Book XII · Episode 4 of 5
Cattle of Helios
Starving crew kills Helios’ oxen
Scenes
- Sighting Thrinacia — Odysseus urges crew past lowing herds
- Crew escapes Scylla and Charybdis at last
- Sheep bleat as they near the island
- It recalls Tiresias’s and Circè’s warnings
- He grieves as he shares the oracles
- He warns of grave misfortune ahead
- Eurylochus’s Revolt — Eurylochus accuses, swears to spare herds
- Eurylochus calls him iron-willed
- He warns night winds are more dangerous
- The rest of the crew backs him
- Odysseus senses a god’s hand and yields
- Oath binds them to eat Circè’s food
- Trapped by Storm — Zeus’ storm traps crew, who mourn
- They moor in a sheltered creek
- They weep for comrades lost to Scylla
- Storm blackens the sky and sea
- Ship hides in a nymphs’ grotto
- He warns against touching Helios’ cattle
- Slaughter of the Oxen — Eurylochus leads slaughter, Odysseus prays
- Contrary winds strand them for a month
- They grow gaunt hunting fish and birds
- The gods lull him to sleep
- He vows a temple if they survive
- They sacrifice with oak leaves, not wine
- Helios’ Wrath — Helios spurs Zeus to wreck the ship
- Roasting meat wakes Odysseus on the shore
- He laments the wrong done while sleeping
- Lampetia reports the slain cattle
- He threatens to shine among the dead
- Odysseus later learns the plan from Calypso