Odyssey Books 10-17 Summaries

The Odyssey
Books 10-17 Summaries
By Erin Salona

Book TENThe Bag of Winds and the Witch Circe
Odysseus & men land on island of Aeolia
Aeolus, the wind king, puts all the winds in a bag so that the men won’t be harmed on the voyage
Odysseus’ sailors open the bag of wind on the boat & hurricanes ensue
They are blown back to Aeolia with no sympathy from Aeolus

Next, they sail to the land of the giant Laestrygonians (lees-trih-GOH-nee-unz) & some of the Laestrygonians, cannibals, eat some of Odysseus’ men.
Then, with one ship left, they land on Aeaea, home to the witch Circe.
Eurylochus, leads a party of 22 men to explore the island.
They find Circe surrounded by many wild animals.

Book 10: Laestrygonians
King Antiphates & Queen

Circe looks harmless since she is singing and weaving & the men think she might be a goddess.
Eurylochus did not go in to meet her since he sensed something evil within Circe.
Circe feeds the men and gives them laced wine which turns them into pigs.
Hermes gives Odysseus an antidote to eat to work against Circe’s power & he rushes to her home.

Book 10
Then Odysseus should threaten Circe with death, at which point Circe will offer to sleep with him.
Odysseus must sleep with her, as it will break her spell over his crew.
Odysseus visits Circe, and the plant works its magic against her poison.
He goes through with Hermes' plan, and because of his fortitude she takes him to be the great Odysseus.

Book 10
As Hermes predicted, Circe asks Odysseus to sleep with her; he first makes her promise not to use any more enchantments.
After they retire to Circe’s bedchamber, she turns them back into men, now looking better than ever.
Circe tells Odysseus to have his men bring their ships and gear ashore and come back with everyone.
They all return but the still suspicious Eurylochos.

Circe releases all of Odysseus’ men, and since she is the most beautiful immortal, he agrees to her request to have Odysseus and his men stay with her for a year.
They beg Circe to help them get home.
She warns them that they will have to confront Hades, King of the Underworld, and his wife Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.

Circe gives Odysseus very specific instructions regarding how to reach the Underworld because one cannot simply take a boat there
Odysseus must go to Persephone’s land, find the place where two rivers meet and drain into the river Styx, and then dig a trench.
In the Underworld, the men will have to consult with Teiresias, the blind prophet, make sacrifices of animals, & confront ghosts.

Book ELEVENThe Land of the Dead
Odysseus’s voyage to the Land of the Dead symbolizes the darkest depths of our souls that we must all confront on life’s journey.
Odysseus must ask Teiresias how to arrive home to Ithaca.
Teiresias’s blindness suggests his true insight or prophecy.
In the Underworld, Odysseus sacrifices sheep to the gods and the dead watch him
Teiresias tells Odysseus that Poseidon will make his journey home difficult

Teiresias tells Odysseus not to eat Helios’, the sun god’s, cattle & to make sacrifices to Poseidon
He says Odysseus will come home alone to find the suitors at his house which he will kill
Odysseus sees his mother Anticleia, a ghost, who died of a broken heart when Odysseus did not return home from Troy

Anticleiaassures Odysseus of his wife’s loyalty and he tries to embrace her but can’t
Odysseus sees many heroes in the Underworld he once knew, such as Achilles and Agamemnon
Agamemnon tells Odysseus that he must return to Ithaca in disguise in order to spy on wife Penelope.
Agamemnon is distrustful of wives after his wife & her lover murdered Agamemnon
upon his return.

Book TWELVEThe Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis
Odysseus has returned to Circe’s island & she warns him of the dangers of his journey
Circe warns the men of the Sirens, beautiful, bird-like women whose music enchants men so that they may kill them
No sailor has ever survived the lure of the sirens.

Book Twelve
Circetells Odysseus to plug the men’s ears with wax so they can’t hear the Sirens
The men will continue to steer the boat past the Sirens.
Odysseus can be tied to the mast of the boat so he can hear them

Circe tells the men that the 2nd danger to avoid is the den of Scylla, a monster who has 12 legs and 6 serpent’s necks and heads.
She has 3 rows of sharp teeth.
She will eat 6 men at once.

Book Twelve
The 3rd danger is the whirlpool Charybdis
Circe tells the men that they should hug the cliffs of Scylla because it is better to lose 6 men than an entire boat of men.
The 4th danger are Helios’ cattle. If the men eat them, the ship & crew will be destroyed– but not Odysseus.

Odysseus never tells the men of the last prophecy (Helios’s cattle)
(Remember: Odysseus is still telling his story to King Alcinous)
The men survive the Sirens.
The men drop their oars out of fear when they see Scylla & Charybdis.
Scylla eats 6 of the men.
They avoid Charybdis.

Odysseus tells the men not to eat Helios’ cattle when they arrive on Thrinakia for a rest
After a month of storms, the men are hungry and kill a cow.
The men eat Helios’ cattle & are punished at sea by a thunderbolt from Zeus.
Odysseus is the only one who survived & is rescued on Calypso’sisland.

Book Twelve
*Odysseus is finished telling his story to King Alcinous
*We are back at book 5.
Chronologically, Odysseus voyage is as follows: Book 9-12, 5-8, 13-24

Book Thirteen
Odysseus stops telling his story to Alcinous
King Alcinous helps him home to Ithaca
Athena comes to Odysseus, disguised as a shepherd & then a woman
Athena turns Odysseus into an old beggar to protect him

Book Fourteen
Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, visits Eumaeus, his old loyal swineherd.
Odysseus tells him that Odysseus, his lord, will be home soon to take vengeance on the suitors– he is not dead
Eumaeus warns him of the suitors’ plans to ambush Telemachus

Book Fifteen
Athena finds Telemachusat King Menelaus & Helen’s and urges him to return home lest his mother marry one of the suitors
She also warns him of the suitors’ fatal plans, and tells him to find Eumaeus and have him deliver the message to Penelope that he has returned home.

Book SIXTEENThe Meeting of Father and Son
Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus’ hut. Odysseus is still there, disguised as a beggar.
Eumaeus is thrilled to see Telemachus
Telemachus asks him if his mother remarried and Eumaeus says “no.”
Telemachus tells “the stranger” he will protect him as best he can

Book SIXTEENThe Meeting of Father and Son
Eumaeus tells Penelope of Telemachus’s return
Athena makes Odysseus look like a better version of himself
At first, Telemachus is afraid of Odysseus– thinks he is a god
Then, Telemachus is happy to see his father after 20 years
Odysseus asks Telemachus to keeps his arrival secret, even to Penelope

Book SEVENTEENThe Beggar and the Faithful Dog
Telemachusreturns home & Penelope and Eurycleia, his nurse, greet him.
A soothsayer/ seer named Theocylmenus is with Telemachus, and he tells Penelope Odysseus will be home soon
Penelope can’t believe him due to years of disappointment

Book SEVENTEENThe Beggar and the Faithful Dog
Odysseus returns home, disguised as a beggar, with Eumaeus
Argos, Odysseus’s old dog who he hasn’t seen in 20 years, remembers him
Argos is found sleeping on a pile of dung/ manure.
Argos dies after seeing Odysseus

Book Seventeen
Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, goes to the hall and asks each suitor for food, testing their loyalty.
They all give him food, except for Antinous, who throws a stool at him
Penelope has heard that the beggar has news of her husband and protects him
Penelope scolds Telemachus for not protecting the beggar from the suitors.

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Odyssey Books 10-17 Summaries

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