Discussion Board # 1: The Odyssey
In Homer’s Odyssey, after Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, the Cyclops, and escapes, he taunts him by saying, “Hey, you, Cyclops! Idiot!/The crew trapped in your cave did not belong / to some poor weakling. Well, you had it coming!/ You had no shame at eating your own guests!/ So Zeus and the other gods have paid you back,” (Book 9, lines 475-479). Polyphemus’s response, once he learns of Odysseus’s identity, is a prayer to Poseidon:
‘Listen, Earth-Shaker, Blue-Haired Lord Poseidon:
acknowledge me your son, and be my father.
Grant that Odysseus, the city-sacker,
will never go back home. Or if it is
fated that he will see his family,
then let him get there late and with no honor,
in pain and lacking ships, and having caused
the death of all his men, and let him find
more trouble in his own house.’ (Book 9, lines 528-536)
What does this exchange show about how the ancient Greeks viewed the gods?
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To receive full credit (6 points) for each discussion board, all of the following must be achieved:
–Your original post successfully answers the prompt.
–You use specific evidence from the text, including direct quotes to support your analysis.
–Correct formal spelling, grammar and formatting.
–At least one substantive response to a fellow student’s post.
–You include your own question about the text at the end of your first post.
–Your own original response and your responses to other students total at least 500 words combined per discussion board.
