What is an annotation of book 9 of the Odyssey?

In the Odyssey, book 9

follows Odysseus's adventures to the island of the Ciconoans/Cicones, the Lotus Eaters,
and the
land of the Cyclops. Book 9 starts with Odysseus introducing himself
to the King of Phaiacia and
provides a brief summary of all his travels. Here
are the stops he mentions in his
retelling:

Ismaros, the Island of the

Ciconoans/Cicones

After Odysseus and his men leave
Troy, they
attempt to find their way back home to Ithaca. On Ismaros,
Odysseus and his men destroy the city
and divide the goods. The Ciconians,
natives of the island, ambush Odysseus and his crew causing
Odysseus to lose
six rows of men on each ship. Odysseus gets the remainder of his men back to

the ships, and they sail away.

Storms from

Zeus

For almost two weeks, Odysseus and his men battle
raging
storms and wind which blows them off their course. They survive and
eventually end up on the
island of the Lotus-Eaters.

Island of the
Lotus-Eaters

When Odysseus and his men reach the island, he
sends a few of his
men inland to see who inhabits the land. The natives were kind and hospitable

and gave the men their lotus to eat. The lotus was sweet like honey and had an addicting
quality
that made the men want to stay. Odysseus had to drag them back to the
ship and tie them down to
the benches.

Island of the Cyclopes:

Odysseus and his men reach the island of the cyclopes. Odysseus decides he will
take
some men and do the investigating himself.

Here are
the main events of this
story:

• Odysseus finds
  a cyclops's cave and decides to steal from
  him.
• The
  cyclops, named Polyphemus, returns and puts a giant boulder in
  front of the
  cave entrance.
• Odysseus reveals himself and explains they
  are
  war heroes. He asks for hospitality (xenia) in
  reference to the
  gods.
• The cyclops refuses and eats some
  of his men.


• When the cyclops sleeps, Odysseus plans to
  kill him but realizes they'd be trapped in
  the cave because he can't move the
  boulder.
• The cyclops leaves for the day,
  and Odysseus
  and his men devise a plan by making a long spear.
• When
  the
  cyclops returns, Odysseus gets him drunk.
• The
  cyclops asks who Odysseus is.
  Odysseus claims his name is "Noman" or "Nobody"
  which makes the other
  cyclopes laugh when he later calls for help.


• Then men stab Polyphemus in
  the eye blinding him.


• To escape, the men hide under the bellies of the
  sheep and are
  freed when the sheep are let out to pasture the next morning.



• Odysseus'sgets the best of him and yells back to the cyclops revealing his
  true
  identity.
• The cyclops reveals he is the son of
  Poseidon and curses him and
  his men.