"ὣς φάσαν ἱεῖσαι ὄπα κάλλιμον: αὐτὰρ ἐμὸν κῆρ
ἤθελ᾽ ἀκουέμεναι, λῦσαί τ᾽ ἐκέλευον ἑταίρους
ὀφρύσι νευστάζων· οἱ δὲ προπεσόντες ἔρεσσον.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἀνστάντες Περιμήδης Εὐρύλοχός τε195
πλείοσί μ᾽ ἐν δεσμοῖσι δέον μᾶλλόν τε πίεζον.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τάς γε παρήλασαν, οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔπειτα
φθογγῆς Σειρήνων ἠκούομεν οὐδέ τ᾽ ἀοιδῆς,
αἶψ᾽ ἀπὸ κηρὸν ἕλοντο ἐμοὶ ἐρίηρες ἑταῖροι,
ὅν σφιν ἐπ᾽ ὠσὶν ἄλειψ᾽, ἐμέ τ᾽ ἐκ δεσμῶν ἀνέλυσαν.200
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ τὴν νῆσον ἐλείπομεν, αὐτίκ᾽ ἔπειτα
καπνὸν καὶ μέγα κῦμα ἴδον καὶ δοῦπον ἄκουσα.
τῶν δ᾽ ἄρα δεισάντων ἐκ χειρῶν ἔπτατ᾽ ἐρετμά,
βόμβησαν δ᾽ ἄρα πάντα κατὰ ῥόον· ἔσχετο δ᾽ αὐτοῦ
νηῦς, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτ᾽ ἐρετμὰ προήκεα χερσὶν ἔπειγον.205
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ διὰ νηὸς ἰὼν ὤτρυνον ἑταίρους
μειλιχίοις ἐπέεσσι παρασταδὸν ἄνδρα ἕκαστον·
‘ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γάρ πώ τι κακῶν ἀδαήμονές εἰμεν·
οὐ μὲν δὴ τόδε μεῖζον ἕπι κακόν ἢ ὅτε Κύκλωψ
εἴλει ἐνὶ σπῆι γλαφυρῷ κρατερῆφι βίηφιν·210
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔνθεν ἐμῇ ἀρετῇ, βουλῇ τε νόῳ τε,
ἐκφύγομεν, καί που τῶνδε μνήσεσθαι ὀίω.
νῦν δ᾽ ἄγεθ᾽, ὡς ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω, πειθώμεθα πάντες.
ὑμεῖς μὲν κώπῃσιν ἁλὸς ῥηγμῖνα βαθεῖαν
τύπτετε κληίδεσσιν ἐφήμενοι, αἴ κέ ποθι Ζεὺς215
δώῃ τόνδε γ᾽ ὄλεθρον ὑπεκφυγέειν καὶ ἀλύξαι·
σοὶ δέ, κυβερνῆθ᾽, ὧδ᾽ ἐπιτέλλομαι· ἀλλ᾽ ἐνὶ θυμῷ
βάλλευ, ἐπεὶ νηὸς γλαφυρῆς οἰήια νωμᾷς.
τούτου μὲν καπνοῦ καὶ κύματος ἐκτὸς ἔεργε
νῆα, σὺ δὲ σκοπέλου ἐπιμαίεο, μή σε λάθῃσι220
κεῖσ᾽ ἐξορμήσασα καὶ ἐς κακὸν ἄμμε βάλῃσθα.’
ὣς ἐφάμην, οἱ δ᾽ ὦκα ἐμοῖς ἐπέεσσι πίθοντο.
Σκύλλην δ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἐμυθεόμην, ἄπρηκτον ἀνίην,
μή πώς μοι δείσαντες ἀπολλήξειαν ἑταῖροι
εἰρεσίης, ἐντὸς δὲ πυκάζοιεν σφέας αὐτούς.225
καὶ τότε δὴ Κίρκης μὲν ἐφημοσύνης ἀλεγεινῆς
λανθανόμην, ἐπεὶ οὔ τί μ᾽ ἀνώγει θωρήσσεσθαι·
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καταδὺς κλυτὰ τεύχεα καὶ δύο δοῦρε
μάκρ᾽ ἐν χερσὶν ἑλὼν εἰς ἴκρια νηὸς ἔβαινον
πρῴρης· ἔνθεν γάρ μιν ἐδέγμην πρῶτα φανεῖσθαι230
Σκύλλην πετραίην, ἥ μοι φέρε πῆμ᾽ ἑτάροισιν.
οὐδέ πῃ ἀθρῆσαι δυνάμην, ἔκαμον δέ μοι ὄσσε
πάντῃ παπταίνοντι πρὸς ἠεροειδέα πέτρην.
notes
Escape from the Sirens. Odysseus makes a speech to encourage his crew.
A dramatic struggle ensues as the ship passes the Sirens. Odysseus, as Circe foresaw, is unable to resist the seductive allure of the Sirens’ voices. He strains to escape his bonds, signaling frantically with his eyebrows. (Am I the only person who immediately thinks of Groucho Marx?). But his trusted crewmen follow orders and tighten the ropes until the ship is out of range of the Sirens’ song.
read full essay
As is characteristic of these final adventures, recurring motifs we have seen earlier return in yet more vivid form. The image of Odysseus ravished by the voices of powerful women brings to a crescendo the series of threats that runs through Books 5–12, in his encounters with Calypso, Nausicaa, and Circe. On Ogygia, he was restrained by magic; here, he is literally tied up. Nausicaa coyly hints at marriage in the future; the Sirens want him right now. Circe’s magic links men’s animal nature with sexual enslavement, equating the crew’s submission to her with the relinquishing of human form; an encounter with the Sirens can lead to death. Through all these episodes runs the dynamic of restraint and release, with a submerged sexual component. Homeric poetry is reticent about overt sexuality, but the associations implicit in this recurring motif are clear enough. A part of every man, it seems to suggest, secretly wants to submit to the power of women, to give up control. (James Joyce understood this feature of the Odyssean male psyche and brought it to life in Leopold Bloom.) Through this lens, power is sexy and sex is always about power. As in the katabasis, so here, Odysseus does what no ordinary person can do. He experiences total submission to the sexual power of women and emerges unscathed.
Having pulled away safely from the Sirens, the Greeks come immediately to their next challenge, Skylla and Charybdis. As the roar of the waves surrounds them, the sailors drop their oars, and once again the ship is becalmed. Odysseus bucks up his men with a pep talk:
"ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γάρ πώ τι κακῶν ἀδαήμονές εἰμεν:
οὐ μὲν δὴ τόδε μεῖζον ἕπει κακόν, ἢ ὅτε Κύκλωψ
εἴλει ἐνὶ σπῆι γλαφυρῷ κρατερῆφι βίηφιν:
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔνθεν ἐμῇ ἀρετῇ, βουλῇ τε νόῳ τε,
ἐκφύγομεν, καί που τῶνδε μνήσεσθαι ὀίω."
"Friends, we are hardly without knowledge of evil.
Surely this is no greater evil than when the Cyclops
trapped us in a hollow cave with his mighty strength.
But by my courage and counsel and intelligence
we escaped and I think these things will be remembered too."
Odyssey 12. 208–12
This is just the speech we would expect from Odysseus, proud of his powers, confident that he can pull them all through again. These verses have a vivid afterlife in one of the most famous passages in Vergil’s Aeneid:
"O socii—neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum—
O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem.
Vos et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantis
accestis scopulos, vos et Cyclopea saxa
experti: revocate animos, maestumque timorem
mittite: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit."
"Friends, we have surely known evils before.
We’ve suffered worse things and the god will grant an end to these, too.
You have weathered mad Scylla and approached
the roaring rocks within and the Cyclopean boulders.
Recall your courage and put aside gloomy fear.
Perhaps one day it will be pleasing to remember even these things."
Aeneid 1.198–207
Aeneas is speaking to his men after they have washed ashore in Libya, on their way to Carthage and the kingdom of Dido. Vergil’s hero is much less buoyant than his Homeric antecedent. When he finishes his speech, the Roman poet appends two telling verses:
Talia voce refert, curisque ingentibus aeger
spem voltu simulat, premit altum corde dolorem.
Such were his words, but sick with huge cares
he feigned hope on his face and pressed the sorrow deep in his heart.
Aeneid 1.208–10
The split between outward confidence and inner doubt is not typical of epic heroes, who may show anger, fear, disbelief, or doubt, but always genuinely. To feign in this way is new to the tradition. The thrust of Vergil’s coda to the speech is to suggest that though Aeneas has grasped the substance of what is required of him as a leader, he is not being true to his own nature: he is in the right place but is the wrong man. This incongruity is at the heart of Vergil’s complex realization of the traditional male hero. Looking back at Odysseus through Aeneas throws light on the Greek hero’s supreme confidence but also perhaps the extraordinary opacity of his inner self, coldly calculating and available only to him: He will win every battle, whatever it takes, whoever has to suffer for it.
That persona is on display in the next few verses. Odysseus, as he tells us, chooses not to alert his crew to the perils that loom, afraid that they will abandon their oars and cower below deck. His lack of confidence in his crew is nothing we haven’t seen before and reaffirms his chilly emotional detachment from his companions as men with ordinary human frailties: When the pressure is on, they will not come through. The rhetoric of the story urges us to see them this way, inferior creatures whose shortcomings will be costly to them, in need of managing by their superior captain. As if to underscore that point, Odysseus tells us he “forgot” Circe’s warning about opposing Skylla. The last picture we have before disaster strikes is of him, armed and standing in the prow of the ship, defying danger with his spears at the ready.
Further Reading
Reinhardt, K. (1942) 1996. “The Adventures in the Odyssey.” In Reading the Odyssey, edited by S. Schein, 69–76. Reprinted. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
192 ἱεῖσαι: fem. pl. pres. act. pct. > ἵημι.
193 ἀκουέμεναι: infin.
194 ὀφρύσι νευστάζων: "gesturing with his eyebrows," because his hands are tied.
196 δέον: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf. > δέω, "bind."
197 τὰς: i.e., the Sirens.
199 ἀπὸ … ἕλοντο: tmesis, 3rd pl. aor. mid. > ἀφαιρέω.
200 ἄλειψ(α): unaugmented 1st sing. aor.
203 τῶν … δεισάντων: “of those fearing,” aor. act. pct. > δείδω, substantive.
204 βόμβησαν ... κατὰ ῥόον: “rustled against the current.” The oars fell from the rowers' hands and made a rustling sound as the current struck them.
207 παρασταδὸν: “standing beside.”
209 οὐ μὲν δὴ τόδε μεῖζον ἕπι κακόν ἢ: "in fact this evil facing us is not greater than..." ἔπι = ἔπεστι.
210 εἴλει: 3rd sing. impf., contracted form > εἴλω.
212 ὀΐω: “I know that you …,” introducing indirect discourse with accusative (ὑμᾶς implied) and infinitive.
212 τῶνδε: gen., object of μνήσεσθαι.
213 ὡς ἂν …: “ however…,” general relative clause with aorist subjunctive.
213 πειθώμεθα: hortatory subjunctive.
215 κληΐδεσσιν ἐφήμενοι: “seated at the oarlocks,” dat., with compound verb.
215 αἴ κέ … δώῃ: “on the chance that,” “in the hope that” (Smyth 2354).
215 δώῃ: 3rd sing. aor. subj. > δίδωμι, here, “to grant” in the sense of “to make it possible.”
217 σοὶ: dat., object of the compound verb.
218 βάλλευ: “put it,” = βάλλε-ο, imperat. (Smyth 465 N.2.b)
218 νωμᾷς: “handle,” “control” > νωμάω.
219 ἐκτὸς ἔεργε: “keep away from" + gen. > ἔργω.
220 ἐπιμαίεο: “aim for,” mid. imperat. sing. > ἐπιμαίομαι, with genitive.
220 μή σε λάθῃσι: “lest, without you knowing it, the ship …,” negative purpose clause.
220 λάθῃσι: 3rd sing. aor. subj. > λανθάνω. For λανθάνω with a complementary aorist participle (here, ἐξορμήσασα), see Smyth 1873 and 2096.
224 μοι: dative of possession with ἑταῖροι ("my companions").
224 ἀπολλήξειαν: optative in a negative purpose clause in secondary sequence. The verb takes a genitive of separation (εἰρεσίης).
225 ἐντὸς: i.e., in the ship.
225 πυκάζοιεν: “conceal," "shield (themselves)," optative in a negative purpose clause in secondary sequence.
227 λανθανόμην: “I forgot …,” unaugmented impf. mid., with genitive.
227 τί: “at all.”
227 θωρήσσεσθαι: “to arm myself,” mid. infin., reflexive.
228 καταδὺς: nom. sing. aor. pct. > καταδύω. The verb normally means “to go down, to sink,” but in this context means “to put on (armor).”
230 ἐδέγμην: “I was expecting,” impf. > δέχομαι , introducing an accusative (μιν) and infinitive (φαινεῖσθαι) construction of indirect discourse.
231 Σκύλλην: in apposition to μιν.
231 μοι: dative of possession.
231 φέρε: unaugmented impf.
231 ἑτάροισιν: indirect object.
232 οὐδέ πῃ: “nowhere.”
232 μοι: dative of possession, as usual with parts of the body.
233 παπταίνοντι: modifying μοι.
vocabulary
ὄψ ὀπός ἡ: a voice
κάλλιμος –ον: beautiful
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
κῆρ κῆρος τό: heart, mind
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
ὀφρύς –ύος ὁ: eyebrow
νευστάζω – – – – –: to nod
προπίπτω προπεσοῦμαι προέπεσον προπέπτωκα: to bend forward (of rowers), fall on the oars
ἐρέσσω ἐρέσω ἤρεσα ––– ––– –––: to row
ἀνίστημι ἀνστήσω ἀνέστησα (or ἀνέστην) ἀνέστηκα ἀνέσταμαι ἀνεστάθην: make stand, set up; stand up 195
Περιμήδης –ους ὁ: a companion of Odysseus, or, father of Schedius
Εὐρύλοχος –ου ὁ: Eurylochus, a cousin and companion of Odysseus
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
δέω δήσω ἔδησα δέδεκα δέδεμαι ἐδέθην: to bind, tie, moor, secure
πιέζω πιέσω ἐπίεσα πεπίεκα πεπίεσμαι ἐπιέσθην: to press, squeeze, press tight
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
παρελαύνω παρελῶ παρήλασα παρελήλακα παρελήλαμαι παρηλάθην: to drive by
φθογγή –ῆς ἡ: voice
Σειρήν –ῆνος ἡ: a Siren
ἀοιδή –ῆς ἡ: song, a singing
αἶψα: rapidly, speedily, suddenly
κηρός –οῦ ὁ: bees-wax
ἐρίηρος –ον: faithful, devoted, trusty
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
σφεῖς: they 200
οὖς ὠτός τό: ear
ἀλείφω ἀλείψω ἤλειψα ἀλήλιφα ἀλήλιμμαι ἠλείφθην: to anoint, smear
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
ἀναλύω ἀναλύσω ἀνέλυσα ἀναλέλυκα ἀναλέλυμαι ἀνελύθην: unloose, undo
καπνός –οῦ ὁ: smoke
κῦμα –ατος τό: wave
δοῦπος –ου ὁ: any dead, heavy sound, a thud
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
δείδω δείσομαι ἔδεισα δέδοικα (or δίδια) ––– –––: to fear
πέτομαι πετήσομαι ἐπτόμην πέπτηκα πέπτημαι ἐπετάσθην: to fly
ἐρετμόν –οῦ τό: oar 205
βομβέω βομβήσω ἐβόμβησα: to make a booming, humming noise, to sound deep
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ῥόος –ου ὁ: a stream, flow, current
αὐτοῦ: at the very place, here, there
ἐρετμόν –οῦ τό: oar
προήκης –ες: pointed in front
ἐπείγω ἐπείξομαι ἤπειξα ––– ἤπειγμαι ἐπείχθην: to press hard; (pass.) to be in a hurry
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
ὀτρύνω ὀτρυνῶ ὤτρυνα ––– ––– –––: to urge on
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
μειλίχιος [–α] –ον: gentle, mild, soothing
παρασταδόν: at one's side
πω: up to this time, yet
ἀδαήμων –ον: ignorant of, inexperienced in
Κύκλωψ –πος ὁ: Cyclops
εἴλω εἰλήσω εἴλησα ––– εἴλημαι εἰλήθην: to roll up, pack, shut in, corral 210
σπέος gen. σπείους, dat. σπῆι, pl. dat. σπέσσι and σπήεσσι, τό: a cave, cavern, grotto
γλαφῠρός –ά –όν: hollow, deep
κρατερός –ά –όν: strong, powerful, mighty
βίη –ης dat. βίηφι ἡ: violence, force
ἔνθεν: from here, from there
ἐκφεύγω ἐκφεύξομαι ἔκφυγον ἐκφεύγα ––– –––: flee out, escape
ἄγε: come! come on! well!
κώπη –ης ἡ: hilt, handle
ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)
ῥηγμίν –ῖνος ἡ: the sea breaking on the beach, surf
βαθύς βαθεῖα βαθύ: deep, high; dense
τύπτω τύψω ἔτυψα τέτῠφα (or τετύπτηκα) τέτυμμαι ἐτύφθην (or ἐτυπτήθην or ἐτύπην): to beat, strike 215
κληΐς κληῖδος ἡ: bolt; (pl.) oarlocks
ἔφημαι (perf. pass. used as a pres.): to be seated
ποθι: anywhere
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
ὄλεθρος –ου ὁ: ruin, destruction, death
ὑπεκφεύγω ὑπεκφεύξομαι ὑπεκέφυγον ὑπεκπέφευγα ––– –––: to escape
ἀλύσκω ἀλύξω ἤλυξα ––– ––– –––: to flee from, shun, avoid, forsake
κυβερνήτης –ου ὁ: a steersman, helmsman, pilot
ἐπιτέλλω ἐπέτειλα: to enjoin, lay command or order upon, charge, impose
γλαφῠρός –ά –όν: hollow, deep
οἰήϊον –ου τό: a rudder, helm
νωμάω νωμήσω νώμησα νενώμηκα νενώμημαι ἐνωμήθην: to handle, wield (for weapons and tools); to distribute
καπνός –οῦ ὁ: smoke
κῦμα –ατος τό: wave
ἐκτός: without, outside
ἔργω/εἴργω εἴρξω εἶρξα –– εἶργμαι εἴρχθην: to keep away from
σκόπελος –ου ὁ: a look-out place, a peak, headland 220
ἐπιμαίομαι ἐπιμάσσομαι ἐπεμασσάμην: to seek (by hand), feel for, palpate, touch
ἐκεῖσε: thither, to that place
ἐξορμάω ἐξορμήσω ἐξώρμησα ἐξώρμηκα ἐξώρμημαι ἐξωρμήθην: to send forth, send to war
ὦκα: quickly, swiftly, fast
Σκύλλη –ης ἡ: Scylla, a cave-dwelling sea monster
μυθέομαι μυθήσομαι μεμύθημαι ἐμυθήθην: to speak or talk of, describe, explain, relate
ἄπρακτος –ον: ineffectual, unprofitable; insurmountable
ἀνία –ας ἡ: grief, sorrow, distress, trouble
δείδω δείσομαι ἔδεισα δέδοικα (or δίδια) ––– –––: to fear
ἀπολήγω ἀπολήξω ἀπέληξα: to leave off, desist from
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
εἰρεσίη –ης ἡ: rowing 225
ἐντός: within, inside
πυκάζω πύκασω ἐπύκασα ––– ––– –––: to cover
σφεῖς: they
Κίρκη –ης ἡ: Circe, the enchantress, daughter of Helius, sister of Aeētes, dwelling in the isle of Aeaea
ἐφημοσύνη –ης ἡ: command, behest
ἀλεγεινός –ή –όν: hard
ἄνωγα (pf. as pres.), ἠνώγεα (plupf. as impf.): to command, invite, exhort
θωρήσσω θωρήξω θώρηξα: to arm (with breastplate); to arm oneself
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
καταδύω καταδύσω καταδέδυκα/κατέδυν καταδέδυμαι καταδεδύθην: to sink; (of the sun) to set; to put on
κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious
τεῦχος –ους τό: arms
δόρυ δόρατος τό: spear; timber, beam (of a ship)
ἴκρια –ων τά: the half-decks
πρῷρα –ας: bow (of a ship) 230
ἔνθεν: from here, from there
μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
Σκύλλη –ης ἡ: Scylla, a cave-dwelling sea monster
πετραῖος –α –ον: dwelling in a rock
πῆμα –ατος τό: suffering, misery, calamity, woe, bane; cause of suffering
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
πη πῃ: somehow, to some place
ἀθρέω ἀθρήσω/ἁθρήσω ἤθρησα/ἥθρησα ––– ––– –––: to look at, gaze at, observe, perceive
κάμνω καμοῦμαι ἔκαμον κεκήμακα ––– –––: to build, make, produce; to toil, suffer; (mid.) to become exhausted, become tired out; (aor. plur. partic.) those who have been worn out, to be dead
ὄσσε, τώ: eyes
πάντῃ: every way, on every side
παπταίνω παπτανῶ ἐπάπτηνα ––– ––– –––: to look earnestly, gaze
ἠεροειδής –ές: of dark and cloudy look, cloud-streaked
πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock