NovelGuide: Odysseus: Novel Summary: Chapters 11-12

Chapters 11-12

Chapter 11: In the land of the dead, Odysseus meets Elpenor first, who is sad that his body was not buried. Elpenor tells him where his body has washed up on shore, and asks him to bury it when he reaches that area. Odysseus then meets Tiresias, who was a prophet from Thebes. Tiresias prophesizes that Odysseus will die while sailing, but at an old age and not from a war. Odysseus meets his mother, whom he did not know had died during the time he had been away from Ithaca. His mother Antikleia tells him about the unkind suitors who are wasting his fortune and being rude to his wife and son.

After Alkinoos and Arete, the rulers of the Phaiakians, interrupt Odysseus to praise his storytelling ability, Odysseus continues his story. Odysseus meets Agamemnon's ghost, who was killed by his wife when he returned from the Trojan War. He also meets Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, who is now the leader of the dead souls. They all reminisce about the Trojan War, and mourn as well. The final person Odysseus meets is Hercules, who although he was half-god, eventually died. Odysseus returns to Circe's island, and from there they set sail for Ithaca again.

Chapter 12: Circe warns Odysseus about the Sirens, evil monsters that he will encounter on his travels. The first Siren that they pass is Skylla, who is a monster that lives in a cave. Six men die, but Odysseus' ship is able to pass by Skylla. Then, they pass by Charibdis, the other Siren, who is a sea-storm kind of monster. After this, they land on Thrinaka. They have very little food, and attempt to fish and hunt. Although they were warned not to, Odysseus and his men eat the sacred cattle of Helios. After they have set sail again, a storm comes, and Odysseus loses all of his crew and the final ship in the storm, but he is able to take refuge at Calypso's island, where she keeps him as a well-treated prisoner until the events were set in motion that landed him in Phaiakia.