Upon leaving in their ship Ulysses was overcome with anger and decided to taunt the poor wretch. Polyph�mus was angered and threw a large bolder at them, almost causing them to crash. Once out farther then before, Ulysses yelled again, telling the creature his real name. In response, Polyph�mus told him about a seer telling him that he would be blinded by a man named Ulysses, and being angry about the fact that Ulysses was such a small man, he prayed to his father, Poseidon, so that Ulysses would never make it home, or if it was predestined for him to make it home, that he would have such hardships on the way there, and loose all of his ships and men, and arrive home on a ship with strangers and arrive there with trouble in his house. Poseidon listened to his son and proves to do just that from then on.
Ulysses being a mere mortal man seems to be able to withstand more than he should at this point in time. He is able to defeat a Cyclops, a giant of a man very much taller then any other human-being and much, much stronger than any man as well. Ulysses had one things going for him in that situation, his mind and ability to plan.
Those are a few of the things that won him favor with the goddess Athena. Being the goddess of wisdom, she liked Ulysses and helped him on his way. She had shown herself to him many times on his voyage or had sent other gods with a message. Like when she sends Hermes down to him on Circe�s island.
One stop before he encounters Circe is at an island run by Aelios, the master of the wind. Aelios gives Ulysses a great bag of wind that speeds him and his crew back home toward Ithaca. But being the man that Ulysses is, always being shown great favor, and given many gifts on his travels, his men become jealous and wish to see what is in the bag. Ulysses was overcome with a great sleep and while he slept, his men opened the bag, and the powerful wind carried them back to Aelios� island, where he is then cursed by Aelios and sent away.
This part of the story shows another man who had found favor with the gods, and therefore was treated to immortal status and deemed master of the winds to control as he wished. Ulysses finds in him a friend, someone who is like himself and able to make an impression on the gods. Unfortunately, because of the treasure hungry ways of men, Ulysses looses that friend and looses his way, pushing him to Circe�s island.
Circe is an enchantress. Another immortal, that Ulysses comes into contact with. She is a devious character in the beginning, turning half of his men into swine. But with the help of the guide god, Hermes, from Athena, he is able to withstand the sweet potion that she makes for Ulysses and is then, also with from the help of Hermes, told what to say to Circe to make sure that she plays no more tricks on him. She swears not to, and then pulls him to bed with her.
It is because of Ulysses that his men get turned back and each to his former self, more regenerated and younger then before. The normal place of a man should not be able to get what he wants from an enchantress, and yet, here it is, Ulysses, the king of Ithaca, able to win over an immortal enchantress. These doses not seem to make sense.
Before Ulysses goes on his way, Circe talks to Ulysses, and tells him that he must go down to the House of Death and Persephone to talk to the great seer Tiresias of Thebes who is allowed to see even in death. Here he learns that the angry Poseidon will not let Ulysses return home without a fight. �A sweet smooth journey home, renowned Ulysses, that is what you seek, but a god will make it hard for you � I know � you will never escape the one who shakes the earth, quaking with anger at you still, still enraged because you blinded the Cyclops, his dear son� (Pagles 2.111)
