Answer: how hot the spear actually is An epic simile, or Homeric simile, is a rhetorical figure that compares, in a relatively lengthy manner, a strange or unfamiliar occurrence with a familiar event or thing. It is usually presented during moments of turmoil and it helps the reader reflect calmly on the scene being depicted.
In the excerpt above, the comparison is made between the blinding of the Cyclops with a hot spike, and how an iron spear is made by first making it hot and they quickly cooling it in order to mold it properly, just like the hot spear used by Odysseus cooled off as it entered the Cyclops eye.
