Thursday, January 31, 2019

Reading Notes: Homer's Odyssey, Part B

A sculpture of the great Greek hero, Odysseus, from the legendary mythos.

The story picks up right where it left off in Part A of the anthology, as Odysseus and his crew have fled from the sorceress Circe and left her island intact, but sailing toward the realm of Hades, which is a very dangerous task. After sailing to the Land of the Cimmerians, Odysseus prepares sacrifices, as instructed by Circe to attract the souls of the dead to him in order to speak with Tiresias, a blind prophet that will lead him home. They encounter and speak with ghosts, including the recently deceased Elpenor, who passed away after getting drunk and falling, which broke his neck. Tiresias tells Odysseus that Poseidon is punishing him and reveals the situation with the suitors to him that is occurring back at his palace. After he speaks with Tiresias, the spirits of his mother, Agamemnon, Ajax, and many famous women, and is quickly overtaken by many spirits, causing his men to have to sail away to escape the spirits. Odysseus, at the instruction of Circe, is tied to the mast of his ship and his and his crew mates ears are to be filled with beeswax in order to down out the song of the sirens, an iconic moment in Greek mythology. He and his men hold fast to the path told to him by Circe, and the ship survives at the expense of 6 of his men being eaten. 

Bibliography: The Odyssey by Homer (translated by Tony Kline in 2000). http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-homers-odyssey.html

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