The Odyssey Book XII

Book XII

Circe’s Island

• Odysseus returns to Aeaea to bury the body of Elpenor.

• He spends one more night with Circe.

• Odysseus having had passed the test of Circe, he asked for advice as a show of Xenia.

Circe’s Response

• Circe describes to Odysseus that he will have many trials on the way home.

Sirens• Circe tells Odysseus to avoid the

Sirens, but if he must listen to their song, then to tie himself to the mast of his ship and block his men’s ears with softened bee’s wax.

The Wandering Rocks

• The next terror that Odysseus faced was the decision between Scylla or Charybdis

• Scylla- The six headed monster who would eat six men only.

• Charybdis- A huge water demon who would swallow any ship that got caught in its surge.

• Odysseus continues and as predicted lands on Thrinacia (the island of the sun)

• Eurylochus convinces Odysseus to stop and they become stranded because of bad winds

• They run out of food and then as Odysseus sleeps, Eurylochus leads the men to eat Helios’ cattle.

Thrinacia

Which ultimately leads to their Doom…

Odysseus Alone

• He floats alone on a piece of drifting ship, until he comes to Calypso’s island, Ogygia

• And so we come to the beginning of