Read the excerpt from Part 2 of The Odyssey. We would entreat you, great Sir, have a care for the gods' courtesy; Zeus will aven
ge the unoffending guest.' He answered this from his brute chest, unmoved: 'You are a ninny, or else you come from the other end of nowhere, telling me, mind the gods! We Cyclopes care not a whistle for your thundering Zeus. What theme is best revealed by this conflict? It is important to use manners in new situations. It is wise to know the enemy you face. Guests should honor the traditions of their hosts. Guests should offer gifts to their hosts
According to the excerpt, Odyssey and his crew made an ignorant assumption that the Cyclops should honor their guests.
Little did King Odysseus realize that he had an entirely way of thinking and culture from the Cyclops. He tells Polyphemus, a Cyclop that he entreats him to <u>"have a care for the gods' courtesy.</u>.." and that <u>"Zeus will avenge the unoffending guest".</u>
Polyphemus replies that he <u>"care not a whistle for your thundering Zeus"</u> because the Cyclops had no regards for the gods as they believed themselves more powerful.
The theme of the conflict is that It is wise to know the enemy you face.
