Reading notes: Odyssey, part A

 The Cyclops Attacking "Nobody"

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Odysseus mentions that the cyclops knows nothing of right or law. That gives me an interesting idea for a story. Our ideas of good and bad are largely a product of the society that we live in. It could be fun to form a new code of ethics and postulate what kind of society would arise with a new sense of good and evil.

The cyclops and Odysseus had a little back and forth, almost as if they were having a battle of wits. It was no sooner when Odysseus appeared to win the battle then when the cyclops attacked and ate two of his crew mates. This reminded me of an old Chinese proverb, he who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out. This is one of my favorite proverbs and one that I have remembered for a long time now. I think it would be fun to make a story around that idea.

Odysseus and his men formulated a very clever plan to deal with the cyclops. They got him drunk and Odysseus told him that his name was nobody. Once the cyclops was out cold, they stabbed him in the eye with a burning hot spike, which took a lot of preparation in it of itself. Finally, when the cyclops was calling out in pain, he was claiming that "nobody" was attacking him. Their plan was brilliant and worked really well. They were put into what seemed to be a hopeless situation and managed to work their way out of it. Their escape of hiding underneath goats was also clever.

Odysseus goes to face circe, who is a goddess skilled in magic potions. I bet it would be a lot of fun to create a story the revolved heavily around potions that had different random magical effects. He devised a plan that would ward him of her magic and he went through with this plan and was able to free his men, and turn them back from pigs, because of it. In the end though, they were given another mission that would greatly elongate their time away from home.


Story source: Homer's Odyssey, translated into English by Tony Kline. (2004).