Similarities Between Odysseus And Polyphemus

Hospitality with Odysseus and Polyphemus

In the 9th book of The Odyssey by Greek Writer Homer, you meet the great and terrible cyclops, Polyphemus. Between the interactions of Odysseus and Polyphemus you can see some of the ways both characters break the rules of hospitality. Both characters act in ways that would be frowned upon today, as well as, back in the time of the Greeks.

In the beginning of book 9, Odysseus starts off by recounting part of his travels. Like on page 272, line 43 he says ‘In Ismaros. I pillaged the town and killed the men’ after which the remaining villagers went after them. Then Odysseus and his crew end up fighting the natives before leaving. After that they run into a ‘freak hurricane’ (p. 272, l. 70). From there they find themselves on the land of the

When it comes to strangers, nothing is really expected of someone in regards to hospitality. You are not supposed to go around killing strangers, but you do not have to gift a traveler or aid them in any way unless you want to. In The Odyssey, our hero seems to expect a gift from Polyphemus. That isn’t something you expect in the modern day America, the host doesn’t gift the guests. Now people can open their homes and aid travelers but it isn’t a guideline. But looking at both Odysseus and Polyphemus actions, they would both be breaking the law in several ways. Frist off when Odysseus just enters the cyclops home, well that’s called trespassing and it is illegal. The second is when Odysseus takes without asking or stealing food from the cyclops which is once again not allowed. And the big one, which is the cyclops eating the crew- that would be a major no-no and would result in many years of prison and some serious therapy. Odysseus actions of poking out his eye would actually not be illegal, but instead be called self-defense since he acted under threat of