8 Odysseus Finishes His Tale

CHAPTER 8 Odysseus Finishes His Tale And Odysseus had even more stories to tell the king and queen of Phaeacia! THE SIRENS "At last, we were clear of the River Styx and back onto the open sea," Odysseus continued. "My men and I could finally relax, now that we were out of the underworld. Each of us had been changed by that visit. No one spoke another word of the horrific

"After sailing for a few days, we came close to the island of the Sirens. The Sirens are magical singers. They enchant all who come near enough to hear them. Anyone who hears their song is drawn to their island and is never able to leave. Sirens' songs are irresistible. Listeners forget about home, family, and even food. They become wrapped in the melody and eventually waste away. "Circe had warned me about the Sirens. She advised me to fill my men's ears with wax. That way they'd never be able to hear the Sirens' songs. She suggested, though, that I listen in order to experience the rare pleasure. But first I must get my men to tie me to the ship's mast, she said. As we approached the island of the Sirens, my men tied me to the mast with the strongest knots. I made them promise not to untie me, no matter how I begged."

"And did you beg?" asked Queen Arete. Odysseus confessed that, after hearing the Sirens' song, he did. "For their voices were unlike any other in the world. They sang my past and future. They sang my fortunes and misfortunes. They sang my soul and mind all in the same tune. All temptation came from their throats. "I begged for my life to be let go. All I could think of was the island of the Sirens. I thought I would go mad as I was bound in those tight knots. But my men were trustworthy. They only made the ropes tighter. They quickened their rowing. Soon we were past the island and my mind quieted." SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS "After the Sirens," he continued, "we had to sail through a passage guarded by two

monsters, Scylla and Charybdis. Each monster sat at one edge of the passage. We had to decide which side to take. "We decided to take the side guarded by the monster Scylla. She had twelve feet and six necks! At the end of each neck she had a horrible head, each with three rows of teeth. She crunched men to death. As our ship sailed through, Scylla clawed and snapped at us. We were terrified, but Charybdis would have been a worse monster to pass. "Charybdis sat on the other side of the passage. She sucked the seawater all the way in, creating a whirlpool. Then she spit all the water back up, creating a giant wave. But Circe had advised us to pass on the Scylla side, so we did. "Scylla pounced on us with all of her horrible heads. She snatched up six of my best men, which threw me into another rage.

I had to contain my anger to save my other men. We managed to fight her off long enough to pass by her. "With that trouble behind us, we continued on. I knew my men needed to rest. So did I. We looked for a calm island where we could stay to refresh ourselves." THE ISLAND OF THE SUN GOD "Eventually we came to the island of the Sun God. This was the one Teiresias had told us about. The Sun God's very special sheep and cattle would be tempting. But these were the animals we had been warned not to touch." Odysseus explained that he and his men anchored at the island. They rested comfortably for a few days. With enough supplies to feed the crew, they left the sheep

and cattle alone. But soon they ran out of food. The men had even eaten all the fish from the sea. They were starving. The sheep and cattle were starting to tempt them. "But I warned them still not to touch the animals," Odysseus explained. "One day, I had gone inland in search of other food. My men could not stand their hunger any longer. They gave in. While I was gone, the men stole one of the cows. They put together a fire and threw themselves a feast. "I could smell the delicious roast meat as I got closer to our ship. I prayed, 'Please don't let that be what I think it is!' But of course, it was. My men had stolen and eaten one of the Sun God's cows. I began to scold them for disobeying. "But then the Sun God flew into a rage. His voice boomed overhead, cursing us in the