Odysseus en Polyphemus: Meer dan een spannend verhaal

The story about Odysseus and Polyphemus in Odysseybook 9 is an exciting one: men trapped in a giant cannibal’s cave, followed by a spectacular exit. This story becomes even more exciting when we carefully analyse its structure and narratological techniques. Such an analysis quickly makes clear that this story is more than just a story. It foreshadows the struggle Odysseus will have to undertake in the second half of the Odyssey,when he has returned home on Ithaca and finally faces the suitors. Homer’s story about Odysseus and Polyphemus inspired many authors in later times, both Greek and Latin. At the end of this article one of these stories, Euripides’ Cyclops, will be briefly examined.