Reading Notes: Homer's Odyssey, Part B

The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis

Odysseus and the Sirens mosaic at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Tunisia.

Source: Wikipedia

• This part of the story has the most action and suspense.
• "Suddenly the wind dropped, and a breathless calm followed, as some god lulled the waves." It's like the calm before the storm (the storm being the sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis).
• It is no surprise the Odysseus wanted to hear the Sirens voices so bad that he had himself tied to a mast.  He is brave but it seems he lets his curiosity always get the best of him.
• Scylla ans Charybdis attack at the same time.
• You can't help but wonder, "If only Odysseus hadn't provoked the cyclops and revealed his true identity to him....then they wouldn't have been cursed."

Bibliography: "The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis" from Homer's Odyssey, translated in English by Tony Kline.  Source: Odyssey