Temptation in the Story of Helios’s Cattle In the stories of Greek mythology, besides an entertaining story, there is often a moral or deeper meaning. Many times in the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, these morals can be found, especially the moral of the force of temptation. In The Odyssey, Odysseus, the protagonist, is a warrior on a long and troubled journey on his way back home after war. Along the journey, Odysseus is put through several trials and tragedies. One of these trials starts at the home of the nymph, Circe. There, Circe warns Odysseus that that he and his shipmates will soon land on an island where Helios, the sun god, holds his cattle. She warns him that if he or his crew kills any of the cattle, they will bring the wrath of the gods. Armed with the warning they continue their journey and soon they land on the foretold island. A moral of temptation and resistance of temptation is found when they do. In the story of Helios’s cattle, the crew shows how desperation and weakness can make one prone to following their temptation. When they first land on the island, the men are content to leave the cattle alone as they have enough food. However, soon food runs low and they are forced to scrounge to sustain themselves. The lack of …show more content…
After the men have feasted upon the forbidden cattle and are no longer hungry, they, along with Odysseus, board their ship ready to sail back home. However, in an act of revenge for Helios, Zeus creates a raging storm and “hit the craft with a lightning bolt and thunder… shipmates pitching our of her, bobbing round like Seahawks and swept along by the whitecaps past the trim black hull-and the god cut short their journey home forever” (12.447). None of the ship’s crew survives the storm, leaving only Odysseus, who didn’t eat the cattle, alive. The death of Odysseus’ shipmates shows the results of their weakness and