The Odyssey, Book 12 summary

What happens

1. After Elpenor’s funeral, Circe explains the dangers ahead and warns Ulysses against harming the sun god’s animals.
2. Wax protects the crew from the Sirens, while Ulysses hears their song bound securely to the mast.
3. Ulysses hides Scylla’s threat from his men, and she seizes and eats six as they pass Charybdis.
4. The crew insist on landing at the sun god’s island, where prolonged bad winds exhaust their provisions.
5. While Ulysses sleeps, Eurylochus persuades the starving men to kill cattle; Lampetie reports the slaughter, and Jove promises punishment.
6. Jove wrecks the departing ship; Ulysses alone survives, escapes Charybdis again, and drifts to Ogygia.

In this book

What to notice

Ulysses admits that his authority cannot overcome the crew’s united demand to land. Their decision places them beside the animals they must not harm.

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