Glossary

One-eyed flesh-eating giants who live a solitary life in caves. Odysseus and his men met Polyphemus, the Cyclops son of Poseidon early on in their journey.

Laistrygonians are cannibals that Odysseus and his men encounter on the island of Lamus.

Phoenicia was an advanced ancient civilization that existed approximately 3,000 years ago, during the time when Odysseus took his journey. Their trading stations were ports where they would trade their goods with sailors from other parts of the world, primarily the Greeks.

Poseidon was the god of the sea; sailors relied upon him for safe voyages.

 

Constantine Cavafy wrote the poem in 1911 in Greek. This poem was translated by Keeley and Sherrard. You may find other translations of the poem that vary slightly. This is not uncommon when literature is translated from other languages.