5 Odysseus Begins His Tale

CHAPTER 5 Odysseus Begins His Tale THE CICONES "When I first set off from Troy, after the war, the wind first took me to Ismarus, home of the Cicones. During the war, those people were on the side of the Trojans, our enemies. So my men and I decided to take over the seaside city. We destroyed much of it, and gathered many of its treasures. At that point, I wanted to leave, but my men were foolish and greedy. They wanted to stay longer and

take even more. "We did not know that the Cicones had sent a message to their brothers who lived farther inland. There were many more of them. They were organized and skilled warriors who surprised us with a counterattack. Although we fought bravely, they were able to defeat us. They killed many of my men and drove us away from their land. When we finally got back to our ships to sail away, each crew was missing six men." THE LOTUS EATERS "One day at sea, a great storm came down upon our ship. My men and I were driven off course. Our ship landed on a beautiful, tropical island where people lived by eating lotus flowers," Odysseus said. "Some of my men went ashore and sampled the flower. It was said to taste like

the most delicate honey—like the nectar the gods drank. It was so delicious that they wandered off and forgot all about home. As if under a magical spell, they wanted to stay on the island forever, munching lazily on lotus flowers. Oh, how frustrated I was with them! After all, we were on a journey, and we had not reached the end. How they wept when I forced them back to our ship! But I closed my ears and heart to their protests. I was determined to return to my home." THE KING OF THE CYCLOPES "Sailing through the dark and foggy night, we spotted a coastline," Odysseus said. "Once we anchored we recognized the land as the home of the Cyclopes. These are giant, wild creatures who have only one eye in the middle of their heads. They have no laws and are quite savage. They live in caves. We had

heard that these creatures did not own ships or know how to sail. We felt safe a good distance off their shore. "The next morning, we decided to explore the island. We wanted to see what the Cyclopes were like. At what other time would we have the chance? Just to be safe, we brought a jug of water mixed with a magic sleeping potion. We thought this might help us out of any problems. "When we got to the island, we found a large cave where many sheep and goats were being kept. We figured it must be the home of a Cyclops. In the cave were shelves full of delicious cheeses and crates full of milk. My men and I were hungry and curious. We decided to explore the cave, but quickly. "But then the Cyclops returned from gathering his sheep. He was enormous and awful. My men and I were frightened for our

lives. We hid at the far end of the cave in the dark. The Cyclops couldn't see us there. He called the rest of his sheep inside, then rolled a boulder over the mouth of the cave. We were trapped inside with the great beast! The boulder was so large that even two dozen horse-drawn wagons could not have removed it. We feared for our lives.

"Then the Cyclops turned around and saw us! He asked, 'Strangers, who are you?