The Odyssey
By: Homer
Translated By: Barry B. Powell
Source of the text: The Homer's Iliad and Odyssey The Essential Books
Book 9
line 458-507

This passage is taken from book 9 about Odysseus, line 458-507. The story is happened after the end of Trojan War, Odysseus and his man is imprisoned on the isle of Ogygia by the nymph Calypso, who like Odysseus so much and don't let him go. But finally the gods intervene and after a series of advantage and a whole lot of backstory. Odysseus and his man land on the island of the Cyclops, and he and several of his guys settle into the Cyclopes’ cave, feasting on the goat cheese that Cyclops has hoarded and expecting Cyclopes treating them as guest. However, when Cyclops comes home, he’s so thoroughly not psyched about Odysseus and begins to eat them. Then Odysseus gets Cyclops to drunk and then blind him with a flaming spear, Odysseus giving his name as Noman, So when the Cyclops calls out, ”Noman is hurting me” the other Cyclops didn't help him. But then when it seems like Odysseus is getting away with it, he can’t tolerate the idea that ”Noman” is going to get the credit for killing Cyclops and announced his actual name which lead the Cyclops to call down curse upon him.

Text:
“Cyclops, it turns out that you did not eat the companions of man without strength in your hollow cave, taking them by might and by violence. Surely your evil deeds were bound to come back to you, wretch! You did not shrink from devouring strangers in your own house. For this Zeus and the other gods have punished you’
“So I spoke, and more anger boiled from his heart. He ripped off the peak of high mountain, and he threw it. The peak landed beneath just forward of our ship with its dark prow. The sea surged beneath the rock as it came down and the wave carried our ship back toward the shore on that flood from the deep driving it onto the dry land. But I seized a long pole in my hands and thrust the ship off land again. I nodded to my comrades, directing them to fall to their oars and rowed.
“When we were twice as far away, traveling over the sea, then I wanted to speak to Cyclops again, but my comrades, one after the other, tried to stop me with gentle words:” Reckless man! Why do you want to strip up this savage? Just now he has thrown a rock into the sea and bought our ship back to the dry land, and, truly, we thought we were done for. If he had heard just one of us uttering even one sound, he would have thrown a jagged rock and smashed our heads and all the timbers of our ship! He’s mighty thrower!’
“So they cowered, but they did not persuade my great-hearted spirit. I shouted back at him with anger heart: ‘Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks about the disgraceful blinding of your eyes, you can say that Odysseus, sacker of cities, did it, the son of Laërtes, whose home is in Ithaca.’
“So I spoke, and groaning he gave me this answer: ‘Yes, yes-! Now I remember an ancient prophecy. A prophet once came here, a good man, a tall man, Telemos, the son of Eurymos, who was better at prophecy than anyone, He grew old among Cyclopes. He told me that all this would happen sometime in the future, that I would lose my sight at the hands of Odysseus. I always thought that some big man, and handsome, would come here, dressed in mighty power. As it is, a little man, a man of no consequence, a feeble little guy-he has blinded my eye after he got me drunk on wine!
“Buy do return, O Odysseus, so that I can give you some gift tokens. And I can ask Poseidon, the famous shaker of the earth, to give you a good trip home. I am his son, you know, and he is my father, He himself will heal me, if he wishes it: None of the blessed gods, nor mortal human can’
“So he spoke, and I said in reply: ‘Would that I might rob you of your breath-soul and your life and send you to the House of Hades, as surely as the earth-shaker shall never heal you eye!’


Works Cited:

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"Farsictionary, English-Persian (Iranian History Glossary) :
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