In the early days of the tale: the narrative of Ulysses' adventure on the island of Cyclops Polyphemus (Od. 9, 106-566)

Abstract

The narrative of Ulysses’ adventure on the island of Cyclops (Od. 9, 106-566), which is the third adventure of the Odyssey Apologos, shows a remarkable constructive coherence and can be considered a “Homeric tale”, in which the wonderful element framed an autobiographical fiction, masterfully embedded in the main narrative. It is an account of adventures, narrated in the first person, before an intradiegetic auditorium in the palace of the Feaces. The purpose of this study is to present an interpretative analysis of the account of Ulysses’ adventure on the Island of Polyphemus, in the light of certain components of the genre: the self-diary narrator, themes, characters, description, space, which establish a markedly homeric poetic-fictional composition and of indisputable importance for the characterization of Ulysses.