Question

read the excerpt from the odyssey.
my ship?
poseidon lord, who sets the earth a-tremble,
broke it up on the rocks at your lands end.
a wind from seaward served him, drove us there.
we are survivors, these good men and i.
what motivates odysseus to tell a lie to the cyclops?
odysseus knows that poseidon is the cyclops
father.
odysseus is afraid the cyclops will steal their ship.
odysseus does not want to reveal their only means
of escape.
odysseus does not know what has happened to his
ship.

Explanation:

To determine Odysseus' motivation for lying to the Cyclops, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Odysseus knowing Poseidon is the Cyclops' father is not directly related to lying about the ship.
• Option 2: The Cyclops is a giant and likely not interested in stealing a ship in the same way, and this isn't the main reason.
• Option 3: The ship is their only way to escape. If the Cyclops knew they had a ship, he might prevent their escape. So Odysseus lies to hide their means of escape.
• Option 4: Odysseus does know what happened to the ship (it was broken on the rocks), so this is incorrect.

Answer:

C. Odysseus does not want to reveal their only means of escape.