The Odyssey Book 9

THE ODYSSEY BOOK 9

Book 9 of the Odyssey is a hugely important chapter in the epic story. The Cyclopes episode connects several different parts of the story and explains the reasons behind certain events. Book 9 gives the reader an insight into the people’s relationship with the Gods in ancient Greece and is another example of the importance of hospitality and what happens when proper courtesy is ignored. It continues several key themes of the epic and also highlights parts of Odysseus’ character that haven’t been seen before.

One of the main reasons this Book is so important is the link it provides with other parts of the story. Throughout the first eight Books, Homer hints that “Poseidon has kept Odysseus in exile.” Book 9 is crucial in explaining why Poseidon has taken such a set against Odysseus. The Book itself, in that it is Odysseus telling a story, is the first glimpse the reader gets of Odysseus’ ‘missing years’. This episode is really the one that sets up the entire epic. Without the events of this particular Book, Odysseus would have been free to sail home without hindrance and there would have been no epic story. But as it happens, he did blind Polyphemus and thus incurred the wrath of Poseidon, who would prevent him from returning home for the best part of 20 years. Homer, whether he is one person or many, came up with all these adventures that Odysseus goes on and all these mysterious places he sees, but the story would not have worked if he hadn’t had something to explain why he didn’t just go home. Book 9 is that something. The manner in which Odysseus retells the story, through the use of epic language and epithets, gives the reader an insight into Ancient Greek culture. The fact that Odysseus seems bewildered by the lack of laws and social structure among the Cyclopes also gives the reader an insight into the nature of Ancient Greek culture.

The Cyclopes episode continues several key themes from the previous eight chapters. The Gods are...