Books 9-12: Summary

After revealing his identity to the Phaeacians at the feast, Odysseus narrates the story of his wanderings. Following the victory at Troy, he and his men sail to Ismarus, the stronghold of the Cicones. They sack the city, kill the men, enslave the women, and enjoy a rich haul of plunder. Odysseus advises his men to leave immediately with their riches, but they ignore his warnings. The Cicones gather reinforcements and launch a counterattack. Odysseus and his men retreat by sea. Storms blow the ships off course, but they finally arrive at the land of the Lotus-eaters. The inhabitants are not hostile; however, eating the lotus plant causes Odysseus’ men to lose memory and all desire to return home. With difficulty, Odysseus forces them back onto the ships and they sail with low spirits.

The next stop is the land of the Cyclops, lawless one-eyed giants who do not welcome visitors. One of them, Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, traps Odysseus and his men in his cave. Odysseus offers Polyphemus some wine, which he drinks until he is sick and weak. Odysseus then tells Polyphemus that his name is “Nobody” and then drives a red-hot poker into his eye to blind him. Odysseus manages to escape with the rest of his crew. Before departing, he tells Polyphemus his real name. As Odysseus sails off, Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, for revenge.

Having escaped the Cyclops, Odysseus and his men arrive at the home of Aeolus, master of the winds, where they rest and recuperate for a month. Before leaving, Odysseus receives an ox-skin pouch from Aeolus, which contains all the winds strong enough to move ships off course. Only the West Wind is left free to blow them toward Ithaca.

After sailing for ten days, the Greeks are close enough to home to see men tending to fires on their island. A tired Odysseus falls asleep. Expecting to find a hidden treasure, the crewmen open the ox-skin pouch, inadvertently releasing heavy winds that blow them right back to Aeolus’ island. Assuming that the gods do not favour Odysseus, Aeolus refuses to help him further.

With no favoring wind at all, the Greeks are forced to row, and they come upon the land of the Laestrygonians, the flesh-eating giants. Odysseus sends some men ahead to investigate, and they are all eaten by the giants. Odysseus and the remaining men try to escape, but the giants hurl boulders toward them, making the ships sink. Only Odysseus’ vessel escapes. It sails to the island of Aeaea, home of the goddess Circe. She transforms Odysseus’s men into pigs, but Odysseus manages to escape this fate with the aid of Hermes.

Next, Odysseus and his men reach the Land of the Dead, the home of the Cimmerians. Odysseus follows Circe’s instructions, digging a trench at the prescribed site for libations of milk, honey, mellow wine, and pure water. He then sacrifices a ram and an ewe, whose flowing blood attracts the dead. First to appear is Elpenor, one of Odysseus’ men who’d died just before the crew left Circe’s home. Elpenor was left unburied, and his spirit requests proper rites when the Greeks return to Aeaea. Next, Tiresias appears. He tells Odysseus that they are being punished by Poseidon for blinding his son. Tiresias prophesizes that Odysseus will eventually find his way back to Ithaca and reclaim his wife and home. Eventually, Odysseus becomes overwhelmed by the surrounding spirits and decides to sail off.

Odysseus returns to Aeaea for Elpenor’s funeral rites. He spends the night with Circe, who provides him with supplies and warnings about the remaining journey. First the Greeks must get past the Sirens whose irresistible songs lure sailors into their island’s coastal reefs. Next, they must face two more dangers: Charybdis, a monster whirlpool that’s especially deadly during three phases everyday, swallows everything in its vicinity. Then the cliffs of Scylla, a six-headed monster who devours passing sailors. Odysseus manages to evade Charybdis, but Scylla devours six of his men.

After this, they face the most dangerous test of all: the temptation of the island (Thrinacia) of Helios, the sun god. Whatever they do, the seamen must ensure they do not harm the sun god’s sacred cattle. If they harm any sacred animal, the ship and men will be destroyed. They spend the next month on Thrinacia in the absence of a wind to help them set sail in the right direction.

Once they exhaust the provisions given to them by Circe, Eurylochus convinces the men to slaughter the sacred cattle while Odysseus is asleep. To Odysseus’s horror, the crew feasts on the slaughtered cattle for the next six days. On Helios’ request, Zeus sends down a raging storm to punish the men. Only Odysseus survives, since he did not take part in the slaughter of the sacred cattle.

Books 9-12: Analysis

These four books deal with Odysseus’ wanderings and trials. Many critics see Odysseus’ wanderings as a series of trials or tests through which the hero attains wisdom, which in turn prepares him to be a great king. In these books, Odysseus emerges not just as a powerful hero but also as a human who can make mistakes.

Temptation is an important theme in this section. Odysseus and his men are faced with many temptations, and they often give in to them. Expectedly, this results in disasters for Odysseus and his crew. Judgment is once more a crucial problem as the Greeks very nearly get home to Ithaca only to see their goal vanish in a storm. The crewmen are often unable to assess the long-term effects of their choices and end up making wrong decisions.

The journey to the Land of the Dead is not so much a test for Odysseus as it is an epiphany. He finds himself reevaluating his sense of mortality when he runs into his dead warrior comrades, legendary figures, and even his own mother.

The final test of judgment in Odysseus’ wanderings takes place at the island of Thrinacia, land of Helios. Odysseus wants to bypass the island because of Circe’s warning, but eventually gives in to the requests of his men. However, later, his men revolt and slaughter the holy cattle. Odysseus escapes because he had not taken part in the slaughter.

These books introduce the readers to Odysseus’ flaws. However, during the course of the epic, Odysseus is given opportunities to change and mature, which is another important theme.