Within the text of Homer's Odyssey it is possible to find justification that Odysseus whilst, admittedly, displaying too much curiousity and arrogance, was not too brutal with Polyphemus. Rather the text would tend to indicate the Cyclops was justly punished for his own part in the tale. Nevertheless, Odysseus was punished. He earns the 'wrath of Poseidon' in the same way that almost any man would earn a father's wrath if he deliberately blinded the son.

Odysseus is far too curious and arrogant. He has no need to visit the land of the Cyclopes, apart from finding out "whether they are lawless or nice". He and hi

Polyphemus, uncivilized though he is, is still expected to provide food for strangers. Instead of simply turning them out for entering his cave and eating some of his food, he takes two of Odysseus' companions and gruesomely kills them and eats them for his dinner, right in front of their eyes. Realistically, this would be a terrifying and horrific thing to see.

In this interesting scene, Odysseus shows various undesirable qualities (although arrogance and pride were probably considered perfectly acceptable in 'heroes') as well as several heroic qualities. It is his heroic qualities: his metis, his cunning, his endurance, which eventually get him out of his predicament alive. Polyphemus, less civilized and unfamiliar in dealing with any sort of social situation, is shown as a monster with no 'human' conscience, and this representation would tend

Some common words found in the essay are:
Cyclops Odysseus, Nevertheless Odysseus, Homer's Odyssey, Polyphemus Cyclops, Cyclops Polyphemus, , Odysseus Odysseus, Homer Odysseus, text homer's, earns 'wrath poseidon', text homer's odyssey, earns 'wrath, odysseus' companions, heroic qualities, homer's odyssey, 'wrath poseidon', tend indicate, cyclops killed,
Approximate Word count = 577
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)