Nevertheless he manned himself to answer, and
spake boldly thus: "We are Greeks, driven from our course in our
voyage from Troy, and brought by the winds and waves to these shores.
And we are they who have served Agamemnon, son of Atreus, whose fame
now fills the whole earth; so mighty was the city which he overthrew,
with all the host within her. And now we have come to kneel at thy
feet and beseech thee of thy favour to bestow on us some gift such as
strangers receive. Have pity on us, great and mighty as thou art, and
forget not that Zeus hath the stranger and the suppliant in his
keeping."
But there was no sign of pity or mercy in the Cyclops' face as he made
answer: "Thou art full simple, my friend, or unversed in the ways of
this land, if thou thinkest that I and my brethren care aught for Zeus
or any other god. Nay, we are mightier far than they, and if thou
seekest aught of me thou must seek it of my favour, and not of my
fears. But tell me truly, where didst thou moor thy vessel on thy
landing? Lies she near at hand, or on a distant part of the coast?"
Odysseus easily divined the purpose of Polyphemus in putting this
question, and answered accordingly: "My ship was wrecked on a distant
part of your coast, dashed all to pieces against the rocks; and I and
these twelve escaped by swimming."
Polyphemus made no reply, but sprang up and seized two of the men,
grasping them easily together in one hand, and dashed their brains out
against the rocky ground.
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