Odyssey 9.375 · Book 9, lines 375–377
Heating the stake
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καὶ τότʼ ἐγὼ τὸν μοχλὸν ὑπὸ σποδοῦ ἤλασα πολλῆς, ἧος θερμαίνοιτο· ἔπεσσι δὲ πάντας ἑταίρους θάρσυνον, μή τίς μοι ὑποδείσας ἀναδύη.
Then I drove the stake under the deep ashes, until it should grow hot; and with words I heartened all my comrades, lest any, shrinking in fear, should draw back from me.
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The setting
The Cyclops lies in a drunken sleep. Odysseus makes ready the weapon he cut and sharpened earlier, and braces his men for what they must do.
A note on this passage
With the giant unconscious, Odysseus acts. He buries the sharpened stake in the hot ash to temper its point, and steadies his men with words, afraid that one of them will lose his nerve at the last moment.
The undercurrent is how much of the plan is managing fear, not strength. The captain's real work here is keeping five terrified men from bolting — the same command of others that his mêtis keeps demanding. The stake heating in the embers is patience; the quiet talk to his crew is leadership, and both matter as much as the coming blow.
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