The Cattle of the Sun God

The Cattle Of The Sun God

Book 12

Connection

Scylla on a surface level reminded me of Ursula in The Little Mermaid in her behavior and arms. Also this reminded me though of every sit-com where the main character has a silly problem but they choose the crazy solution.

Questions

World Connection Question:

If you were in Odysseus’s positon while on the island of Thrinacia, would you have eaten the cattle?

Close-Ended Question:

How did Odysseus go against Circe’s orders concerning the Scylla?

Open-Ended Question:

What is the symbolic significance of the fig tree on top of the rocks above the Charybdis and Scylla?

Universal theme/Core Question:

How is Hubris present in this book?

Literary analysis question:

Why does our protagonist make such bad decisions? Is it his tragic flaw?

Characters

Odysseus- daring, reckless, stubborn, hellbent

Circe- Queenly goddess,

Zeus- Father, Wings

Scylla-grisly, twelvelegs, six long swaying necks, non-mortal terrible, savage wild

Charybis-water gulping, sea surge

Quote

"Circe's orders-cramping my style,urging me not to arm at all"

Greek Theme

Hubris- Odysseus is very hot-headed, stubborn, and full of himself, especially in this book. When he fights the Scylla, it is deliberately against what Circe told him, because he felt as though he was more intelligent than she was.

Setting

Aeaea- Circe’s island

Ocean, near island of sirens, near Clashing rocks, Scylla and Charybdis

Thrinacia-island with herds of Helios

plot

This book begins with Odysseus and his men returning from the kingdom of the dead to Circe’s home on Aeaea to bury Elpenor’s body. After the burial rites Circe invites the men to stay for food, so they do. She takes Odysseus aside and warns him of the things that lie in his path. First she tells him about the sirens, and says all the men must plug their ears, but if Odysseus wishes to hear the song he must tie himself to the boat and not let his men release him until they are past the sirens. Next she warns him about the Clashing Rocks and the Scylla. Circe tells them to stick to the wall of the crag, and to not be sucked into Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. Circe then warns him about the island of Thrinacia, where Helios keeps his herds and tells him to not eat any of the sheep or cows, or they will be cursed by the gods. The next morning after the men set sail, Odysseus tells his men what Circe told him, and then the approach the island of the sirens. They follow Circe’s instructions, and Odysseus listens to the sirens and tries to go to them, but with no luck. When the ship reaches Charybdis and Scylla, Odysseus disregards what Circe said and tries to fight Scylla. Despite his attempts to kill Scylla, she takes his six strongest men off his ship. When they reach Thrincacia, Odysseus doesn’t want to go to shore, but Eurylochus convinces Odysseus to go ashore. On the island, they eat up their food supplies from Circe but eventually they run out and grow very hungry while they are trapped there for a month due to bad wind. While Odysseus is asleep away from the camp, Eurylochus convinces the men to kill and eat the cattle, sacrifice the best parts to the gods, then build a temple to Helios when they return to Ithaca in order to apologize for eating his herds. They eat animals from the herd for 6 days, and when they set sail, the gods have grown very angry with them. So their ship is tossed about in storms. Lightning strikes the ship, which kills all the men except for Odysseus, and then he is swept back to the Clashing Rocks and then manages to float to the island of Ogygia.