ODYSSEUS MEETS THE SIRENS, SKYLLA, AND CHARYBDIS
"When I saw that we were near the home of the Sirens, I said to my
men: 'It is not wise that only one of us should know the oracles of
Circè, and I will tell you all she said to me, that ye may escape
from the perils before us; and I disclosed her sayings to them. Then
I took a handful of wax and warmed it in the sun until it was soft,
and carefully clogged up their ears.
"They, in turn, tied me to the mast, hand and foot, so firmly that
I could not stir a limb, having first received my command that they
should not loose my bonds on any account. Then they bent to their
oars, and rowed close to the Sirens, so that they could see me and
I could hear their bewitching songs.
"'Come to us, O renowned Odysseus,' they sang; 'pride of the Greeks,
come and listen to our voices. No one ever yet passed us without
stopping and admiring our sweet songs. Come, that we may sing to thee
about Troy and thy friends, for we know everything that is going on
in the whole world.'
"Thus they sang, and their songs thrilled me. A great desire came
over me to stop and listen to them, and with nods I entreated my
comrades to set me free. But they sprang up and bound other cords
about me, so that I struggled in vain. Then all the men plied their
oars until the water was white with foam, and when we were out of
sight of the island and could no longer hear the songs of the Sirens,
my men set me free, and I took the wax from their ears.
"Hardly had we escaped from the Sirens when we beheld a black fog
and towering waves and heard a frightful noise. My men were so scared
that the oars fell from their hands and the ship stood still. I
hastened from one end of the boat to the other, speaking cheerful
words to each rower. 'My dear friends,' I said, 'have no fear. This
is not the first time we have encountered danger. We have been saved
from the hands of the Cyclops through our own valor and clever devices,
and we are not going to break down now. Listen, and I will tell you
what is to be done. Keep your seats and ply your oars with all your
might; but thou, O helmsman, steer thy ship clear of that fog and
the whirling waves.' Thus I spoke, and they willingly obeyed my words.
"Yet I said nothing to them about Skylla, lest they should lose heart
and hide in the bottom of the ship. Thus we passed in between the
two cliffs, the one of which harbored Skylla and the other Charybdis,
who, with a terrible noise, swallowed the brine of the sea and belched
it out again with a roar like the mingling of fire and water.
"But I forgot the command of Circè to fly from these monsters without
fighting. I put on my shining armor and took a spear in each hand,
and went on deck, and stood in warlike attitude ready to attack Skylla
if she should raise a hand to seize one of my men. I looked for a
long time, but I could not see her.
"We sailed on, the uproar increasing. My men grew white with fear.
The salt waters whirled so that we could look into a deep watery pit
and see the blue sand. The rocks were hidden by a thick mist. Suddenly
Skylla thrust forth a mighty hand and snatched six of my brave men,
as a fisherman pulls out fish with a hook. I saw their hands
outstretched toward me as they were lifted up into the air, and I
heard their cries for help. Woe is me! This sight will haunt me as
long as I have life."