Odysseus starts off on telling his story at the time when he and his men leave Troy. After splitting off from the other groups, Odysseus' fleet came upon the land of the Cicones. Here the men raided the towns of riches and the woman. Odysseus warned his men not to over-do-it, but his men did anyway by taking the women to the beaches to party. Meanwhile the Cicones called upon their neighbors to help them fight the intruders. While Odysseus' men were partying on the beach they were attacked. They fought back, but were ultimately defeated, suffering heavy losses.

The fleet sailed south, and was blown off Cape Maleas by a severe storm. They kept sailing on until they came upon the country of the Lotus-Eaters. The inhabitants of this strange land were amiable, but those of Odysseus' men who ate of the lotus, a local plant, quickly lost all memory of home and duty. Odysseus and his men who did not eat the plant dragged the men who did eat it back to the ship and sailed on. Moving westward, they eventually came to the island of the Cyclops. Leaving most of his men in a sheltered cove, Odysseus with only one ship landed on the island and he, with a party of twelve, went ashore. The group wandered until they came to a huge cave, outfitted with a shepherd's equipment, and they went inside to await the owner. After a while, a huge Cyclops named Polyphemus came back to the cave, driving in his flocks before him, and pushed a gigantic rock in front of the entrance into the cave. When Polyphemus noticed the Achaeans in his cave, he immediately picked up two of them, smashed them against the ground, and then ate them raw. Odysseus tried to outsmart the cyclops by talking to him, but his efforts were in vain. In the morning Polyphemus killed two more of the Achaeans and took his flock outside, and rolling the enormous boulder back in front of the entrance.

Land of the Lotus Eaters

Harbor of Cyclops' Island

Polyphemus

Odysseus and his men knew that if they killed the giant in his sleep then they could not remove the rock to get out of the cave, so Odysseus devised a clever plan and they sharpened and hid a long olive pole. When Polyphemus returned to the cave that evening, Odysseus gave him some wine with a special ingredient that would make the cyclops sleep heavily. Before Polyphemus fell asleep he inquired of Odysseus' name. The wily Achaean answered, "Nobody." When the cyclops slept, Odysseus and his men took the olive pole and stabbed Polyphemus in the eye with it. The giant awoke screaming with rage and pain, but futilely fumbled for his assailants. His cries attracted his neighbors, but when he told them that "Nobody" was responsible for his eye, they assumed that it was an act of the gods, and returned to there homes.

In the morning Polyphemus opened the cave to let out his sheep to graze. Odysseus and his men tied themselves to the bellies of the sheep and slipped by the cyclops without him even knowing it.

Odysseus' ship almost hit

Upon reaching their ship again, the Achaeans set sail at once in great terror. While still near the island, Odysseus foolishly shouted to Polyphemus, bragging about his exploit. The giant frantically hurled giant boulders in the direction of his voice, nearly hitting the ship on several occasions. Then even more foolishly, Odysseus announced his true identity. With that Polyphemus called upon his father, Poseidon, to punish the man who had harmed him.