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Circe and the Cyclops

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'You must be Odysseus, man of twists and turns...'

The tales of Odysseus's struggle with a man-eating Cyclops and Circe, the beautiful enchantress who turns men into swine.

Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe.

Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Next to nothing is known about Homer's life. His works available in Penguin Classics are The Homeric Hymns, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 851

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About the author

Homer

4,487books6,597followers
Homer (Greek: Όμηος 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" (τὴ� Ἑλλάδ� 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: dzè, Italian: Omero, Portuguese, Spanish: Homero.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
Profile Image for Sean Barrs .
1,122 reviews47.4k followers
June 5, 2016
Don’t be a jack-ass, that’s what Homer taught me.

If you’ve somehow managed to defeat a ginormous brute with one eye, don’t brag about it. You probably only managed such a thing out of luck, and the brute’s stupidity. You probably couldn’t do it again. So, when you escape, don’t shout at the rampaging creature because it might just be the last thing you ever do. Well, it could have been if the creature had better aim when throwing rocks at your ship. Greek heroes shouldn’t get cocky. That’s how they die.

“So headstrong � why? Why rile the beast again?
That rock he flung in the sea just now, hurling our ship
To shore once more � we thought we’d die on the spot!�


description

Odysseus is a bit full of himself here, but I suppose that comes with reputation. The extracts did have a heroic camp-fire quality about them. I didn’t feel like I was reading a story, I felt like someone was telling me the song of glorious deeds. It had an almost oral quality to it, the sort of thing that would be passed down in a culture and become part of its heritage. It certainly kept me reading. It was like the speaker was pushing me to carry on, and find out what happened next. I could imagine an older man imparting the wisdom of the tale onto a younger generation of warriors and thinkers.

Well, that’s what it felt like. This is something that I really think needs to be listened too. I do intend to read Homer’s full works one day, but for now this was a good start at getting the feel for such works. However, one thing that struck me when reading was the simplicity of the diction. I’m not sure if this is apparent across all translations, but this one felt very basic and almost of a children’s story quality. My initial perception of this, before I began reading, was something that spoke of a lot more complexity. Though I do suppose even Aristotle was a great advocate of simple, yet effective, language. This was an interesting, if surprising, read.

Penguin Little Black Classic- 70

description

The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn’t help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.
Profile Image for Leonard Gaya.
Author1 book1,124 followers
January 31, 2023
Quick re-read of two of the most famous episodes in , from the flashback section (books 9-12) on Odysseus’s adventures at sea after the Trojan War, before reaching Pheacia.

Book 9 recounts the encounters with the Cicones and the Lotus-eaters and the subsequent cannibalistic misfortunes in Polyphemus’s cave (including the Οὖτι� / Μῆτι� prank)—this episode has been the source of many popular tales and nursery rhymes involving ogres, such as .

Book 10 follows with another stroke of bad luck: Aeolus’s wind-pouch and the man-eating Laestrygonians. It ends with the famous meeting with the witch Circe—which inspired H.G. Wells’s as well as Madeline Miller’s and some popular movies such as Miyazaki’s masterpiece, .

The current Penguin Little Black Classics edition uses ’s translation, which is pretty decent, but a bit overwrought when compared with ’s more vigorous and direct English verses.

For what it's worth, here is my review of the whole poem.
Profile Image for Darwin8u.
1,765 reviews8,940 followers
December 30, 2020
"-- and when she'd finished, then, at last I mounted Circe's gorgeous bed...."
- Homer, "The Odyssey"

description

Vol N° 70 of my Penguin . This volume contains about two sections of of Homer's Epic translated by . I'm a ho for Homer. So, I read this again in preparation for finally getting to the Emily Wilson translation of . I've had it sitting on my shelf to read for too long.

This selection contains: 1. "In the One Eyed Giant's Cave" and 2. "The bewitching Queen of Aeaea". Both sections are quite wonderful. My little brother loves Dante and collects many different translations. I'm not ashamed to find I have done the same with Homer. My biggest regret is I can't read him(them) in the original Greek. From my understanding, at best, I'm getting Homer in black and white and missing the full color and force of his verse. Someday, I guess, I will find time to learn Greek for my Greeks and Russian for my Russians.
Profile Image for Michelle Curie.
1,012 reviews446 followers
January 21, 2019
Just as I was about to pick up the Odyssey I realized I still had this Little Black Classics excerpt and now chose to read this as a sort of warm-up. I guess it did its job! I feel ready!



Circe and the Cyclops contains two stories taken from the real, big thing. We meet Odysseus as a rude and pompous guy who failed to impress me personally. Can't stand a swanky guy I'm afraid! But we meet some very interesting characters, like the Lotus-eaters for example, who aren't hostile, but eating their lotuses makes you forget your wish to return home... and the beautiful but lethal goddess Circe was intriguing, too.

The translation is not the best. It reads choppily and feels almost clumsy at times and I am certain that there are better versions out there. While not feeling poetic, I was surprised with how readable it was in general, as I somehow assumed Homer's writing would be difficult to understand language-wise. I guess this is a sufficient taster for people who want to figure out if Homer is an author they'd like to spend more time reading. It's a quick and easy read and entertaining for while it lasts.

In 2015 Penguin introduced the Little Black Classics series to celebrate Penguin's 80th birthday. Including little stories from "around the world and across many centuries" as the publisher describes, I have been intrigued to read those for a long time, before finally having started. I hope to sooner or later read and review all of them!
Profile Image for Ece.
58 reviews19 followers
January 29, 2022
"Cyclops � if any man on the face of the earth should ask who blinded you, shamed you so � say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes' son who makes his home in Ithaca!"

Odysseus is a man who is nothing more than a coward with exceptional hubris. Imagine being so full of yourself that you cannot help but reveal your identity to the Cyclops you happened to undermine through feeble tactics only to ruin your "great cunning stroke." That right there was Odyseus' hamartia, the fatal mistake that cost the lives of many others and brought a lot of setbacks in his journey to get back home.
Profile Image for Carolyn Marie.
359 reviews8,974 followers
April 14, 2020
"You must be Odysseus, man of twists and turns..."

To my great pleasure I LOVED this!!! I have been on such a Greek myth binge lately, and who better to read than Homer? I've been incredibly intimated by the Iliad and the Odyssey for many a year, but after loving "the song of Achilles" "Circe" "the silence of the girls" and now this, I want to read them both so badly!!!
Do I dare take the plunge?
I loved Homer's use of repetition and his very lyrical word play!
This is a short excerpt from the Odyssey when Odysseus comes into some trouble (as he often does) with a Cyclops and the enchanting Circe!
I loved his clever and cunning way of telling the Cyclops Odysseus's name was "Nobody." Then, it got even better when Circe turned his men into pigs!!! Round of applause for Circe!
Now I'm so eager to read more and more and more!!!
Profile Image for Chesca (thecrownedpages).
320 reviews165 followers
August 4, 2018
Circe and the Cyclops had been an interesting read; two tales of one mighty hero named Odysseus defeating and/or manipulating powerful beings, excerpted from Homer's timeless epic Odyssey. But the thing is I've been wishing for Odysseus to drown or fall off a cliff and just die since page one.
Profile Image for [ J o ].
1,962 reviews525 followers
February 5, 2017
This review is a reflection on this Little Black Classic and not on the story The Odyssey.

Penguin's unprofessionalism came to a head here as we have a book that had been translated by an American, but that had not been translated to English. Typos, though in reality laziness, we're abound and we are subjected to missing u's galore. The Odyssey as a story is fantastic, but if you haven't read it do not try this translation: it is the worst I've come across and I did not read this entire LBC in protest at how pathetically Penguin have treated their audience.


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Profile Image for Liz Janet.
583 reviews458 followers
February 14, 2016
Read the Odyssey, read the Iliad, do not read this horribly translated work, it is not worth it. It has been a millennium since the original story was published, therefore I do not feel like it needs to be explained what this book is about. What I will tell, is that the original work deals with the sore looser gods that wanted the Greeks to be defeated, and that Odysseus does not help himself by blinding the son of Poseidon, Odysseus crew is filled with idiots that open sealed things that are not theirs and get themselves turned into animals, Paris and Helen might have been idiots, Agamemnon seems like only logical victim, and Odysseus was not as faithful as he claimed.
Profile Image for Peter.
777 reviews134 followers
November 29, 2016
Well that was rather tasty. Dear ol' Homer, forgot how fun he can be. If it wasn't for this guy we would never have had those cool Ray Harryhausen movies when we were kids.
Thanks Homey. Sorry...Homer.
Good solid fun no matter what translation you read.
Profile Image for Jen.
459 reviews63 followers
April 1, 2018
This was a cute little snippet of The Odyssey by Homer, telling two tales in Odysseus's adventures as he tries to get him and his crew back home to Troy.

Sadly this feat is difficult as Odysseus has been cursed.

Loved the ancient Greek world, the monsters the gods and the lore and can't wait until I have the time to actually tackle The Odyssey itself.
Profile Image for Katie.
161 reviews52 followers
June 14, 2018
"You have a mind in you no magic can enchant!
You must be Odysseus, man of twists and turns -
Hermes the giant-killer, god of the golden wand,
he always said you would come"

Before I read this excerpt of The Odyssey I found myself only vaguely interested in reading the full text, but the brief segments here are enchanting beyond belief. I eagerly await diving head first into the entirety of the poem.
Profile Image for isa.
55 reviews3 followers
Read
April 8, 2024
desde que o ulisses era uma menina pequenina ele sabia que queria ser um homem insano e desgraçado
Profile Image for Jess.
148 reviews
April 2, 2025
Honestly Odysseus just going on about wine for pages made me giggle, doesn’t care about gold or the other treasure but is obsessed with this really strong wine (I wanna try it so bad.) Sean Bean will be my Odysseus always and forever. Circe is just so cool I will never get over her.
Profile Image for Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive).
2,497 reviews56 followers
September 20, 2020
I think it is great that stories like the Odyssey have survived for this long and are still so well known. The pieces about the Cyclops and Circe are among the best known parts I think. I read these in class but it was a couple of years ago, so it nice to revisit. I wasn't sure this was the best translation, but the story, of course, always stays the same.

However, if you would like to read it, I would suggest a fuller edition than just these two stories.

~Little Black Classics #70~

Find this and other reviews on my blog
Profile Image for 𲹻ɱ쾱Բ☽.
276 reviews26 followers
January 2, 2021
� ".. and when she'd finished, then, at last I mounted Circe's gorgeous bed...."

I'm giving this short translation three stars since i haven't finished "The Odyssey" by Homer yet, so i can not really say whether this translation has its value and if it should be recommended to other readers. No matter the original classic tale, I personally love Greek mythology and enjoyed this short snippet about Circe and Odysseus' journey a lot, even though Odysseus and his crew are not the brightest lights.
Profile Image for jane.
94 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2023
i luv the odyssey i should read the whole thing start to finish
Profile Image for Zarina.
1,048 reviews152 followers
March 23, 2015
A great little snapshot of Homer's iconic The Odyssey.
Profile Image for Anca.
143 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2016
Not the best, but I guess the problem is the (really) bad translation??
Profile Image for PRINCESS.
425 reviews14 followers
November 4, 2017
Circe and Cyclops are two characters in Homer’s poem
Odysseus is away from home for more than 20 years.
His wife; Penelope is trying her best to fend her suitors.
Their son; Telemachus is coming of age and needs to choose the perfect partner.
There are suitors as well from good families waiting for Telemachus to say yes.
But both Telemachus and Penelope want Odysseus to come and settle the things.

Conversely, Odysseus is being captive by Goddess Calypso.
Calypso is a beautiful but immoral goddess that desires to marry Odysseus and grant him immortality.
But Odysseus craves to go home and be with his family.

The Goddess attempt to set Odysseus free,
And here we hear the story of Odysseus’s adventure�
.
.
The story is divided in two parts. One is Odysseus story while he is being away from home and captive. Second one is his family’s story while being him away. Both parts are brought by Homer in great epic to keep you drawn in, even while introducing the characters;
‘“Son of Laertes and seed of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus, you shall no longer stay in my house when none of you wish to; …�
and when showing their hospitality:
'But now, since it is our land and our city that you have come to, you shall not lack for clothing nor anything else, of those gifts which should befall the unhappy suppliant on his arrival.'

The story is told mostly by the third narrator but in some parts we listen to the tale told by Odysseus where get to see his experience from his view.
Profile Image for madelaine !.
30 reviews
February 27, 2023
fun little bite sized bit of mythology. i giggled every time odysseus was like and thEn once again my men were annoyed we couldnt go home yet. tres funny to me the constant descriptions of them falling down and crying at the idea if another obstacle in the way of getting home

also the nobody trick is such a slay but how did he have the upper body strength to hold on to the sheep like that i could never
Profile Image for Bec.
68 reviews2 followers
July 27, 2021
I’ve been really scared to read any Homer because it’s always looked so daunting but this was soooo enjoyable to read. The imagery and the action were so much fun and it’s made me so excited to read more !!!
Profile Image for Jules.
103 reviews2 followers
August 20, 2022
This has confirmed that i would probably enjoy reading The Odyssey:)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews

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