Which central idea should be included in a paraphrase of this excerpt? The forces sent by Cicones to fight Odysseus and his men arrived during the early morning hours.
Odysseus and his men feasted on the animals they slaughtered while on the island of Cicones.
The forces sent by Cicones to stop the plundering of Odysseus and his men were skilled and powerful.
Odysseus views the forces sent by Cicones as punishment from the Greek god Zeus.

The central idea which should be included in a paraphrase of this excerpt is:

According to the given question, we are asked to show the central idea which should be included in a paraphrase of this excerpt.

As a result of this, we can see that from the complete text, there is a narration about the travails of King Odysseus of Ithaca on his return from the Trojan war and they faced the army of Cicones and they were strong and powerful and were meant to stop Odysseus and his men from their plundering.

Therefore, the correct answer is option C

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The forces sent by Cicones to stop the plundering of Odysseus and his men were skilled and powerful.

Explanation:

In the given excerpt from Homer's The Odyssey Book IX, Odysseus recounts how his men were feasting and enjoying on the island of the Ismarus. They did not act well and so they were attacked by the Cicones.

The central idea that may be included in the paraphrase of the given excerpt is that the forces sent by Cicones to stop the plundering of Odysseus and his men were skilled and powerful. This is evident from the words "They came with dawn over that terrain like the leaves and blades of spring. So doom appeared to us, dark word of Zeus for us, our evil days." These words reveal how skilled the army sent by the Cicones were.

Thus, the correct answer is the third option.