“’Hear me, Poseidon, blue-manned Earth-Holder,…” Line 526-533, The Odyssey Book IX
While reading Book IX of “The Odyssey”, I was intrigued by the passage pinpointing where Odysseus’ curse begins. In lines 526-533, the Cyclopes, Polyphemus, prays to Poseidon and it almost seems like a demand as he starts off with, “hear me, Poseidon, blue-manned Earth-Holder, if you are the father you claim to be”. Throughout “The Odyssey” we see a lot of reference to familial ties. Polyphemus is praying to Poseidon but is also demanding leveraging his relationship, as his son, to be heard. For the rest of his speech, Polyphemus asks Poseidon to make sure that Odysseus never reaches his home, Ithaca. However, instead of ending his prayer there, he adds on that even if Odysseus was to reach home, he wants Poseidon to delay his return, have all his companions dead and to return to “find trouble at home”. At one point, the Cyclopes says, “but if he is fated to see his family again”. The reason I pointed out that specific line is because it hints that Odysseus will receive outside help. “Fate” implies that the gods may play a role in this so perhaps Homer is leaving clues that maybe Athena or Zeus will be the ones to help reunite him with his family. At first glance, the extra dialogue doesn’t seem out of place or anything special but Homer is actually foreshadowing and giving the reader a little hint as to what happens to Odysseus later on in the story.
Relating this passage back to Book IX as a whole, it shows how Odysseus, subject to his anger and hubris, taunts Polyphemus as he sails away. This is essentially why he was cursed to have such a difficult journey home and it could have all been avoided if Odysseus stopped taunting the Cyclopes. Book IX is especially exciting because Odysseus seems to make the wrong decisions and somehow gets through each one by cleverly coming up with a plan and executing it. Book IX also shows that Odysseus either has a lot of foresight or luck. Homer writes it in a way, where it shows Odysseus bringing key items, such as the very strong wine, or noticing important objects, like the wood in the Clyclope’s cave. It speaks to how Odysseus thinks on his feet and seems to think ahead. However, his last acts in Book IX beg to differ. His biggest mistake was revealing his real name to Polyphemus especially when the Cyclopes thought Odysseus’ name was “Noman”. Besides being an integral detail for this entire story, I think this event also shows that Odysseus is human and, like everyone else, can act irrationally and without thought. Despite being blessed by gods and having such a strategic mind, not everything will go perfectly his way. It’s an important detail to remember when reading this story.
I like your read of “Fate” in this passage, prior to reading this analysis I had not thought of “Fate” as an outside aid such as Athena; however, this makes a lot of sense due to how much we know Athena has help Odysseus in the books prior.
I did my analysis on Odysseus’ taunting Polyphemus, and I agree that his hubris ultimately becomes the start of his downfall in his journey.
Your analysis of the situation of Polyphemus shows clearly how Odysseus did this to himself. The fate of his journey was decided due to his hubris and taunting of Polyphemus as he sails away and mentions his name to Polyphemus. The way you brought the foreshadowing based on the prayer of Odysseus’s journey shows an in depth analysis of a simple prayer that holds a bigger meaning. Overall, i enjoyed reading your analysis on Odysseus’s actions and the effect it has on the rest of the epic.
Hi Brian,
This is a thoughtful passage analysis; I enjoyed reading it. In the “close-up” portion, I’m especially struck by your reading of the curse (or prayer’s, or demand’s) invocation of the relationship between Polyphemous and his father, Poseidon. It is almost as if a familial relationship is a relationship of obligation, even of debt. I’d like to hear more on this point, perhaps as it relates to OTHER father-son pairs in the text (I’m thinking, here, of Telemachus. Does he think of his father as owing him something? As having failed him in some way? What kind of revenge or justice might he want his father’s help with?)
In the broader view presented in the second paragraph, you do a good job of relating this passage to Odysseus’ own character and motivations, and to the plot. That said, this is the work of contextualization (which is important, but not the whole task!). When analyzing passages in this broader view, seek to connect them to other related passages in the text, and to thematically linked moments and scenes.
Solid work overall.
Prof Kolb