The Odyssey - Book 12 (SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS)

• Odysseus and his crew reached the island of Aeaea where they beached their ship. As soon as dawn appeared Odysseus sent a party off to Circe's house in order to fetch the dead body of Elphenor. 
• When they had burnt Elphenors corpse with his armour they built him a barrow, hauled up a stone for monument and planted his oar at the top of the mound. 
• Circe then became aware of their return to Aeaea and came down with her handmaids laden with bread, meat and sparkling wine. 
• She told Odysseus and his men to rest for the rest of the day on her island and then at daybreak tomorrow to sail. She says that she will give them the route they must take.
• For the rest of the day Odysseus and his men took Circe's advice and feasted and drank with their rich supply of meat and mellow wine. 
• Once Odysseus' men had retired to bed for the night Circe took Odysseus' hand and sat him down away from his comrades. 
• Circe told Odysseus that his next encounter would be with the sirens "who bewitch everybody who approaches them". She tells Odysseus that he needs to soften some beeswax and plug the crews ears with it. But if he wants to listen himself he is to get his crew to bind himself to the mast and if he wants to be released his crew is to tighten the ropes and add more knots. 
• Circe tells him that once he has passed the sirens he has two routes which he can take. The first route which Odysseus can take is one which will lead him to the Wandering Rocks where there is "no escape whatever". The second route which Odysseus and his crew can take is where the two rocks are. One of the rocks is sky high and is the home of Scylla "the creature with the dreadful bark". She is a "repulsive monster". She has twelve feet and six scrawny long necks. The other of the rocks is Charybdis who sucks the waters down. Circe tells Odysseus that he must go towards Circe as it is better for him to lose six of his men rather than all of his men. Circe says that the best option for Odysseus is flight rather than fight against Scylla. 
• Circe then tells Odysseus that he will next come across the island of Thrinacie where the sun gods cattle are. She tells him that if he leaves them untouched then he will return home but not without suffering whereas if he touches the cattle he will reach home late having lost all of his comrades. 
• Circe then came to an end and Odysseus went back to his ship and ordered his men to untie the hawsers. 
• The Circe sent them a friendly, favourable wind. 
• Odysseus told his men firstly about the sirens and what they must do in order to survive them. 
• Odysseus then took a large amount of wax, cut it up with his sword and warmed the pieces up with his fingers. He gave two pieces to all of his men for them to plug their ears. His men then bound them to the mast. 
• When the sirens came aware that Odysseus was approaching in his ship they broke into their high, clear song. 
• As they approached Odysseus ordered his men to set him free but they did as he instructed before and tightened his ropes as well as adding more knots. 
• "My men were terrified" 
• After Odysseus and his men had passed the sirens Odysseus gave his men a motivational speech saying how if they survived the cyclops they can survive this. 
• Odysseus didn't however mention the horror of Scylla fearing that his men might stop rowing in panic. 
• Odysseus didn't listen to Circe's advice and armed himself ready to fight off Scylla but he couldn't see her anywhere. 
• They started to sail up the straits with Scylla on one side and Charybdis on the other side. 
• Scylla snatched out of Odysseus' ship six of his best men who all called out to Odysseus in anguish. 
• Scylla ate the comrades in front of her own door and the men shrieked and stretched out their hands to Odysseus in order for his help. 
• When they finally left the rock, Scylla and Charybdis behind they soon reached the sun gods island where Hyperion kept the cattle. 
• Then the words of Tiresias, the Theban prophet and Circe came into mind. As they had all been so insistent on him not touching Hyperions cattle. 
• Odysseus then warned his crew about the island asking them to drive past it. However Eurylochus asked Odysseus to let them have the evening on lands as they have been through a lot and need to cook their supper. 
• Odysseus agrees but tells his men they are not to kill or harm any of the cattle in the island which Circe hasn't given them. He doesn't tell his men about what will happen if they do kill the cattle however. 
• the crew all promised and swore an oath that they wouldn't harm the cattle and they started to prepare their supper out of the food which Circe had provided. 
• As soon as Dawn appeared the men beached the ship in a hollow cave. 
• Odysseus reminded them again that they aren't to touch the cattle, especially as they have a lot of food on board the ship. 
• Eurylochus once Odysseus had gone, said to the crew that they are all really hungry and dying of starvation is no way to die so they should take some of the cattle and sacrifice them to the gods, and then once they reach their home in Ithaca again their first act will be to build Hyperion a massive temple and fill it with precious offerings. 
• His idea was taken well by the rest of Odysseus' crew and so they went in search of Hyperions cattle. 
• They then started their ceremony towards the gods using leaves off an oak tree as they had no white barley left. Once they had done their prayers they split the cows neck and flayed them then cut our slices from the thighs, wrapped them in folds of fat and laids raw meat above them.
• As Odysseus approached from sleeping in the ship he could smell the burn going roast and exclaimed in horror.
• Calypso later told Odysseus that Lampetie ran to Hyperion and told him that they had killed his cattle. 
• He tells Zeus that they need to repay him in full for the slaughter of his cows. 
• Zeus replies saying he will strike their ship with a blinding bolt which will smash it to pieces. 
• Back on Thrinacie the hides of the cattle start to crawl around. 
• For six days Odysseus' men feasted on the cattle and then they left the island. 
• As soon as they left the island a wind struck their ship, men were thrown overboard and the whole ship broke. Odysseus was swept back to Charybdis and Scylla where he clung to the fig tree "like a bat". 
• Luckily Scylla didn't catch sight of Odysseus. 
• He drifted for nine days but on the tenth day the gods washed him up on the island with Ogygia where Calypso looked after him for seven years. 
• He then stops his story as he has already told it to the Phaeacians.