298 Odyssey Book 9 299

I will tell you my name first, so that you, too,

Will know who I am, and when I escape
The day of my doom, I will always be
Your friend and host, though my home is far. 20
I am Odysseus, great Laertes' son,
Known for my cunning throughout the world,
And my fame reaches even to heaven.
My native land is Ithaca, a sunlit island
With a forested peak called Neriton, 25
Visible for miles. Many other islands
Lie close around her-Doulichion, Same,
And wooded, Zacynthus-off toward the sunrise,
But Ithaca lies low on the evening horizon,
A rugged place, a good nurse of men. 30
No sight is sweeter to me than Ithaca. Yes,
Calypso, the beautiful goddess, kept me
In her caverns, yearning to possess me;
And Circe, the witch of Aeaea, held me
0DYSSEY9 In her halls and yearned to possess me; 35
But they could not persuade me or touch my heart.
Nothing is sweeter than your own country
And your own parents, not even living in a rich house-
.And Odysseus, his great mind teeming: Not if it's far from family and home.
But let me tell you of the hard journey homeward 40
"My Lord Alcinous, what could be finer Zeus sent me on when I sailed from Troy.
Than listening to a singer of tales
Such as Demodocus, with a voice like a god's? From Ilion the wind took .me to the Cicones
Nothing we do is sweeter than this- 5
In Ismaros. I pillaged the town and killed the men.
A cheerful gathering of all the people The women and treasure that we took out
Sitting s1de by side throughout the halls, I divided as fairly as I could among all hands 45
Feasting and listening to a singer of tales, And then gave the command to pull out fast.
The tables filled with food and drink, That was my order, but the fools wouldn't listen.
The server drawing wine from the bowl JO
They drank a lot of wine and slaughtered
And bringing it around to fill our cups. A lot of sheep and cattle on the shore.
For me, this is the finest thing in the world. Some of the town's survivors• got away inland 50
But you have a mind to draw out of me And called their kinsmen. There were more of them,
My pain and sorrow, and make me feel it again. And they were braver, too, men who knew how to fight
Where should I begin, where end my story? 15
From chariots and on foot. They came on as thick
Heaven has sent me many tribulations. As leaves and flowers in spring, attacking
300 Odyssey Book 9 301

At dawn. We were out of luck, cursed by Zeus 55 To reconnoiter and sound out the locals.
To suffer heavy losses. The battle-lines formed They headed out and made contact with the Lotus-Eaters
· '
Along our beached ships, and bronze spears Who meant no harm but did give my men
Sliced through the air. As long as the day's heat Some lotus to eat. Whoever ate that sweet fruit
Climbed toward noon, we held our ground Lost the will to report back, preferring instead 95
Against superior numbers. But when the sun 60 To stay there, munching lotus, oblivious of home.
Dipped down, the Cicones beat us down, too. I hauled them back wailing to the ships,
We lost six fighting men from each of our ships. Bound them under the benches, then ordered
The rest of us cheated destiny and death. All hands to board their ships on the double
Before anyone else tasted the lotus. 100
We sailed on in shock, glad to get out alive They were aboard in no time and at their benches
But grieving for our lost comrades. 65
'
Churning the sea white with their oars.
I wouldn't let the ships get under way
Until someone had called out three times .We sailed on, our morale sinking,
For each mate who had fallen on the battlefield. And we came to the land of the Cyclopes,
And then Zeus hit us with a north�r, Lawless savages who leave everything 105
A freak hurricane. The clouds blotted out 70 Up to the gods. These people neither plow nor plant,
Land and sea, and night climbed up the sky. But everything grows for them unsown:
The ships pitched ahead. When their sails W heat, barley, and vines that bear
Began to shred in the gale-force winds, Clusters of grapes, watered by rain from Zeus.
We lowered them and stowed them aboard, They have no assemblies or laws but live 110
Fearing the worst, and rowed hard for the mainland. 75' In high mountain caves, ruling their own
We lay offshore two miserable days and �ghts. Children and wives and ignoring each other.
When Dawn combed her hair in the third day's light,
We set up the masts, hoisted the white sails, A fertile island slants across the harbor's mouth
'
And took our seats. The wind and the helmsmen Neither very close nor far from the Cyclopes' shore.
· Steered the ships, and I would have made it home 80 It's well-wooded and populated with innumerable
115
Unscathed, but as I was rounding Cape Malea Wild goats, uninhibited by human -traffic .
The waves, the current, and wind from the North Not even hunters go there, tramping through the woods
Drove me off course past Cythera Island. And roughing it on the mountai�sides.
It pastures no flocks, has no tilled fields-
Nine days of bad winds blew us across Unplowed, unsown, virgin forever, bereft
120
The teeming seas. On the tenth day we came 85 Of men, all it does is support those bleating goats.
To the land of the Lotus-Eaters. The _Cyclopes do not sail and have no craftsmen
We went ashore, To build them., benched, red-prowed ships
And the crews lost no time in drawing water That could supply all their wants, crossing the sea
And preparing a meal beside their ships. To other cities, visiting each other as other men do.
125
After they had filled up on food and drink, These same craftsmen would have made this island
I sent out a team-two picked men and a herald- 90 Into a good settlement. It's not a bad place at all
302 Odyssey Book 9 303

And would bear everything in season. Meadows We went to sleep on the shore of the sea.
Lie by the seashore, lush and soft, As soon as dawn brightened in the rosy sky, 165
Where vines would thrive. It has level plowland 130 I assembled all the crews and spoke to them:
With deep, rich soil that would produce bumper crops
Season after season. The harbor's good, too, 'The rest of you will stay here �hile I go
No need for moorings, anchor-stones, or tying up. With my ship a11d crew on reconnaissance.
Just beach your ship until the wind is right I want to find out what those men are like,
And you're ready to sail. At the harbor's head 135 Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong 170
A spring flows clear and bright from a cave Or hospitable folk who fear the gcids.'
Surrounded by poplars.
There we sailed in, With that, I boarded ship and ordered my crew
Some god guiding us through the murky night. To get on deck and cast off. They took their places
We couldn't see a thing. A thick fog And were soon whitening the sea with their oars.
Enveloped the ships, and the moon 140 As we pulled in over the short stretch of wateE, 175
Wasn't shining in the cloud-covered sky. There on the shoreline we saw a high cave
None of us could see the island, or the long waves Overhung with laurels. It was a place
Rolling toward the shore, until we ran our ships Where many sheep and goats were penned at night.
Onto the sandy beach. Tl;ien we lowered sail, Around it was a yard fenced in by stones
Disembarked, and fell asleep on the sand. 145 Set deep in the earth, and by tall pines and crowned oaks. 180
This was the lair of a huge creature, a man
Dawn came early, with palmettoes of rose, Who pastured his flocks off by himself,
. And we explored the island, marveling at it. And lived apart from others and knew no law.
The spirit-women, daughters of Zeus, He was a freak of nature, not like men who eat bread,
Roused the mountain goats so that my men But like a lone wooded crag high in the mountains. 185
Could have a meal. We ran to the ships, ISO
Got our javelins and bows, formed three groups I ordered part of my crew to stay with the ship
And started to shoot. The god let us bag our game, And counted off the twelve best to go with me.
Nine goats for each of the twelve ships, I took along a goatskin filled with red wine,
Except for my ship, �hich got ten. A sweet vintage I had gotten from Maron,
Apollo's priest on Ismaros, when I spared both him 190
So all day long until the sun went down 155 And his wife and child out of respect for the god.
We feasted on meat and sweet wine. He lived in a grove of Phoebus Apollo
The ships had not yet run out of the dark red And gave me splendid gifts: seven bars of gold,
Each crew had taken aboard in large jars A solid-silver bowl, and twelve jars of wine,
When we ransacked the Cicones' sacred city. Sweet and pure, a drink for the gods. 195
And we looked across at the Cyclopes' land. 160 Hardly anyone in his house, none of the servants,
We could see the smoke from their fires Knew about this wine-just Maron, his wife,
And hear their voices, and their sheep and goats. And a single housekeeper. Whenever he drank
When the sun set, and darkness came on This sweet dark red wine, he would fill one goblet
304 Odyssey Book 9 305

And pour it into twenty parts of water, 200 The stone was he set in the doorway. Then,
And the bouquet that spread from the mixing bowl He sat down and milked the ewes and bleating goats,
Was so fragrant no one could hold back from drinking. All in good order, and put the sucklings
I had a large skin of this wine, a sac� Beneath their mothers. Half of the white milk 240
Of provisions-and a strong premonition He curdled and scooped into wicker ba�kets,
That we had a rendezvous with a m�n of great might, 205 The other half he let stand in the pails
A savage with no notion of right and wrong. So he could drink it later for his supper.
He worked quickly to finish his chores,
We got to the cave quickly. He was out, And as he was lighting the fire he saw us and said: 245
Tending his flocks in the rich pastureland.
We went inside and had a good look around. 'Who are you strangers? Sailing the seas, huh?
There were crates stuffed with cheese, and pens 210 Where from, and what for? Pirates, probably,
Crammed with lambs and kids-firstlings, Roaming around causing people trouble.'
Middlings, and newborns in separate sections.
The vessels he used for milking-pails and bowls He spoke, and it hit us like a punch in the gut-
Of good workmanship-were brimming with whey. His booming voice and the sheer size of the monster- 250
My men thought we should make off with some cheese 215 But even so I found the words to answer him:
And then come back for the lambs and kids,
Load them on board, and sail away on the sea. 'We are Greeks, blown off course by every wind
But I wouldn't listen. It would have been far better In the world on our way home from Troy, traveling
Ifl had! But I wanted to see him, and see Sea routes we never meant to, by Zeus.' will no doubt.
If he would give me a gift of hospitality. 220 We are proud to be the men of Agamemnon, 255
When he did come he was not a welcome sight. Son of Atreus, the greatest name under heaven,
\ Conquerer of Troy, destroyer of armies.
We lit a fire and offered sacrifice Now we are here, suppliants at your knees,
And helped ourselves to some of the cheese. · Hoping you will be generous to us
Then we sat and waited in the cave And give us the gi.fts that are due to strangers. 260
Until he came back, herding his flocks. 225 Respect the gods, sir. We are your suppliants,
He carried a huge load of dry wood And Zeus avenges strangers and suppliants,
To make a fire for his supper and heaved it down Zeus, god of strangers, who walks at their side.'
With a crash inside the cave. We were terrified
And scurried back into a corner. He answered me from his pitiless heart:
He drove his fat flocks into the wide cavern, 230
At least those that he milked, leaving the males- 'You're dumb, stranger, or from far away, 265
The rams and the goats---:--outside in the yard. If you ask me to fear the gods. Cyclopes
Then he lifted up a great doorstone, Don't care about Zeus or his aegis
A huge slab of rock, and set it in place. Or the blessed gods, since we are much stronger.
Two sturdy wagons-twenty sturdY:wagons- 235 I wouldn't spare you or your men
Couldn't pry it from the ground-that's how big Out of fear of Zeus. I would spare them only 270
306 Odyssey Book 9 307

If I myself wanted to. But tell me, Easily lifting the great stone, which he then set
Where did you leave your ship? Far Back in place as lightly as if he were setting
Down the coast, or close? I'd like to know.' A lid upon a quiver. And then, with loud whistling,
The Cyclops turned his fat flocks toward the mountain,
Nice try, but I knew all the tricks and said: And I was left there, brooding on how 310
I might make him pay and win glory from Athena.
275
'My ship? Poseidon smashed it to pieces
Against the rocks at the border of your land. This was the best plan I could come up with:
He pushed her in close and the wind did the rest. Beside one of the sheep pens lay a huge pole
These men and I escaped by the skin of our teeth.' Of green olive which the Cyclops had cut
· To use as a walking stick when dry. Looking at it 315
This brought no response from his pitiless heart We guessed it was about as large as the mast
But a sudden assault upon. my men. His hands 280 Of a black ship, a twenty-oared, broad-beamed
Reached out, seized two of them, and smashed them Freighter that crosses the wide gulfs.
To the ground like puppies. Their brains spattered out That's how long and thick it looked. I cut off
And oozed into the dirt. He tore them limb from limb About a fathom's length from this pole 320
To make his supper, gulping them down And handed it over wmy men. They scraped it
Like a mountain lion, leaving nothing behind­ 285 And made it smooth, and-I sharpened the tip
Guts, flesh, or marrowy bones. And took it over to the fire and hardened it.•
Crying out, we lifted our hands to Zeus Then I hid it, setting it c�refully in the dung
At this outrage, bewildered and helpless. That lay in piles �11 around the cave. 325
When the Cyclops had filled his huge belly And I told my men to draw straws to decide
With human flesh, he washed it down with milk, 290 Which of them would have to share the risk with me­
Then stretched out in his cave among his flocks. Lift that stake and grind it in his eye
I crept up close and was thinking about While he was asleep. They drew straws and came up with
Drawing my sharp sword and driving it home The very men I myself would have chosen. 330

Into his chest where the lungs hide the liver. There were four of them, and I made five.
295
I was feeling for the spot when another thought
Checked my hand: we would die to a man in that cave, At evening he came, herding his fleecy sheep.
Unable to budge the enormous stone He drove them straight into the cave, drove in
He had set in place to block the entrance. And so, All his flocks in fact. Maybe he had some
Groaning through the night, we waited for dawn. Foreboding, or maybe some god told him to. 335
Then he lifted the doorstone and set it in place,
300 And sat down to milk the goats and bleating ewes,
As soon as dawn came, streaking the sky red,
He rekindled the fire and milked his flocks, All in good order, setting the sucklings
1
All in good order, placing the sucklings Beneath their mothers. His chores done,
Beneath their mothers. His chores done, Again he seized two of my men and made his meal. 340
He seized two of my �en and made his meal. Then I went up to the Cyclops and spoke to him,
305 Holding an ivy-wood bowl filled with dark wine.
After he had fed he drove his flocks out,
 Book 9 309
308 Odyssey

Heating it up, and all the while talking to my men

'Cyclops, have some wine, now that you have eaten
To keep up their morale. When the olive-wood stake 375
Your human flesh, so you can see what kind of drink
345
Was about to catch fire, green though it was,
Was in our ship's hold. I was bringing it to you
And was really glowing, I took it out
As an offering, hoping you would pity me And brought it right up to him. My men
And help me get home. But you are a raving Stood around me, and some god inspired us.
Maniac! How do you expect any other man My men lifted up the olive-wood stake 380
Ever to visit you after acting like this?' And drove the sharp point right into his eye,
_
350 While I, putting my weight behind it, spun it around
He took the bowl and drank it off, relishing
The �ay a man bores a ship's beam with a drill,
Every last, sweet drop. And he asked _me for more: Leanmg down on it while other men beneath him
Keep it spinning and spinning with a leather strap. 385
'Be a pal and give me another drink. And tell me That's how we twirled the fiery-pointed stake
Your name, so I can give you a gift you' ll like.
In the C!clops' eye. The blood formed a whirlpool
Wme grapes grow in the Cyclopes' land, too. Around 1ts searing tip. His lids and brow
Rain from the sky makes them grow from the earth. '355
Wen� all singed by the heat from the burning eyeball
But this-this is straight ambrosia and nectar.'
And its roots crackled in the fire and hissed 390
Like an axe-head or adze a ;mith dips into water
So I gave him some more of the ruby-red wine.
�en he wants to temper the iron-that's how his eye
Three times the fool drained the bowl dry, Sizzled and hissed around the olive-wood stake.
And when the wine had begun to work on his. mind,
He screamed, and the rock walls rang with his voice.
I spoke these sweet words to him:
We shrank back in terror while he wrenched 395

360 The blood-grimed stake from his eye and flung it

'Cyclops, Away from him, blundering about and shouting
You ask me my name, my glorious name, To the other Cyclopes, who lived around him
And I will tell it to you. Remember now, In caverns among the winds�ept crags.
To give me the gift just as you promised. They heard his cry·and gathered from all sides 400
Noman is my name. They call me Noman­ Around his cave and asked him what ailed him:
365
My mother, my father, and all my friends, too.'
'Polyphemus, why are you hollering so much
He answered meI from his pitiless heart: And keeping us up the whole blessed night?
Is some man stealing your flocks from you,
'Noman I will eat last after his friends. Or killing you, maybe, by some kind of trick?' 405
Friends first, him last. That's my gift to you.'
And Polyphemus shouted out to them:
He listed as he spoke and then fell flat on his back,
370
His thick neck bent sideways. He was sound asleep,
'Noman is killing me by some kind of trick!'
Belching out wine and bits of human flesh
In his drunken stupor. I swung into action, They sent their words winging back to him:
Thrusting the sta½e deep in the embers,
310 Odyssey Book 9 311

'If no man is hurting you, then your sickness 'My poor ram, why an� you leaving the cave 445
Comes from Zeus and can't be helped. 410 Last of all? You've never lagged behind before.
You should pray to your father, Lord Poseidon.' You were always the first to reach the soft grass
With your big steps, first to reach the river,
They left then, andI laughed in my heart First to want to go back to the yard
At how my phony name had fooled them so well. At evening. Now you're last of all. Are you sad 450
Cyclops meanwhile was groaning in agony. About your master's eye? A bad man blinded me,
Groping around, he removed the doorstone 415 Him and his nasty friends, getting nie drunk,
And sat in the entrance with his hands spread out Noman-but he's not out of trouble yet!
To catch anyone who went out with the sheep­ If only you understood and could talk,
As ifI could be s� stupid.I thought it over, You could tell me where he's hiding. I would 455
Trying to come up with the best planI could Smash him to bits and spatter his brains
To get us all out from the jaws of death. . 420 All over the cave. ThenI would find some relief
I wove all sorts of wiles, as a man will From the pain this no-good Noman has caused me.'
When his life is on the line. My best idea
Had to do with the sheep that were there, big, He spoke, and sent the ram off through the door.
T4ick-fleeced beauties with wool dark as violets. When we had gone a little way from the cave, 460
Working silently,I bound them together 425 I first untangled myself from the ram
With willow branches the Cyclops slept on. And then untied my men. Then, moving quickly,
I bound them in threes. Each middle sheep We drove those fat, long-shanked sheep
Carried a man underneath, protected by Down to the ship, keeping an eye on our rear.
The two on either side: three sheep to a man. We were a welcome sight to the rest of the crew, 465
As for me, there was a ram, the best in the flock. 430 But when they started to mourn· the men we had lost
I grabbed his back and curled up beneath I forbade it with an upward nod of my head,
His shaggy belly. ThereI lay, hands twined Signaling each man like that and ordering them
Into the marvelous wool, hanging on for dear life. To get those fleecy sheep aboard instead,
And so, muffling our groans, we waited for dawn. On the double, and get the ship op.t to sea. 470
Before you knew it they were on their benches
W hen the first streaks of red appeared in the sky, 435 Beating the sea to white froth with their oars.
The rams started to bolt toward the pasture. When we were offshore but still within earshot
The unmilked females were bleating in the pens, '
I called out to the Cyclops, just to rub it in:
Their udders bursting. Their master,
Worn out with pain, felt along the backs 'So, Cyclops, it turns out it wasn't a coward 475
Of all of the sheep as they walked by, the fool, 440 Whose men you murdered and ate in your cave,
Unaware of the men under th�ir fleecy chests. You savage! But you·got yours in the end,
The great ram headed for the entrance last, Didn't you? You had the gall to eat the guests
Heavy with wool-and with me thinking hard. In your own house, and Zeus made you pay for it.'
Running his hands over the ram, Polyphemus said:
He was even angrier when he heard this. 480
312 Odyssey Book 9 313

Breaking off the peak of a huge crag But come here, Odysseus, so I can give you a gift, 515
He threw it toward our ship, and it carried �d �sk Poseidon to help you on your way.
�o just in front of our dark prow. The sea I m his son, you know. He claims he's my father.
Billowed up where the rock came down, He will heal me, if he wants. But none
And the backwash pushed us to the mainland again, 485 Of the other gods will, and no mortal 1nan will.'
Like a flood tide setting us down at the shore.
I grabbed a long pole and shoved us off, He spoke, and I shouted back to him: 520
Nodding to the crew to fall on the oars
And get us out of there. They leaned into it, 'I wish I were as sure of ripping out your lungs
And when we were twice as far out to sea as before 490 _And sending you to Hell as I am dead certain
I called to the Cyclops again, with my men That not even the Earthshaker will heal your eye.'
Hanging all over me and begging me not to:
I had my say, and he prayed to Poseidon
'Don't do it, man! The rock that hit the water Stretching his arms out to starry heaven:' 525
Pushed us in and we thought we were done for.
If he hears any .sound from us, he'll heave 495 'Hear me, Poseidon, blue-maned Earth-Holder
'
Half a cliff at us and crush the ship and our skulls If you are the father you claim to be.
With one throw. You know he has the range.' Grant that Odysseus, son of Laertes,
May never reach his home on Ithaca.
They tried, but didn't persuade my liero's heart­ But if he is fated to see his family again, 530
I was really angry-and I called back to him: And return to his home and own native land
May he come late, having lost all companio�s,
'Cyclops, if anyone, any mortal man, 500 In another's ship, and find trouble at home.'
Asks you how you got your eye put out,
Tell him that Odysseus the marauder did it, He prayed, and the blue-maned sea-god heard him.
Son of Laertes, whose home is on Ithaca.' Then he broke off an even larger chunk of rock 535
'
Pivoted, and threw it with. incredible force.
He groaned, and had this to say in response: It came down just behind our dark-hulled ship,
Barely missing the end of the rudder. The sea
'Oh no! No� it's coming to me, the old prophecy. 505 Billowed up where the rock hit the water
There was a seer here once, a tall handsome man, And the wave pushed us forward all the :ay 540
Telemos Eurymides. He prophesied well To the island where our other ships waited
All his life to the Cyclopes. He told me Clustered on the shore, ringed by our comrades
That all this would happen some day, Sitting on the sand, anxious for our return.
That I would lose my sight at Odysseus' hands. 510 We beach�d the ship and unloaded the Cyclops' sheep,
_ -
I always expected a great hero Which I d1VIded up as fairly as I could 545
Would come here, strong as can be. Among all hands. The veterans gave me the great ram
Now this puny, little, good-for-nothing runt And I sacrificed it on the shore of the sea
Has put my eye out-because he got me drunk. To Zeus in the dark clouds, who rules over all.
314 Odyssey Book JO 315

I burnt the thigh pieces, but the god did not accept We came to their city and their fine palace,
My sacrifice, brooding over how to destroy 550 And for a full month he entertained me.
All my benched ships and my trusty crews. He questioned me in great detail about Troy,
The Greek fleet, and the Greeks' return home.
So all the long day until the sun went down I told him everything, from beginning to end. 20
We sat feasting on meat and drinking sweet wine. And when I, in turn, asked if I might leave
When the sun set ·and darkness came on And requested him to send me on my way,
We lay down and slept on the shore of the sea. 555 He did not refuse, and this was his send-off:
Early in the morning, when the sky was streaked red, He gave me a bag made of the hide of an ox
I roused my men and ordered the ci-ews Nine years old, which he had skinned himself, 25
To get on deck and cast off. They took their places And in this bag he bound the wild winds' ways,
And were soon whitening the sea with their oars. For Zeus had made him keeper of the winds,
, To still or to rouse whichever he will.
We sailed on in shock, glad to get away alive 560 He tied this bag down in the hold of my ship
But grieving for the comrades we had lost." With a bright silver cord, so that not a puff 30
Could escape. But he let the West Wind out
To blow my ships along and carry us home.
It was not to be. Our own folly undid us.

For nine days and nights we sailed on.

On the tenth day we raised land, our own 35
Native fields, and got so close we saw men
Tending their fires. Then sleep crept up on me,
Exhausted from minding the sail the whole time
By myself. I wouldn't let any of my crew
Spell me, because I wanted to make good time. 40
As soon as I fell asleep, the men started to talk,
Saying I was bringing home for myself
Silver and gold as gifts from great Aeolus.
You can imagine the sort of things they said:

'This guy gets everything wherever he goes. 45

First, he's freighting home his loot from Troy,
Beautiful stuff, while we, who made the same trip,
Are coming home empty-handed. And now
Aeolus has lavished these gifts upon him.
Let's have a quick look, and see what's here, 50
How much gold and silver is stuffed in this bag.'