When the war broke out, the beautiful Penelope just gave birth to a son Odyssey. Carry a child, listen to his first babble, take him in his arms and carry to grandfather Laertes, sit in the shade of trees and look at the woman who feeds, in the evening listen to the reports of managers and chief shepherds about the harvest, about how many calves and piglets arrived, on at dawn, go out to the dewy garden and prune the branches of trees or look at the vine, have a feast with friends - wonderful meat, fresh bread, good wine - listen to the songs of the wandering singer or the stories of old and experienced people - he closed up with such healthy daily joys I circle the Odyssey aspirations. It seemed to him that the war had suddenly and forcibly taken away all this from him and dragged him to alien, distant lands - a cruel injustice. At first he pretended to be insane so as not to fight, but the deception was exposed.
Leaving his wife and son Telemachus, he promised to return as soon as possible. And years passed, and the war continued. When they finally conquered Troy, there was no man in the entire Greek camp who would so eagerly gather on the road as Odysseus. He was sure that in two weeks, given the inevitable stops and unexpected obstacles, he would reach the coast of Ithaca. But fate decreed otherwise.
A storm rose at sea. The hurricane broke the masts and wrecked the sails. Finding refuge in some random marina, the soldiers repaired the damaged ships. Already crossed the entire Aegean Sea, when a whirlwind suddenly broke and nailed the ships of Odysseus to unknown shores. It was a country of lototagi. Instead of bread there, lotuses grew in the fields, so tender in taste that the one who tried this magic potion no longer wanted to return to his homeland. Some of Odysseus’s comrades ate several lotuses, and they had to be led onto the ship by force, because they pulled themselves out and shouted that they would remain on the island.
Sailing along the Sicilian Sea, the ships of Odysseus nailed to a very fertile land, on which countless herds of goats and flocks of sheep grazed. All this belonged to the Cyclops - giants with one eye in the middle of the forehead. The most powerful of these was Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. Odysseus took twelve companions, a wineskin of excellent wine, some food and went deep into the country to learn about the customs of strange inhabitants. The cave in which Polyphemus lived was empty - the owner was not at home. They went in and waited. When he approached the evening. Seeing him, the travelers went cold: Polyphemus was as big as a mountain. He drove the herd into the cave, and the exit was filled up with such a huge block that 24 bulls would not have moved it. Then he milked goats and sheep, made a fire and in his light saw a bunch of people in the corner. Odysseus said that he was called Nobody, but Polyphemus did not listen to him, but, seizing the two companions of Odysseus, tore into pieces and ate. For breakfast, he ate two more and promised Odysseus, calling him Nobody, which would leave him for himself in the end.
The son of Laertes replied that he was able to appreciate such an honor and treated the giant with a glass of old wine. Polyphemus never drank anything so delicious. He ordered to pour himself more and drank until his head was spinning and the giant fell, dawned by a sound sleep. Odysseus made a fire, put a huge stake of olive tree in him, and when he caught fire, hit him with a firebrake in Polyphemus eye. The blinded cyclops so roared in pain that the walls of the cave shuddered. But he could not catch either Odysseus or his comrades, who were cleverly hiding in the back streets of the cave. Then he sat at the exit and waited. And the cunning king of Ithaki came up with a new catch. He tied himself and his comrades under the belly of sheep and so with the herd got out of the trap.