Odysseus chooses not to kill the Cyclops, Polyphemus, because to do so would spell certain death for himself and his crew. When he came to the cave, Polyphemus had "swung high overhead a slab of solid rock to close the cave," and if Odysseus kills him, there will be no way to move the stone and they will all eventually die inside. Therefore, he decides to wound the monster in such a way that he will still be physically capable of moving the stone, but will be less able to catch them. In the meantime, the monster does eat a few more of Odysseus's crew, but he is able to save the vast majority of them with his new plan. He determines to get the monster drunk and blind him while he sleeps, but Odysseus first tells him that his name is "Nobody" so that when other Cyclopes come to his aid, Polyphemus will tell them that "Nobody" is hurting him. This plan succeeds very well, and because he is able to save so many more men than he loses, it seems to me to be a very sound plan.
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