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
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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