Odysseus has come out on top in his struggle with the Cyclops, but his victory is fated to be a hollow one.
Hear Homer’s Greek and follow in Samuel Butler’s English here.
See the illustrated blog post here.
Beside their beached ships, Odysseus’s men celebrate his foiling of the Cyclops with a feast on the giant cannibal’s flocks. What they do not know is that Poseidon has heard the monster’s prayer for revenge, and that their days are numbered.
Hear Homer’s Greek and follow in Samuel Butler’s English here.
Illustration courtesy of the British Museum, licence at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ .
Homer’s great poem begins with the origins of the strife between King Agamemnon and the supreme warrior Achilles that brought the Greek army to the brink of defeat on the plains and seashores in front of the city of Troy. Hear the opening in Greek and follow an English translation here.
In an encounter a quarter of the way through Homer’s Iliad, The Trojan hero Hector’s wife, Andromache, begs him to direct the Trojan defence from the wall, rather than return to the battle. But Hector’s duty as Troy’s defender and the warrior’s code will not allow him to do so, although he foresees his own death and the fall of the city as clearly as Andromache foresees that she will soon be a widow and her son an orphan. We learn, too, that Andromache’s life has already been ravaged by Achilles, Hector’s future killer.
Hear Homer’s Greek and follow in English here.
The Cyclops can no longer see, but sits at the mouth of the cave, blocking the way to freedom. Again, the resourceful Odysseus has a plan. Hateful as he is towards men, the Cyclops shows a touching affection for his flock.
Hear Homer’s Greek and follow in Samuel Butler’s English here.
Image courtesy of the British Museum under licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.