Odyssey 9.399 · Book 9, lines 399–402
The neighbour Cyclopes gather
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αὐτὰρ ὁ Κύκλωπας μεγάλʼ ἤπυεν, οἵ ῥά μιν ἀμφὶς ᾤκεον ἐν σπήεσσι διʼ ἄκριας ἠνεμοέσσας. οἱ δὲ βοῆς ἀίοντες ἐφοίτων ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος, ἱστάμενοι δʼ εἴροντο περὶ σπέος ὅττι ἑ κήδοι·
But he called loudly to the Cyclopes, who dwelt about him round about, in caves along the windy headlands. And they, hearing the shout, came thronging from every side, one here, one there, and standing around the cave they asked what troubled him:
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The setting
Blinded and roaring, Polyphemus calls for help; the other Cyclopes, who live in caves across the windy heights, come running.
A note on this passage
The trap begins to close in Odysseus's favour. Polyphemus bellows to his fellow Cyclopes, who live scattered in caves along the windy peaks. They come from every direction, crowd around the cave mouth, and ask what is wrong.
The moment turns on a world without common ground. These Cyclopes have no assembly and no shared roof; each lives apart on his own crag, as Book 9 has already told us. They can only shout questions through a wall — and that isolation, their having no way to see for themselves, is exactly what Odysseus's trick will exploit.
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