Summary: Book 12
Odysseus returns to Aeaea, where he buries Elpenor and
spends one last night with Circe. She describes the obstacles that
he will face on his voyage home and tells him how to negotiate them.
As he sets sail, Odysseus passes Circe’s counsel on to his men.
They approach the island of the lovely Sirens, and Odysseus, as
instructed by Circe, plugs his men’s ears with beeswax and has them
bind him to the mast of the ship. He alone hears their song flowing
forth from the island, promising to reveal the future. The Sirens’
song is so seductive that Odysseus begs to be released from his
fetters, but his faithful men only bind him tighter.
Once they have passed the Sirens’ island, Odysseus and
his men must navigate the straits between Scylla and Charybdis.
Scylla is a six-headed monster who, when ships pass, swallows one
sailor for each head. Charybdis is an enormous whirlpool that threatens
to swallow the entire ship. As instructed by Circe, Odysseus holds
his course tight against the cliffs of Scylla’s lair. As he and
his men stare at Charybdis on the other side of the strait, the
heads of Scylla swoop down and gobble up six of the sailors.
Odysseus next comes to Thrinacia, the island of the Sun.
He wants to avoid it entirely, but the outspoken Eurylochus persuades him
to let his beleaguered crew rest there. A storm keeps them beached
for a month, and at first the crew is content to survive on its provisions
in the ship. When these run out, however, Eurylochus persuades the
other crew members to disobey Odysseus and slaughter the cattle
of the Sun. They do so one afternoon as Odysseus sleeps; when the
Sun finds out, he asks Zeus to punish Odysseus and his men. Shortly
after the Achaeans set sail from Thrinacia, Zeus kicks up another
storm, which destroys the ship and sends the entire crew to its
death beneath the waves. As had been predicted, only Odysseus survives,
and he just barely. The storm sweeps him all the way back to Charybdis,
which he narrowly escapes for the second time. Afloat on the broken
timbers of his ship, he eventually reaches Ogygia, Calypso’s island.
Odysseus here breaks from his story, stating to the Phaeacians that
he sees no reason to repeat to them his account of his experience
on Ogygia.
Summary: Book 13
The account of his wanderings now finished, Odysseus looks
forward to leaving Scheria. The next day, Alcinous loads his gifts
on board the ship that will carry Odysseus to Ithaca. Odysseus sets
sail as soon as the sun goes down. He sleeps the whole night, while
the Phaeacian crew commands the ship. He remains asleep even when the
ship lands the next morning. The crew gently carries him and his gifts
to shore and then sails for home.
When Poseidon spots Odysseus in Ithaca, he becomes enraged
at the Phaeacians for assisting his nemesis. He complains to Zeus,
who allows him to punish the Phaeacians. Just as their ship is pulling
into harbor at Scheria, the prophecy mentioned at the end of Book 8 is fulfilled:
the ship suddenly turns to stone and sinks to the bottom of the
sea. The onlookers ashore immediately recognize the consummation
of the prophecy and resolve to abandon their custom of helping wayward
travelers.
Back in Ithaca, Odysseus wakes to find a country that
he doesn’t recognize, for Athena has shrouded it in mist to conceal
its true form while she plans his next move. At first, he curses
the Phaeacians, whom he thinks have duped him and left him in some
unknown land. But Athena, disguised as a shepherd, meets him and
tells him that he is indeed in Ithaca. With characteristic cunning,
Odysseus acts to conceal his identity from her until she reveals
hers. Delighted by Odysseus’s tricks, Athena announces that it is
time for Odysseus to use his wits to punish the suitors. She tells
him to hide out in the hut of his swineherd, Eumaeus. She informs
him that Telemachus has gone in search of news of him and gives
him the appearance of an old vagabond so that no one will recognize
him.
