Homer, The Odyssey
Summary of Book IX
Odysseus was telling his story to Alkinoös. He told how, after Troy, they had sacked the city of the Kokonians, but due to some foolishness, they barely escaped. Eventually, they came to an island of wild goats off the coast of the cyclops. Odysseus and one ship sailed to the mainland, where he took a flask of extremely strong wine as a gift and went to a cyclops' cave. When the cyclops found them, he took two of the men and ate them. Odysseus realized their danger, and fed the cyclops the wine. The giant cyclops fell into a stupor, and Odysseus took a pointed stick and blinded its one eye. Then they held on underneath the giant's sheep while the sheep went out to pasture so that the giant would not feel them leaving. Back at the ship, they taunted the cyclops, but he threw a mountain peak that nearly sunk them, so they rowed away.