Ulysses presents Calypso to King Alcinous (who is that?) with a rather casual tone.   He states that "The goddess Calypso kept me with her in her cave, and wanted me to marry her, as did also the cunning Aeaean goddess Circe; but they could neither of them persuade me, for there is nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents, and however splendid a home he may have in a foreign country, if it be far from father or mother, he does not care about it."   It is clear that he is loyal to his wife, Penelope.  Even though he was kept in a cave with her, it does not sound like he was beaten but rather he was treated very well by many goddesses.  I do not understand why the goddesses would be after a man such as Ulysses other than the fact that they think he is a god as well.  When he mentions his country, it appears that he is ready to come back.  This is probably because he knows that things may not be going well without him there and the fact that he has not seen his family in a long time.

In book IX, Ulysses shows his cleverness by outsmarting the monster Cyclops.  Ulysses used the wine to get the monster drunk to the point of passing out and then using the Cyclops' weapon against him by poking his eye out.  However, I do not understand his plan as far as getting out.  Did he just hitch a ride on the ram?  Ulysses is a great leader, full of courage to take on the ferocious monster that ate and killed his men day after day.

Not sure what the question was, but here it goes. Odysseus is telling someone, I think Akinoos about his journey and adventures at sea. He tells him about the battle at Troy, but focuses mainly on his encounter with the Cyclops. They beach in order to get some sheep for supplies and then ditch, but the Cyclops has taken them grazing and all he has in his cave is cheese. Although the men want to take the cheese and run, Odysseus, being a badass says, ≥no lets meet this guy.≤ This is a trait of his personality; he will not settle for second best (cheese), but only the best (sheep). He is a born leader and godlike in his command. When they meet the Cyclops, Odysseus encourages him to be hospitable and give them gifts. The Cyclops laughs and disses the gods. Here, the reader gets the idea that the Cyclops is bad and if you diss the gods you will be punished. So Cyclops eats maybe four of Odysseusπ men, and washes them down with some brandy. After Odysseus tells Cyclops his name is Nohbdy (sounds like nobody), Cyclops passes out. Odysseus shows some brains by stabbing Cyclopsπ eye, blinding him, and sneaking out of the cave on the underside of the rams with his men.  So he gets the sheep, and Cyclops is punished. I observed a motif as well, ≥they had their precious lives, but not their friendsä≤ I am not exactly sure where they are going with this, because usually they would make a big lesson out of something like that. It seems to be contradicting Odysseusπ actions. Were the sheep worth losing four men when they could have gotten the cheese and been safe? Maybe Iπm over thinking, I donπt know.

Odysseus escaped and everything worked out until he told Polyphemus his name. How would giving out his identity make the situation better? Maybe he was full of himself and wanted Polyphemus to know how wise and powerful he is. ≥But I would not listen to them, and shouted out to him in my rage, 'Cyclops, if any one asks you who it was that put your eye out and spoiled your beauty, say it was the valiant warrior Ulysses, son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.≤ Odysseus is pretty much asking to get messed up. He is cocky and way too confident. ≥I have been all along expecting some one of imposing presence and superhuman strength, whereas he turns out to be a little insignificant weakling, who has managed to blind my eye by taking advantage of me in my drink; come here, then, Ulysses, that I may make you presents to show my hospitality, and urge Neptune to help you forward on your journey- for Neptune and I are father and son. He, if he so will, shall heal me, which no one else neither god nor man can do.≤ If the Cyclops has mad hook-ups then why would Odysseus get on the gods bad side? I think that his over confidence will lead to his demise. It seems like he thinks heπs better than all the other godπs. I can see why he would want to make the Cyclops mad after being imprisoned, but it doesnπt make too much sense to me. ≥Then I said, 'I wish I could be as sure of killing you outright and sending you down to the house of Hades, as I am that it will take more than Neptune to cure that eye of yours.≤ It seems like Odysseus is all talk. He wouldnπt be saying this stuff if he were next to Polyphemus. Odysseus would get messed up in a second.

Finally after Odysseus has gotten his hosts quite drunk, he proceeded to tell them his life story, from his time of departure from Ithaca to the present. Odysseus set sail with 12 ships, and landed first at an island, with the city of the Cicon. Basically, the men pillaged the city, taking the Ciconπs wives and food for their own benefit. However, it turned out that the Ciconπs were experienced fighters, and outnumbered Odysseus and his men by a great amount. So they left the island, and found their way to the island of the Lotus Eaters. On the island, the inhabitants fed off the lotus plants. Who ever ate the lotus plants would no longer want to go home and would end up staying on the island forever. So, again, Odysseus and his men left the island and finally ended up on the island of the Cyclops.

Here, Odysseus and his men were again selfish soldiers and began to take the Cyclopsπ food and shelter in his cave. As he returned home, he found the soldiers in his cave and proceeded to get pretty angry. He ate two of Odysseusπ men, which is what any pissed Cyclops would do. However, Odysseus wants to seek revenge on the Cyclops that he raided his food from. So here Odysseus is, angry that he wandered into someone elseπs cave, took their food, made a fire, and was punished for it. I know the Greeks teach people to be good hosts, but Odysseus should also be a courteous guest. In the end, Odysseus gets the Cyclops drunk, and stabs him in the eye. But not before he yells out his catch phrase ≥I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, who lives in Ithaca!≤