbered up from every side" (Homer 448) and "asked what ailed him" (Homer 449). This evident contradiction within Odysseus' own storytelling questions the truth and reliability of Odysseus' motives as a storyteller. Odysseus directly contradicts his own claims, yet he employs a lengthy space between these two statements, about 320 lines from line 127 to 448, in possible hopes of the audience forgetting this error and maintaining their support in his biased argument. Additionally, Odysseus consistently describes the cyclops as savage, brutal monsters yet once again contradicts himself in describing how Polyphemus cares for his flock, especially his prized ram, in "stroking him gently" (Homer 497). While this statement itself implies a peaceful nature to Polyphemus that isn't inherently cruel like Odysseus described, the employment of the word gently implies that Polyphemus is not only kind and peaceful but careful too in his actions. This shows awareness, intelligence and peacefulness possessed by Polyphemus, contradicting previous claims insulting the capacity for intelligence of the cyclops when describing how they have "no meeting place for council" (Homer 125) and "no laws'' (Homer 125) along with little to no technology due to a lack of shipwrights among cyclops. The numerous contradictions within Odysseus' own story demonstrates the untruthful, biased narrative of the host, Odysseus, as he exaggeratingly portrays the cyclops as a hulking monster and himself as a brave hero in order to craft an appealing, exciting story to repay the Phaeacians for their hospitality towards him. Furthermore, Odysseus' storytelling is biased as since both he and the Phaeacians are part of technologically advanced, seafaring societies, shipbuilding is an integral part of their societies and culture and by describing how the cyclopes lack this element on their island, they are resultantly inferior and beneath humanity, at least in the eyes of Odysseus and the Phaeacians.
While reflecting on what I learned in Professor Giannopoulou's lectures and my own personal ideas, intriguing revelations come to light. As described in the lecture, the cyclops is a hybrid creature of humanity and nature, elements necessary to explaining his abnormal size, human figure and true nature that is obscured by Odysseus' biased nature. Popular ideas associate the concept of nature with tranquility and purity, and by combining this with the human essence of the cyclops it characterizes him as one affected by both the tranquil purity of nature yet the vices of human nature as seen in Odysseus. Odysseus, on the other hand, can be characterized by his own cruel impurities as due to his humanity he is easily corrupted by common human vices such as greed, as seen in his fame as a conqueror of the Cicones and one who brutally sacked their city; presenting him as one corrupted by a colonizer mindset, which further explains his actions as seen in ransacking Polyphemus' cave of his cheese and objects. This immediately reveals not only the true, peaceful nature of Polyphemus but additionally Odysseus' own moral shortcomings and biased narrative that presents him as an untrustworthy host of the narrative.
Odysseus Sacking The Cicones' Stronghold.
Odysseus Fighting the Cicones No. 4 From The Labors of Odysseus, by Theodore van Thulden 1632.
Polyphemus The Cyclops.
Polyphemus The Cyclops.
Polyphemus, by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1802.
In Most Spiritual Traditions, The Third Eye Allows One To Perceive Spaces Of Higher Consciousness.
In Most Spiritual Traditions, The Third Eye Allows One To Perceive Spaces Of Higher Consciousness.
A Cambodian Shiva Head Showing A Third Eye, Shiva Guimet Museum.
Further evidence of Polyphemus' true nature is evident in his characterization through pieces of artwork. While cyclopes in modern media are traditionally presented with one eye, alternate sources depict Polyphemus himself with three eyes: two closed and one opened, third eye on his forehead. Traditionally, the presence of a third eye implies a higher understanding, a mystical intuition and enlightenment beyond what is normally seen, in this case beyond what can be seen by mere mortals such as Odysseus. By presenting Polyphemus with his third eye open, it implies a higher sense of understanding of the universe and the mythical world in which Odysseus and humans live in and intelligence that not only matches, yet possibly exceeds the understanding and capacity for intelligence of humans like Odysseus. Through this revelation, it can be determined that Polyphemus is in fact an intelligent, capable creature, despite the lack of shipbuilding technology and laws used by Odysseus to portray him as otherwise, and that Odysseus grossly exaggerates his construction of Polyphemus as a dumb brute in order to convince the Phaeacians of his own false heroism and aid him in his journey home.
The contrast between these two depictions of the cyclops, most notably the absence of the third eye, raises an important question: why is this? Based on previous and additional thought, this is due to a shift in the outlook of societies on the world due to a rise in science and understanding. As described previously, the third eye is a spiritual tradition associated with natural enlightenment beyond the tangible knowledge of the physical world. During the time of Ancient Greek civilization, scientific knowledge and understanding was severely limited compared to what it is today, and the unknown was often associated with spiritual actions brought forth by the gods; deities whose powers and true natures were often a mystery themselves. In contrast, this modern rendition of the cyclops below in Wrath of the Titans is created during a time where society is dominated by scientific thought and technological advancements. In a world where much of the previous unknowns in ancient times have been solved, spiritual mysteries fail to resonate with modern audiences. However, the startingly humanoid appearance of the cyclops allows it to exist as a universal monster in modern culture, resonating with audiences who fear the dangers of mankind and the cruelty of humans over the spiritual wrath of the gods, and makes the reality of such a monster more possible. Thus, while ancient depictions use spiritual unknowns to resonate with audiences with limited understanding of the natural world, modern depictions of the cyclops contrast this with a more humanoid, realistic appearance that both strikes fear in audiences, due to the startingly similarities to actual humans, and represents a world dominated by mankind, not nature and gods.
A Modern Render Of The Cyclops From The 2012 Film Wrath of the Titans.
Wrath of the Titans, Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2012.
As evident throughout Book 9 upon careful examination, Odysseus' claim as a reliable and trustworthy host within the narrative is falsely exaggerated and based on cruel stereotypes, a colonizer mindset and common human vices of greed to selfishly justify Odysseus' own brutal actions against the solitary, peaceful life of Polyphemus and other cyclopes. Through this, Odysseus seeks to not only return the Phaeacians' hospitality towards him but convince them to grant him tools to aid him on his voyage home to Ithaca.
Citations
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Books, 1996.
Title Image
Bӧcklin, Arnold. Odysseus and Polyphemus. 1896.
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