Wow. This was an amazing chapter. And pretty scary as well. This chapter brings us to the end of Odysseus' story of his journey from Troy to Kalypso.
Odysseus and his crew return to Circe's island where she tells Odysseus of the danger he and his men will face to return home. They also bury one of their men who died on the island. I left this out of earlier posts; but one of there men, a younger one, got a little too drunk one night and accidentally slept on Circe's roof. In the morning he took a bad step and dropped from the roof to his death.
Now they set sail. Odysseus warns them of the first danger. The Sirens. The seductive enchanters of men doomed to never return home. Odysseus takes Circe's advice and places wax in his men's ears so they won't hear. But he has himself tied to the mast so that he may listen without fear of following the enchanting melody.
Not much happened with them though. They sail past. That's about it. But here comes the scary part. Skylla and Charybdis. They must sail past these two "demons." Charybdis is a terrible monster who sucks down the water and vomits it back up three times everyday. Skylla has six terrifying head that reach down to pull men to a horrific death by her wretched teeth. And she is enshrouded in smoke that never dissipates. You also never see Charybdis. It's seems to be most terrifying when you can't see it.
Odysseus chooses not to tell his men of the dangers here for fear they might lose all strength in their fear. He has them sail close to the rock where Skylla rests. Almost instantly, six men are lost. Odysseus hears their pitiful, wretched cries for help. They all mourn and keep on there path.
Now they arrive at Thrinakia. Odysseus warns them not to slaughter Helios' animals. They agree so long as Circe's provisions last. Then they get stuck there for a month by a storm. Food doesn't last forever. They falter and slaughter Helios' live stock when Odysseus is away. Helios isn't happy. He threatens to no longer light the world of mortals if he doesn't receive reparations. Zeus agrees to punish them.
After they set sail it's not a long wait until Zeus punishes them. All but Odysseus drift away in the powerful ocean. He grabs onto what's left of the his boat and drifts with the sea.
This is another really scary part. He is carried back to Skylla and Charybdis. He gets pulled towards Charybdis as she swallows the ocean around her. He quickly grabs the branch of the fig tree growing from the rock above the ocean. Now he watches as what's left of his ship is swallowed into the black nothing of Charybdis.
That's scary as anything right there. Hanging by a tree branch while you look down to see nothing. A monster you can't see under the dark waters of the ocean. Fearful that you might see a horrific figure appear from the abyss below you.
But thankfully Odysseus is lucky. Charybdis vomits back out the water with the remains of Odysseus ship. The gods protect him against Skylla who then doesn't take any notice of him. Now he makes his way woefully towards Kalypso's island.
Here is where his tale of the journey from Troy to Kalypso ends. Just wow. I can't wait to see what else happens as he heads home again. I think this chapter did for sailing what "Jaws" did for swimming. This man had a terrifying and woeful journey. He deserves to get home.
Hope you enjoyed as always. Bye.
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