Thursday October 8

Fill in essay for Chapter 1 of the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer.


The following is a summary of the Odysseus’ encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. Where there is space, please fill in with a vivid adjective, adverb or active verb.

After Odysseus and his men had escaped from the ________________________ Lotus Eaters, where 50 of the men had been lulled into stupor and forgotten their responsibilities to their families after having eating the _______________________ fruit, the men came upon a mist-enshrouded island. They pulled their boats up onto the _______________________ beach. They were very hungry and only had wine to trade. Once again 50 men went off to explore the ___________________island. They came across some _______________________ sheep and a large wheel of cheese. Some of the men wanted to eat the cheese, but Odysseus pointed out that, according to the rules of hospitality, a host would offer it to them; so they would just introduce themselves to the host. To their surprise a _________________ creature with only one eye eventually entered the cave. The men were full of ____________________, and rightly so, for the Polyphemus, Poseidon’s son, ate two of the men and then closed the exit to the cave by rolling a __________________ boulder in front of the door. The men were trapped. They did, however, have the wine; so they proceeded to get the Cyclops _______________ drunk. Eventually, he fell into a _________________ sleep. At that point, Odysseus __________________his men to sharpen and oar and poke out the Cyclops only eye. Of course, the creature awoke screaming. Still the men could not escape, for they were unable to more the _________________ that still blocked door. Now it might seem that Polyphemus was simply a ____________________ monster, but he actually cared _________________ for his sheep and knew they had to be let out to eat the _______________________ grass each morning. Once again Odysseus had a ________________ idea: As the sheep were exiting the cave, a man would ride on the ______________________ underbelly of the animal. In that manner, they would be able to sneak past Polyphemus. This worked well. When Polyphemus petted his _________________ sheep, he was unaware that a ____________________ was hiding underneath. It seemed that Odysseus and his men would escape with only the loss of __________ men. However, Odysseus, while very clever and smart, was also known for his _______________, his excess pride. Once inside his ____________________ ship, he ________________ to Polyphemus his _________________ name. Now Poseidon, the Cyclop’s father, knew who had blinded his son, and as to be expected the ____________________ Odysseus and his men would suffer.