Free Mythology of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Karen Bornemann Spies Page A

your sword and rush at her as if you are going to stab her. She will be so frightened that she will try to convince you to fall in love with her. Make her promise that she will release your crew and not do you any harm.”
    Odysseus approached the palace and shouted out to Circe. At once, she opened the gleaming palace doors and welcomed him inside. She led Odysseus to an ornately carved chair and mixed her potion in a golden bowl, stirring in her poison. But because of Hermes’ magic herb, Odysseus did not fall prey to the poison.
    “Who are you?” cried Circe in astonishment. “No other man has ever withstood my potion.”
    “I am mighty Odysseus, one of the Achaean warriors who won the Trojan War. Now you must turn those pigs back into my men.”
    When Odysseus was reunited with this crew, Circe treated them all to a sumptuous feast. She was such a wonderful hostess that they ended up staying with her for an entire year.
    But finally, Odysseus’ men reminded him of their need to return home to Ithaca. Circe told Odysseus what he had to do to safely reach Ithaca. First, he had to cross the River Ocean and sail beyond the western edge of the world to visit with the prophet Tiresias in the Underworld. There, he would have to sacrifice a ram and some sheep and fill a pit with their blood to attract the ghosts in the Underworld, all of whom craved blood.
    Odysseus did as Circe instructed him. When Tiresias appeared, Odysseus offered him a cup of blood. Then the prophet looked into the future and predicted what would happen next to Odysseus.
    “Royal Odysseus, you seek a smooth journey home, but Poseidon, whose son you blinded, will make it hard for you,” said Tiresias. “And beware the danger awaiting you on the island where the sacred cattle of the Sun live.” These beasts were the most beautiful cattle in the world. According to Tiresias, if Odysseus’ men harmed the cattle, they would be killed, and Odysseus would not return home for many years.
    Tiresias continued on in his gloomy fashion. “When you do arrive home, you will find many troublemakers residing at your palace. But you will banish them and restore order.”
    After Tiresias finished speaking, many other ghosts came to drink blood and talk with Odysseus. He spoke with his mother, who had died of loneliness waiting for him to return. She told him that his wife, Penelope, still waited for him. Odysseus tried to embrace his mother. But because she was a ghost, his arms passed right through her. Heroes such as Patroclus and Achilles also approached Odysseus. But Ajax, still jealous that Odysseus had received Achilles’ armor, refused to speak a single word to Odysseus.
    More and more of the dead clustered around Odysseus, wanting to speak with him. Suddenly, he was hemmed in by thousands of ghosts, raising eerie, unearthly cries. As mighty as he was, Odysseus felt terror. He fled to his ship and urged his men to cast off at once. Mighty rowing and a fair wind sped them on their way, away from the kingdom of the dead and toward Ithaca.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
    Q:
Where did Odysseus go after he left the Cyclopes?
    A:
He stopped at the Land of the Winds. King Aeolus gave him a leather bag that contained the strongest, most dangerous winds. He warned Odysseus not to open the bag, but some of his crew did anyway. The winds were released and drove the ship to the land of the Laestrygonians.
    Q:
Where did Circe live?
    A:
She lived in a palace on the island of Aeaea.
    Q:
What were Circe’s powers and how did Odysseus escape them?
    A:
She was a witch who gave Odysseus’ men a drugged potion and turned them into pigs. Hermes gave Odysseus an herb which protected him from Circe’s powers. Odysseus drank her potion unharmed, which no man had ever done before.
    Q:
Then what did Odysseus do?
    A:
He forced Circe to turn his crew back into men, and they stayed there for a year.
    Q:
What did Circe tell Odysseus he needed to do in order to return home?
    A:
He had to go