Odysseus Vs the Cyclops

But my return was not to be as speedy as I had hoped.  I was waylaid along my journey, met with dangers and frustrations and now, I feared I might never return home.  We had been at sea for some time when we came upon the island of the Cyclops, it was a bountiful land, blessed by the gods and its inhabitants lived in a state of ease with no need to till the land or build ships to set out in trade.  Everything they needed was provided for them by the earth and wanting to gather some of that bounty to replenish the stores in my fleet, I took a small party and ventured in land to seek out the inhabitants there and partake in their hospitality.  We came upon a hillside in which a series of caves opened like yawning mouths and soon realized that the islands inhabitants made their homes inside the mountain.  Into one of these we ventured to find that its inhabitant was out for the day.  I decided to wait for our host and while we waited we made merry over fresh cheese and milk from his stores.  The day passed and as evening fell we heard the approach of our host.  First entered into the cave a flock of wooly sheep and we stepped forward to present ourselves to our host, but our words of greeting died before terror.  The creature who entered was man in shape, but monstrous in size with a single eye in the center of its forehead where it should have had two.  Overcome by a sense of dread we shrank back into the shadows, hiding, and I realized I had made a horrible mistake in coming there.  We hid back into the shadows, planning to slip out of the door when his back was turned, but the moment the last of the sheep had entered he sealed up the entrance to the cave with a giant boulder, so large that I knew we would not be able to open it.

I did not know what to do; we were trapped with a monster and had no choice but to hide.  But our hiding place was quickly discovered as the creature stirred up the flames of his hearth and the cave was filled with golden light.  We were discovered and the monster turned on us with a roar.  We froze and the monster spoke, his voice a roar that made the cavern walls shake.

“Who are you and what brings you here?  Are you pirates?” 

My men cowered back in fear, while my own heart shook, but I spoke though I was sure my voice trembled with my heart. “We are come from the fields of Troy.  We are but travelers heading home and seek your hospitality as the gods see fit.”

He laughed at my words.  “I do not serve the gods that you serve; I will offer you no hospitality but this!”

And as he spoke he lunged forward, grabbing two of my companions and before any of us could try to stop him or defend them, he smashed them to the ground, crushing them so that blood and brain spattered the floor in a dreadful hot shower.  We cried out in anguish and rage, while he stuffed his mouth with the flesh of our companions.  He laughed while blood ran down his chin, then left us to our fear and soon sat back in repose.  My anger burned inside of me.  I would have run him through, but I knew the blade of my sword would be nothing but a pin prick to a monster of his size.  So through the long night we waited, planned and plotted and by morning we still had no plan on what we should do.  As morning dawned the monster wakened, and grabbing two more of my friends devoured them for breakfast.  The cavern was filled with our cries and grind and crunch of men’s bones.  He left us then, once he had eaten his fill of human flesh and sealing us up inside left to take his flocks to field. 

That whole long day we tried to move the boulder or find another way out, but we were trapped and could do nothing more than wait for the monster and what cruel fate lay in store.  Even came and with it the monster and his flock, I tried to plead with him and then to bribe him with a succulent wine we carried to spare our lives.  But he drank our wine and still killed more of my men.  But the wine sent him into a deep sleep and while he slept we devised a plan.  Using a staff of wood we found, we crept through the shadowy cavern to where the monster slept.  Then, with the help of those who still remained, I plunged the end of the staff into the monsters eye, gouging out the orb, destroying the flesh while the monster howled in rage.  It thrashed in torment, flinging us wide and we scattered to hide while it lurched and stumbled around the cave, shouting and screaming in pain.  Blinded it could not see us and so we spent the night unmolested and prepared for the next step of my plan.

Morning at last came and with it our chance for escape.  While the monster felt its way over to the boulder that sealed the door, we quickly strapped ourselves to the underside of the wooly sheep that milled about the cavern.  They were large and their wool thick, hiding us from him.  Though he could not see, he positioned himself before the cavern entrance and when the boulder was removed, he felt along the back and sides of each sheep as it passed between his legs.  But one by one we slipped out unseen, hidden beneath the bellies of his sheep and we were freed into the fresh air of the morning.  I was the last to leave, I waited until I knew my men were safe and only then did I crawl beneath  the belly of his price ram, and clinging to the dark wool, face pressed against it, I let it carry me outside, while above me the Cyclops searched and cursed because he could not find us.

I mourned the loss of my men, but praised Zeus I had escaped.  Once we reached the fields in which the sheep were want to graze we climbed out from beneath them and raced back to our ship, praying to never see a Cyclops again.