engl220 odyssey books x-xiv
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Odyssey X
They came next to the island of Aeolus, lord of the winds
Aeolus captured the winds
Put them in a bag, and gave the bag to Odysseus
They were almost home, when Odysseus got sleepy and his crew got curious
They opened the bag, and let loose a storm of wind
They were blown back to Aeolian Island
Believing they were cursed by the gods, Aeolus refused further aid
They sailed to the city of Telepylus on Lamus, land of the Laestrygonians.
Odysseus hides his ship, and they climb steep cliffs to explore the land
They meet a young girl
She takes them to the queen
King Antiphates shows up
He begins killing and eating the crew
Many escape to the beach
They run for the ships
The Laestrygonians throw rocks
Only Odysseus, his ship and its crew, survive
They sail on to Aeaea
Odysseus goes off alone and sees a hut
On his way back to his men, he kills a stag and they all feast
Eurylochus took 22 men into the woods.
When they reached Circe’s house, they found many tame animals
Circe changed men into animals
She had transformed her husband Picus
Into a woodpecker
Daughter of the sun, granddaughter of Oceanus, she was a powerful goddess
She used a potion.
And a wave of her wand
To turn men into beasts.
Eurylochus watched in hiding while the men became swine
Eurylochus ran back to the ship and told Odysseus the bad news
Odysseus vowed to rescue his crew
Odysseus got some help from Hermes
Hermes gave him some holy moly, an antidote to Circe’s potion
Circe welcomed Odysseus and offered him a drink
He drank, but when she waved her wand he pulled out his sword
Circe supplicated and asked him to go to bed with her
Odysseus made Circe swear an oath that she would not harm him.
She swore, and nookie ensued
Then a bath and lunch, but Odysseus wouldn’t eat until his men were men again
So she changed the pigs back into men, younger and stronger than before.
Odysseus and his men stayed with Circe for a year
Odysseus told Circe it was time for him to head home
Circe told Odysseus he would not get home unless he first went to the Underworld and talked to Tiresias
The last night of partying at Circe’s, Elpenor got drunk, fell off the roof, and died.
Odysseus and his men sailed to the land of Hades
Refer to the map on the previous slide for the locations of these events.
1. Troy: After 10 years of siege, the Greek forces capture and destroy the city; then they sail for home with their spoils. Homer's version is told in Iliad.
2. Coast of Thrace: Odysseus and his men destroy and plunder Ismarus, city of the Cicones, but are eventually driven away with losses.
3. Lotus-eaters: Blown off course, Odysseus' fleet lands on shores of North Africa or the island of Jerba, possible locations for the drugged natives.
4. Cyclops: Near Naples are the caves of Mt. Posillipo and the Phlegraean Fields; another possible location for Cyclops is Sicily.
5. Aeolus: Ruler of the Winds, he lives on Stromboli, the Aeolian Island. His gift to Odysseus of a leather pouch, which controls the wild winds, allows the fleet to sail in sight of Ithica, when the crew causes disaster.
6. Laestrygonians: Cape Bonifacio is at the south coast of Corsica, where a race of giants destroy all of the fleet and men except for Odysseus' boat and crew.
7. Circe: This beautiful, sinister goddess lives on the island of Aeaea, now associated with Monte Circeo. With her magic, she enslaves men by turning them into animals. She tells Odysseus that he must enter the Halls of Hades before he can return home.
8. Entrance to the Underworld: Lake Avernus, near Salerno; but Tim Severin interprets the descriptions as resembling locations on the Greek coast. Here Odysseus speaks with the dead and consults the blind prophet Tiresias.
9. Sirens: Isole li Galli in the Gulf of Sorrento are known as the Islands of the Sirens, where Odysseus is tied to the mast of his ship so he can listen to their deadly songs.
10. Scylla & Charybdis: The Straits of Messina contain the narrows where Scylla, monster of the ocean caves, and Charybdis, the whirlpool, challenge passage.
11. Thrinacia: Sicily, island home of the sun-god, Hyperion. Odysseus' remaining crew and boat are destroyed as punishment for killing Hyperion's protected cattle.
12. Calypso: Odysseus is washed up on Calypso's island of Ogygia, present-day Malta. He stays with this tempting goddess 7 years before the Olympian gods relent and let him resume his journey home.
13. Phaecians: Their secluded island, Scheria, is present-day Corfu. These magical sailors escort Odysseus home, after he tells his story.
14. Ithaca: Island home to which Odysseus returns after 20 years away from his faithful wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus.
15. Pylos: Home of King Nestor, with whom Telemachus consults.16. Sparta: Land of King Menelaus, whose wife, Helen, is at the center of the conflict causing the 10-year war with Troy.17. Mycenae: Land of Agamemnon, king of the Achaeans, brother of Menelaus. He was a major leader in the war
against Troy.18. Knossos: On present-day Crete, home of legendary King Minos whose vast constructions let to the legend of the
Labyrinth.
The Odyssey
Book XI
Odysseus and his men sail to Hades
Odysseus enters the underworld
He drinks the blood
Elpinor requests a proper burial
He consults with Tiresias
The ghosts drink blood so they may speak
Odysseus meets his mother
The ghosts of dead Trojan warriors
Odysseus speaks to Agamemnon
And Achilles
He sails back to Circe’s Island
BOOK XII
THE ODYSSEY
Elpinor is properly buried
Circe provides a feast
Circe gives Odysseus advice
She warns him about the sirens
Scylla and Charybdis
And above all, she tells him, do not molest the cattle of the sun
At dawn, Odysseus and his men set sail
Odysseus plugs the ears of his men with wax, and has them tie him to the mast
The sirens call to Odysseus
They tempt him with knowledge
Odysseus struggles, but his bindings hold
They sail away from the dangerous sirens
Odysseus orders his men to steer towards Scylla
In order to avoid the deadly whirlpool of Charybdis
Scylla’s six heads emerge
Each head grabs and devours a member of the crew
Exhausted and demoralized, the men demand to stop and rest on the island of the sun
Odysseus makes the men promise not to molest the livestock on this island
But when supplies run out, the men fear starvation and disobey
They kill the cattle
When the men eat, the meat moves and moos
Lampetia flies up and complains to the sun
Helios vows to destroy the ship
Lightning strikes the ship
Only Odysseus survives, clinging to the keel
Odysseus is carried back to Charybdis
He clings to a fig tree
As his ship is sucked down…
Odysseus gets back on his raft, and floats for nine days until he washes up on Calypso’s island
Odysseus thus ends his tale
Book XIII
Alcinous asks each of his guests to donate a tripod and cauldron to Odysseus
One more day of feast and song
Next morn, Odysseus wishes Arête a special farewell
He goes onboard the Phaecian ship
Nausicaa watches him depart.
The Phaecian sailors put the sleeping Odysseus and his gifts ashore at Ithaca
Athena disguises Ithaca
Athena turns Odysseus into an old beggar
Athena flies off to get Telemachus
Book XIV
Odysseus goes to the hut of the swineherd