What is the authors purpose in the passage The Cave of the Cyclops? What does Homer want us to take away from it?
Based on the provided information, it is unclear what passage "The Cave of the Cyclops" refers to, as there is no specific source or context given. The author's purpose and what Homer intended for the readers to take away from it cannot be determined without further details.
"I am Odysseus of Ithaca. And here is my tale since
setting out from Troy:
Our first landfall was Ismarus, in the land of the
Cicones. We sacked the town, killed the men and took
the women captive. I was for putting out right then,
but my men would not hear of it.
Carousing on the beach, they feasted and dawdled
while survivors of our plundering raised the
hinterlands. The main force of the Cicones swept
down on us in a black tide. These were fighting men,
and it was all we could do to hold the ships until,
outnumbered, we cut our losses and put back out to
sea.
And while we still grieved for our fallen comrades,
Zeus sent a storm that knocked us to our knees. We
rode it out as best we could. I might even then have
rounded the southern cape and made for home had not
a new gale driven us across seventeen days of open
sea.
We found ourselves at last
in the land of the
Lotus-eaters. These folk are
harmless enough, but the
plant on which they feast is
insidious. Three of my
men tasted it and all they
wanted was more. They lost
all desire for home. I had to
force them back to the
ships and tie them down
while we made our get-
away.
Next we beached in the
land of the Cyclopes. We'd
put in at a little island off
their coast. And since they
don't know the first thing
about sailing they'd left it
uninhabited, though it
teamed with wildlife.
Ismarus (IZ-muh-russ)
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Cicones (sih-COHN-eez)
Cyclopes (sy-KLOH-peez)
19
We made a pleasant meal of wild goat, then next day I
left everyone else behind and took my own crew over
to the mainland. The first thing we saw was a big cave
overlooking the beach. Inside were milking pens for
goats and big cheeses aging on racks.
My men were for making off with the cheeses and the
lambs that we found in the cave, but I wanted to see
what manner of being made this his lair.
When the Cyclops -- Polyphemus was his name --
came home that afternoon, he blotted out the light in
the doorway. He was as tall and rugged as an alp. One
huge eye glared out of the center of his forehead.
He didn't see us at first, but went about his business.
The first thing he did was drag a huge boulder into the
mouth of the cave. Twenty teams of horses couldn't
have budged it. Then he milked his ewes, separating
out the curds and setting the whey aside to drink with
his dinner. It was when he stoked his fire for the meal
that he saw us.
'Who are you?' asked a voice like thunder.
'We are Greeks, blown off course on our way home
from Troy,' I explained. 'We assume you'll extend
hospitality or suffer the wrath of Zeus, protector of
guests.'
'Zeus? We Cyclopes are stronger than Zeus. I'll show
you hospitality.'
With that he snatched up two of my men and bashed
their brains out on the floor. Then he ate them raw,
picking them apart and poking them in his mouth,
bones and guts and all.
We cried aloud to Zeus, for all the good it did our
comrades. The Cyclops washed them down with great
slurps of milk, smacked his lips in satisfaction and
went to sleep. My hand was on my sword, eager to
stab some vital spot. But I realized that only he could
unstopper the mouth of the cave.
Polyphemus
(pol-ih-FEE-muss)
We passed a miserable night and then watched the
Cyclops make breakfast of two more of our
companions. When he went out to pasture his flock,
he pulled the boulder closed behind him.
It was up to me to make a plan. I found a tree trunk
that the Cyclops intended for a walking stick. We cut
off a six-foot section, skinned it, put a sharp point on
one end and hardened it in the fire. Then we hid it
under a pile of manure.
When the Cyclops came home and made his usual
meal, I spoke to him. 'Cyclops, you might as well take
some of our liquor to savor with your barbarous
feast.'
I'd brought along a skin of wine that we'd been given
as a gift. It was so strong that we usually diluted it in
water twenty to one. The Cyclops tossed it back and
then demanded more.
'I like you, Greek,' he said. 'I'm going to do you a
favor. What's your name?'
'My name is Nobody,' I told him.
It turned out that the favor he intended was to eat me
last. But when the wine had knocked him out, I put
my plan into effect. Heating the end of the pole until it
was glowing red, we ran it toward the
Cyclops like a
battering ram, aiming it for his eye
and driving it deep.
The thing sizzled like hot metal
dropped in water while
I twisted it like an auger.
Polyphemus came
awake with a roar,
tore the spike
from his eye and
began grop-
ing for us in
his
blindness.
20
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His screams of frustration and rage brought
the neighboring Cyclopes to the mouth of the cave.
'What is it, brother?' they called inside. 'Is someone
harming you?'
'It's Nobody!' bellowed Polyphemus.
'Then for the love of Poseidon pipe down in there!'
They went away, and Polyphemus heaved the boulder
aside and spent the night by the open door, hoping
we'd be stupid enough to try to sneak past him.
Getting past him was the problem alright, but by
morning I'd worked out a solution.
Tying goats together with ropes of willow, I hid a man
under each group of three. When it was time to let
them out to pasture, the Cyclops ran his hands over
their backs but did not notice the men underneath.
Myself, I clutched to the underbelly of the biggest ram.
'Why aren't you leading the flock as usual?' asked
Polyphemus, detaining this beast at the door and
stroking its fleece. 'I wish you could talk, so you
could point out those Greeks.'
He let the ram go, and we beat it down to the ship as
fast as our legs would carry us. When we were a good
way out to sea, I could not resist a taunt. I called out,
and Polyphemus came to the edge of the seaside cliff.
In his fury he tore up a huge boulder and flung it at us.
It landed in front of our bow, and the splash almost
drove us back onto the beach. This time I waited until
my panicked men had rowed a good bit further before
I put my hands to my mouth to call out again. The men
tried to hush me, but I was aquiver with triumph.
'If someone asks who did this, the name is Odysseus!'
That brought another boulder hurtling our way, but
this one landed astern and only hastened our departure.
The Cyclops was left howling on the cliff, calling out