Book 12 - Sea Perils & Defeat Flashcards
Major Characters in Passage and Book
Odysseus, Helios
Setting
Helios’ island of cattle(?)
Passages
No, hug the cliff of Skylla, take your ship through on a racing stroke. Better to mourn six men than lose them all, and the ship, too.
Oh Father Zeus and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus’ men! So overweening. Now they have killed my peaceful kine… Restitution or penalty they shall pay- And pay in full- or I go down forever to light the dead men in the underworld.
Summary
Book twelve takes place during daytime when Odysseus and his men are out at sea, heading towards Ithaka. Odysseus remembers Kirke’s warning about the Sirens and that they should row the boat with their lives at stake when passing the mountains on which Scylla lives on. They made it to the land on which Helios keeps his cattle and prays. The only answer from the gods was for him to sleep but when he fell asleep, his men got hungry and killed the cattle for their dinner. Their boat got destroyed and his men also died in the chaos that followed with the death of the cattle. Odysseus got separated and stayed afloat with a log and reached Kalypso’s island. Thus, ending his story of when he washed ashore on Kalypso’s island and several years after, washed up on Alkinoo’s island.
