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Summary
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Odysseus begins his tale: the Lotus-Eaters, then the land of the Cyclopes. He and twelve men enter a cave filled with cheese, milk, and lambs.
Polyphemus returns, seals the cave with a boulder, and eats several men. Odysseus gives him wine and says his name is “Nobody.” When the giant sleeps, they drive a sharpened stake into his eye. The blinded Cyclops calls for help, but the other Cyclopes think that “Nobody” has hurt him. Odysseus escapes under the bellies of the sheep, then shouts his real name from the ship, and Polyphemus prays to Poseidon for revenge.
Opening lines
“Lord Alcinous, renowned above all men, verily this is a good thing, to listen to a minstrel such as this man is, like unto the gods in voice. — Homer, Odyssey IX.1ff., trans. A. T. Murray (Loeb; Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0).
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The following entries mention “Odyssey IX · The Cyclops”.