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Book 9
Alcinous, majesty, shining among your island people,
what a fine thing it is to listen to such a bard
as we have here—the man sings like a god.
The crown of life, I’d say. There’s nothing better
than when deep joy holds sway throughout the realm
and banqueters up and down the palace sit in ranks
enthralled to hear the bard, and before them all, the tables
heaped with bread and meats, and drawing wine from a mixing-bowl
the steward makes his rounds and keeps the winecups flowing.
This to my mind, is the best that life can offer. But now
you’re set on probing the bitter pains I’ve borne,
so I’m to weep and grieve, it seems, still more.
At the beginning of Book 9, Odysseus, having revealed his true identity, is poised to tell the tale of his suffering to the Phaeacians. First, however, he pauses to appreciate the fellowship and camaraderie of storytelling at a feast, one of the cornerstones of ancient Greek culture. This is a self-referential observation, in that it highlights the importance of storytelling in general and Odysseus’s story, and therefore The Odyssey, specifically.
Nobody—that’s my name. Nobody—
so my mother and father call me, all my friends.
Odysseus begins his tale in Book 9, and the next several books are told from Odysseus’s point of view as he describes his adventures. After escaping the Lotus-eaters, he and his crew arrive on the island of the Cyclopes and become captives of one Cyclops in particular, Polyphemus. When asked his name, Odysseus says he is called “Nobody.” This strategic move indicates Odysseus is plotting their escape—indeed, when Polyphemus later cries out to the other Cyclopes for help after Odysseus and his men drive a staff into his eye, he says that he’s being killed by “Nobody,” causing his neighbors to dismiss him and leave. This famous episode underscores Odysseus’s cleverness. Read more about this quote in Quotes by Theme: The Power of Cunning over Strength and Quotes by Character: Odysseus.
. . . as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze
in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam
and its temper hardens—that’s the iron’s strength—
so the eye of the Cyclops sizzled round that stake!
This quote, also from Book 9, describes the moment Odysseus and his men drive a red-hot staff into the eye of Polyphemus, blinding him.
So they begged
but they could not bring my fighting spirit round.
I called back with another burst of anger,
‘Cyclops—
if any man on the face of the earth should ask you
who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus,
raider of cities, he gouged out your eye,
Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!’
At the end of Book 9, Odysseus, having successfully escaped Polyphemus, can’t help but taunt the Cyclops from his ship while he throws boulders at them from the shoreline. This defining moment perfectly captures Odysseus’s greatest character flaw—his pride and yearning for glory. It’s Odysseus’s unrelenting desire to brag about his accomplishment that causes Polyphemus to pray to Poseidon for revenge, a decision that will haunt Odysseus for the duration of the epic.
