"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.

    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.

    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

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    Suggested Citation

    Thomas Van Nortwick and Rob Hardy, Homer: Odyssey 5–12. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2024. ISBN: 978-1-947822-17-7 https://dcc.dickinson.edu/homer-odyssey/xii-192-233