The Cave of the Cyclops

by Homer, E.V. Rieu (Translator)

Homer's Odyssey is a founding tale of Western civilization: an epic story of one man's struggle to return home from the Trojan war. It became the first Penguin Classic when E.V. Rieu's translation was published in 1946. In this extract, Odysseus describes some of the horrors and wonders of his journey, including imprisonment by the fearsome Cyclops and his travels to the land of the dead.

Genres: Classics, Poetry, Short Stories, Fiction

58 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Homer (Greek: Όμηρος born c. 8th century BC) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Homer's Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter.
Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film.
The question of by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars remain divided as to whether the two works are the product of a single author. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity; the most widespread account was that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.

French: Homère, Italian: Omero, Portuguese, Spanish: Homero.

Reviews

[Hawraki · Rating 5 out of 5]

أنهيت الكتاب قبل يومين. لم أكتب بالعربية والكتاب أساسًا باللغة الإنجليزية؟ لا أعلم لكني أجد لغتي الأم مريحة أكثر وأكثر قابلية على التدفق والتعبير. أحيانًا يكون من المفيد وجود مراجعة حول كتاب أجنبي باللغة الأم لمساعدة القراء من الجنسيات المختلفة، وفي أغلب الأحيان أجد السبب هو أنه من الممتع صياغة ما قرأته بلغة أجنبية في كلماتك من اللغة الأم. وربما لأني أريد ذلك فحسب.

على كل، كهف السايكلوبس بواسطة (هومر) قصة مبسطة (على يقين بأنها أكبر من هذا الحجم الجيبي بكثير) تحكي قصة البطل أوديسيوس في عودته من طروادة والعقبات التي مر بها هو ورفاقه منها كهف السايكلوبس، الآلهه سيرس وكاليبسو فالعمالقة والسريرينز والدوامات البحرية والوحوش وما إلى ذلك. قرأت سابقًا عن أوديسيوس في المثيولوجيا ولكني لم أقرأ عنه كبطل في قصة، ووجدت الأمر ممتعًا جدًا ومسل، إن العوالم التي يقحمك فيها هوميريوس تخلصك من واقعية هذا العالم وسماجته.

أحببت كل لحظة قرأت فيها هذه الملحمة الإغريقية، وأريد أن أقرأ نسخ أخرى منها نعم هذا تحديدًا ما أفعله حينما يعجنبي كتاب، لا أكتفي به مرة فلعلي أجد بين التفاصيل ما غفل عنه محرر أو كاتب أو سقط سهوًا أخذت بالمماطلة في القراءة كي لا تنتهي المتعة الذهنية والخيالية بسرعة وسهولة.


"البحر النبيذي" أو "بحر بلون النبيذ"

بالنسبة للغة الكتاب فلا أنصح به للقراء المبتدئين في اللغة الإنجليزية أو القراء الذين لم يألفوا لغة المثيولوجيا بعد، ثمة كتب أفضل ليبدأ بها محب المثيولوجيا ولا زلت في صدد القراءة والبحث.

[gg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

"As soon as Dawn appeared, fresh and rosy fingered..."

Reading The Cave of the Cyclops, you can tell that Homer really was some type of genius. His technical grasp on language at the time is truly impressive, perhaps even more so now. The more you read, the greater your appreciation for his innate ability to write. To have your stories be so easily read and understood so long after their creation is truly impressive.

The story fell a bit flat for me, though. The repetitiveness gave me frustration at times. Luckily, the novel is so short. Otherwise, I don't think I'd have finished it. I just didn't see a point in reading the prophecies, as they are told by the gods, and then to read the exact same thing only a page later.

There are some great little quotes, and I did quite enjoy some of the descriptive writing.

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A number of things struck me while reading this 58-page extract from The odyssey: how many of the famous tales are condensed into these pages (Polyphemus, Circe, the sirens, Schylla and Charybdis, the visit to the seer Tiresias in the Underworld, etc); how powerfully exciting E.V. Rieu's translation is (originally published in 1946 and revised in 1991); and how exciting the stories themselves remain, despite being so many centuries old. This booklet could be an excellent introduction to the world of Homer to readers who will not feel up to the challenge of the complete work. I'm sure it will make them feel brave enough to embark on their own odyssey!

Hierdie boekie bevat Odesseus se vertelling van die meeste van die opwindende gebeure tydens sy lange reis van Troje af tot by sy tuiste, die eiland Itaka. Rieu se vertaling uit 1946, wat in 1991 hersien is, lees vlot en dra die dramatiese gebeure baie opwindend oor. 'n Uitstekende embrionale inleiding tot die mitologiese wonderwêreld van Homeros, veral vir lesers wat dalk (nog) nie kans sien vir die volle epos nie. Dit sal hulle sekerlik bemagtig met leesmoed! Dis tyd dat 'n nuwe Afrikaanse vertaling van hierdie grondliggende werk uit die wêreldletterkunde die lig sien.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un peque­ño fragmento de la Odisea (unos tres cantos), sirve como excelente introducción a este clásico. La traducción, en oraciones cortas y llanas, ayuda mucho a la lectura. Ojalá se hagan traducciones similares en castellanos, quizás menos fieles, pero más accesibles al lector actual. Es imposible leerlo sin sentir que todo, realmente, salió de acá, del Quijote a Duro de matar. Una delicia.

[Malzee · Rating 3 out of 5]

So yeah, who put that guy [Odysseus] in charge? Arrogant, annoying, and mediocre. The type that often continues to be in charge and get us into analogous, albeit less mythological, messes. (Or maybe this translator just really had it out for him?) #sheshouldrun #book12 #pocketpenguins #penguin70s

[Saffron Brookes · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much happened in such a short space of time. Very crazy read.

[Corinna Lumbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always been terrified to read Homer because in my head I was convinced I’d find it completely alien and inaccessible. This proved me wrong. All I can say is that I now have both “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” on my wishlist. I guess I forgot that I’m a sucker for a good adventure story and that was the way in.

This excerpt from “The Odyssey” includes the Cyclops, Circe, and a trip to the underworld. It was a lot of fun.

[Irwan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An extract from Odyssey by Homer (not Simpsons). The part where Odysseus fought with Cyclops. The story itself is believed to be the founding tale of Western civilization. I have no plan to explore this area just yet.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short extract from the next epic poem that I am now going to have to read.

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be really nice if Homer could find another word to describe the dawn besides "rosy-fingered", but other than that, I don't have any complaints.