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Odyssey summary book 12
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A short concise summary of book 12 of Homer’s Odyssey
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Ingrid Rees Classical Civilisation 6.12.21Book 12 Summary: Scylla and Charybdis
Odysseus’ ship reached the island of Aeaea at dawn
They beached the ships and climbed onto the shore
Odysseus sets off to Circe’s house with a small party to retrieve the corpse of
Elpenor
They performed the correct funeral rights and Circe came to greet them
She brought with her with a large supply of meat and sparkling wine
She invites them to spend the rest of the day with her, enjoying the xenia
She announces that the next morning at dawn they will set sail
When the men had gone to bed, Circe lead Odysseus to her bed and ordered him to
tell her everything
She tells him that his next encounter will be with the sirens
She tells him to sail past them, blocking his men’s ears with wax and lash himself to
the mast
He will then come to the cliffs called the Wandering Rocks
She tells Odysseus that the only ship to ever survive that passage was the Argo
She then tells Odysseus of the cave where Scylla lives
She has 12 feet and six necks on which hangs a head full of fangs and she fishes from
her cave and she has a bark no louder than a newborn puppy
The other rock is where you’ll find Charybdis; Scylla’s sister
Circe tells him to sail close to Scylla’s rock since it is better to lose six men than the
whole crew
Odysseus agrees
Circe tells Odysseus to not fight Scylla as she is near impossible to kill and tells
Odysseus that he is always spoiling for a fight
Circe says that the next place Odysseus will reach is the island of Thrinacie, where he
will find the sun-god’s cattle. He must not touch them
As dawn broke, Circe left Odysseus and the men set off
Circe sent them off with a favourable wind
Odysseus tells his men what Circe told him whilst the ship approached the sirens’
island
Odysseus blocked the ears of his men and they lashed him to the mast
When the sirens sensed a ship, they began to sing
Odysseus asked his men to free him so that he may go to the sirens. His men refused
When they passed the island of the sirens, the men untied Odysseus and unplugged
their ears
They then heard the sound of the passage where Scylla and Charybdis lived
Odysseus gives courage to his men and orders them to stick close to Scylla’s rock
Odysseus ignored Circe’s instruction not to fight and donned his armour
While the men were focussed on Charybdis, Scylla ate six men
They then escaped the passage of Scylla and Charybdis
They then reached Thrinacie and Odysseus recalled the warnings telling him not to
touch the cattle
Odysseus sailed passed the island
The men complained about this, especially Eurylochus, who says that they should
land for the night and leave at first dawn
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