In Homer’s The Odyssey, Ulysses tells King Alcinous about his numerous adventures since leaving the island of Troy. First, Ulysses lands on the island of the Cicons. There he leads his men in the scaking of one of the Cicon’s cities. Instead of following Ulysses’ orders and leaving right away; his men decide to stay for a few more days. The next day, a larger force of Cicons attack Ulysses and his men. Even though Uylesses loses half a dozen men off every ship, he manages to escape the island after nightfall.
Ulysses and his men the land on the isle of the Lotus-eater after saliing for almost nine days. There, any of his men who taste of the delicious Lotus do not wish to return home. They only wish to stay on the island and consume more Lotus flowers. Ulysses decides to tie up his men who do not wish to leave and again set sail. Unfortuneatly, Ulysses and his men end up on the island of the cyclopes. There they run into Polyphemus, an evil cyclops who wishes to eat Uylsses and his men.
Using great intelligence, Ulysses decides to first get Polyphemus drunk on wine. After Polyphemus is drunk, Ulysses convinces him that Ulysses’ name is Noman; and blinds the cyclops . As Polyphemus yells out in agony, Noman is killing me by fraud… by force the other cyclopes just assume that Polyphemus has been made ill by the gods, and ignore his pleas for help. Polyphemus tries to trap Ulysses by sealing up his cave and feeling around the entrance when Polyphemus lets his sheep out.
Ulysses decides to hide his men and himself underneath Polyphemus’ sheep. In The Odyssey, Ulysses exhibits most of the characteristics that the ancient Greeks valued. Ulysses is a great war hero, a leader who cares about all of his men, and most of all, has a very keen mind. The latter of these values is one of the most prized in Greek society. However, like any true hero, Ulysses has his tragic flaw; he continually angers the gods.
