Did Odysseus and his men bring the string of catastrophes on themselves? Yes, they did get themselves into serious trouble. With a pompous attitude, the men prolonged their journey home to Ithaca. Those who did not have Odysseus’s smarts, died because of this. When they raided the Cicones’ village, harassed Poseidon’s son, and killed the Helios’s cattle, they punished themselves. Odysseus and his men stormed Cicones, and reeked havoc on all that …showed first 75 words of 478 total…

…showed last 75 words of 478 total…only way home. Odysseus and his men were foolish to believe that they had complete control over their fate. In the end, their actions caught up with them, and only Odysseus lived through the ordeal, barely. Raiding Cicones, tormenting Polyphemus after blinding him, and slaughtering the cattle of the sun god, were fatal and stupid mistakes. If they had not committed these crimes, most of them would be alive and enjoying life in their homeland.