Odysseus in the Cyclops' Cave - The Odyssey - Ep. 3

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-25

[00:00:02]Odysseus and his men spent several days without seeing solid ground in their heroic attempt to return home when they finally found an island on the horizon.

[00:00:11]It was the famous island of the Cyclops, one-eyed creatures, sons of Poseidon, >> [music] >> the mighty god of the seas. Odysseus wanted to meet the island's inhabitants and chose 12 of his best [music] men to explore the island with him.

[00:00:26]They found a large cave and the sound of screeching sheep could be heard from inside.

[00:00:33]Upon entering the cave, Odysseus realized that this was the home of one of the beings that inhabited the island.

[00:00:40]Inside the cave, there was an enclosure with some sheep, amphorae filled with goat's milk, and bowls with fresh cheese [music] made from it.

[00:00:50]Odysseus tasted some of the cheese and thought about stealing it, but decided [music] to wait for the return of the cave dweller and negotiate with him.

[00:00:58]But the hero would [music] regret this decision.

[00:01:02]The huge Cyclops appeared in front of the cave bringing with him part [music] of his herd that he had taken out to graze.

[00:01:09]Odysseus and his men hid fearing for their [music] lives, but the hiding places of the sailors were revealed when the Cyclops lit a fire in the center of the cave.

[00:01:20]Odysseus came out of his hiding place and introduced [music] himself to the monster saying who he was and what he was doing there by asking for hospitality.

[00:01:29]The Cyclops [music] said that his name was Polyphemus, the most glorious of his race.

[00:01:35]He claimed that he owned no hospitality to inferior beings for he did not recognize the laws of men.

[00:01:42]Polyphemus grabbed two of Odysseus's men by the legs and slammed them to the ground [music] killing them immediately.

[00:01:49]As if this weren't enough, the beast still devoured them completely.

[00:01:57]The mighty Cyclops moved a huge stone and blocked the exit of the cave.

[00:02:06]After that nasty meal, the Cyclops decided to sleep. Odysseus' men wanted to kill him while he slept, but the cunning leader stopped them because it would be impossible to move the heavy stone blocking the cave exit.

[00:02:20]The next day, the giant took his sheep out to pasture, leaving the men locked in the cave. Odysseus, together with his men, planned a way to avenge the death of his colleagues.

[00:02:31]They found a large log of wood and sharpened one end.

[00:02:35]At the end of the day, the Cyclops returned and after reentering, [music] closed the exit of the cave.

[00:02:42]Odysseus poured into a jar [music] the wine from the wine skins of all his men to offer it to the one-eyed giant.

[00:02:50]Polyphemus drank with satisfaction the strong wine offered by Odysseus and liked the gesture.

[00:02:57]He told the hero that as a reward, he would be the last to be devoured and asked Odysseus his name.

[00:03:04]He replied that his name was nobody and that everyone knew him that way.

[00:03:09]Drunken Polyphemus felt an irresistible urge to sleep.

[00:03:16]Odysseus and his men [music] took the makeshift weapon and prepared their revenge.

[00:03:22]They ran with the sharp stake toward the monster's one eye.

[00:03:25]The Cyclops woke up and screamed in pain.

[00:03:29]After hearing his brother's terrible screams, two other Cyclops appeared at the entrance to the cave.

[00:03:36]They asked who had done it and Polyphemus shouted, "Nobody! Nobody has pierced my eye."

[00:03:42]Since there was no one to punish, they returned to their homes.

[00:03:47]The next day, the blind Cyclops let the animals out to graze, but he did not expect Odysseus to use another trick.

[00:03:55]Clinging to the bellies of the strong rams, Odysseus and his men managed to escape Polyphemus's cave.

[00:04:02]When they were all out of the cave, they quickly ran to the ships.

[00:04:07]On the ship, Odysseus shouted at the monster saying that being blinded was a deserved [music] punishment for a criminal who disregarded Zeus's designs by devouring those who had asked for hospitality.

[00:04:20]Polyphemus pulled a large chunk out of a mountain and threw it in the direction of Odysseus's cries.

[00:04:26]The great rock fell near the ship of the king of Ithaca.

[00:04:30]His men begged him to stop taunting the beast, but Odysseus continued.

[00:04:35]He shouted again saying that when someone asked him who had pierced his eye, he should answer that it was the man who devastated the city of Troy, son of Laertes, the great Odysseus, the king of Ithaca.

[00:04:50]The furious Polyphemus threw another boulder at Odysseus's ship, and it grazed the ship of the Greeks.

[00:04:57]Odysseus walked away from the island of the Cyclops regretting that he had lost some men, but excited that he had overcome a huge challenge.

[00:05:07]Polyphemus asked his divine father and begged Poseidon to punish the man responsible for piercing his son's eye.

[00:05:15]He asked that the god of the seas prevent Odysseus [music] from returning home.

[00:05:19]If the gods so willed, he should wander the seas for years arriving home without ship, treasure, and companions.

[00:05:28]Odysseus's haughtiness, which led him to mock the son of Poseidon, would cost him dearly for he now had the god of the seas as an enemy.

[00:05:41]Days after leaving the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus's fleet found a floating island that was not attached to land. [music] There was only a splendid bronze palace on top of a hill.

[00:05:53]The king of Ithaca and his men disembarked on the island, setting off in the direction of the residence of the island's inhabitants.

[00:06:01]Odysseus met Aeolus, the guardian of [music] the winds, who cordially welcomed the visitors.

[00:06:06]During the banquet in honor of their illustrious visitors, Aeolus and his sons listened cheerfully to Odysseus, who narrated to them the great deeds of the heroes during the Trojan War.

[00:06:18]To thank them for the entertainment, Aeolus opened a large wineskin and placed inside it all the winds except for Zephyr, which would blow quietly to guide Odysseus and his men to their home.

[00:06:31]The favorable wind drove the hero's ships close to home. After sighting the island of Ithaca, Odysseus could see the smoke from the chimneys.

[00:06:40]Relaxing for a moment, he entered the realm of Hypnos, the god of sleep, and started snoozing.

[00:06:47]Odysseus's men were unhappy to return home with virtually no spoils of war.

[00:06:52]They envied Odysseus for having received a big bag from the gods.

[00:06:57]They wanted to know what kind of treasures were in the bag. They imagined that there was a lot of gold, so they opened the wineskin.

[00:07:06]After they opened the bag, all the winds came out and seemed furious.

[00:07:11]Odysseus awoke, startled by the great noise made by the strong winds. The winds caused great waves and gathered storm clouds, pushing the ships far from home.

[00:07:23]Odysseus, feeling disillusion and frustration, thought of throwing himself into the sea and ending all that suffering. But eventually regained his sanity.

[00:07:32]They returned to the island of Aeolus seeking help, but they were driven away by the ruler. He would not disregard the will of the gods, who certainly did not wish Odysseus to [music] return home.

[00:07:44]Odysseus and his men fought against the winds, which seemed to carry them further and further away from home.

[00:07:51]After a long time at sea, they found a new island.

[00:07:55]On it was a protected area where almost all of Odysseus's ships could find shelter.

[00:08:01]Only the hero ship was moored outside the bay as there was no more room.

[00:08:06]Odysseus ordered two men to inspect the island and find out who its inhabitants were.

[00:08:11]They found a child who was bigger than a normal adult and asked him to take them to his ruler.

[00:08:17]They were taken to a large house where a giant queen welcomed them.

[00:08:22]The queen called her husband, who was huge and had a menacing appearance.

[00:08:27]He grabbed one of Odysseus's men and devoured him immediately.

[00:08:31]His partner escaped and ran to the ships.

[00:08:35]Meanwhile, the king of the giants, known as Laestrygonians, called the others to hunt the little men.

[00:08:42]The giants attacked the men and their ships in the bay as they tried to escape.

[00:08:48]The giants grabbed the men and sank their ships, throwing huge stones. The men who were not devoured immediately ended up trapped to be eaten later.

[00:08:58]By failing to dock in the bay, only Odysseus's ship escaped the massacre.

[00:09:03]His fleet now consisted of only one ship. Everyone in it mourned the loss of the brave friends who had survived [music] the Trojan War but perished before terrible creatures.