Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus' struggles are revealed to the reader through a well-written epic. His journey is very difficult and he is haunted by the loss of his entire crew and the seemingly impossible task of returning home to his family. On his way home, Odysseus makes the mistake of harming Cyclops, who happens to be Poseidon's son. Poseidon is so angry with Odysseus for the harm he inflicted on Cyclops, that under the influence of the all-powerful Zeus, he punishes Odysseus as well as his other children, the Phaeacians, who can be seen in parallel and contrast with the Cyclops. When he sets out on his journey, Odysseus leaves for war, and when the war is over, he wants nothing more than to return his men home safely and to see his wife and young son. This wish is delayed, however, mainly because Poseidon has made it his personal mission to prevent Odysseus from returning home to Ithaca. This was all due to Odysseus' mistreatment of Poseidon's son, the Cyclops. Returning from the war, Odysseus sails to the island of the Cyclops and tries to find food and shelter for his crew. It becomes clear to Odysseus that this society of the Cyclops lives in what looks like “the golden age, in which the earth continually yields its fruit without labor and yet… they seem totally uncivilized; they live isolated. »(346 Hernández). For this reason, when the crew and Odysseus come across Cyclops' cave, they steal food and linger in the large cavern. When Cyclops returns to find the thieves, he traps them in the cave and eats some of the men. This lasts for a few days, until many men are dead and Odysseus is tired of being trapped. H...... middle of paper ...... Phaeacians. " Classical Philology 28.4 (1933): 305-305. JSTOR. Web. November 5, 2011. Dimock, George. The Unity of the Odyssey. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989. Print. Fagles, Robert The Odyssey: Viking, 1996. Print.Frangoulidis, Stavros "Polyphemus' Prayer to Poseidon: Hom. 9.528-535." Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica 43.1 (1993): 45-49. JSTOR. Web. November 6, 2011. .Hernández, Pura. “Back in the Cyclops Cave.” The American Journal of Philology 121.3 (2000): 345-366. Web. November 14, 2011. Rose, Gilbert. “The hostile Phaeacians”. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 100 (1969): 389-406. November 2011. Segal, Charles. “Divine Justice in the Odyssey: Poseidon, Cyclops and Helios. » The American Journal of Philology 113.4 (1992) : 489-518.. 2011.