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Odysseus And Circe In The Odyssey

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Many of the crew members were invited in the palace for some food and drinks. However, this food was drugged and turned the men into swine. One of Odysseus’ men decided to stay outside of the palace while the others went in. This man went back to tell Odysseus of what had happened. On the way to the palace, Odysseus met Hermes, the messenger god, who gave the hero a gift: “Hermes gave Odysseus an herb to counteract the effects of Circe’s drug. Odysseus overpowered Circe, and she agreed to restore his men to human form” (Mabey). After restoring the men, they all stayed with Circe for a year before continuing their journey. Within this time, Odysseus was enticed and became the father of Telegonus. Circe advised Odysseus to go to the underworld and seek the counsel of Tiresias, a blind prophet, on how to get back to Ithaca. Before sending Odysseus on his way, Circe warned him about some of the dangers that he will face on the way such as the Sirens and the island of Helios. Soon Odysseus and his men were on their way to the land of the dead.
After arriving here, Odysseus was told by the seer Tiresias if a sacrifice was made to Poseidon for blinding Polyphemus, the men would eventually return to Ithaca (Wright 40). Before letting Odysseus leave, Tiresias warned the men of …show more content…

Both Circe and Tiresias had warned Odysseus about these creatures, so Odysseus knew the effects of their singing. Odysseus told his men to plug their ears with beeswax in order to block out the sound. However, Odysseus wanted to be able to hear the sound that these creatures made, so he told his men to tie him to the mast of the boat to help him resist the temptation of the Sirens’ singing. As the boat passed the island, Odysseus struggled to break free and join the Sirens, but he resisted the desire and was able to continue on with his

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Given the leader he is, when Odysseus and his men encountered the sirens, his men were quick to follow his instructions with diligence. Homer writes, “Sirens weakening a haunting song over the sea we are to shun”(690-691). The sirens sing a songs to lure sailors to their death. Homer writes, “I alone should listen to their song”(693-694). Odysseus knowing what the sirens purpose and having prior knowledge of the things the sirens would say to him.

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In The Odyssey, Odysseus is faced with a lot of things that tempt him to fall off track. One of the temptations Odysseus faces are the sirens. “No one ever sailed past us without staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song – and he who listens will go on his way not only charmed, but wiser, for we know all the ills that the gods laid upon the archives and Trojans before Troy…” (Homer 137). In this quote the sirens are trying to lure Odysseus and his men off trail. The sirens’ beauty and voices tempt Odysseus and his men to go to them.

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Odysseus suffered the consequence of being away from his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope for 20 years. Odysseus was told by Athena and other gods, what to do during his journey. All of them told Odysseus that he couldn’t tell his men because they’d suffer a consequence. Odysseus listened to Athena and the gods because he only thought about himself and didn 't think about what his crew would say or do. When Odysseus and his crew passed by the mainland where the Cyclops lived, they were only going to stay for two days, but then out of curiosity, Odysseus wanted to see what kind of beast the Cyclops was which made them almost die.

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