2nd+Homer's+Helpers+Bk+10

[|book 10][|book 10][|Odyssey][|Odyssey]

The Odyssey Book X By: Homer's Little Helpers

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**Main Characters: **
 * Odysseus- the main character of the Odyssey
 * Circe- a witch- like women who turns Odysseus' men into pigs
 * Odysseus's Crew- the men who accompany Odysseus on his journey
 * Antiphates- cruel king of the Laestrogynes who destroyed all but one of Odysseus' ships
 * Eurylochus- one of Odysseus' men, the only one who does not drink from Circe's cup
 * Hermes- messenger of the gods, delivers the edicts of Zeus to the gods and mortals

** Setting: ** ====Odysseus is still at Scheria telling Alcinous and the whole court his story of how he ended up on the island of the Phaeacians. ====

Summary:
====Odysseus is continuing his story from the previous book. Odysseus continues to answer the questions asked by Alcinous, Who are you? Where do you come from? Odysseus begins his story through book nine and keeps going through book XII. In book X, Odysseus starts off talking about how he recieved a gift from Aeolus, king of Aeolia. The gift was a bag of powerful winds. Out of curiosity and selfish desire, the crew open the bag as they near Ithaca and get sent back all the way to Aeolia. Oysseus asks Aeolus for another favor but is denied. After six days straight of sailing, Odysseus finally reaches the island of the Laestrygonian's. More of Odysseus' crew gets eaten up. They end up on Circe's island. Odysseus' men split into two groups, one led my Odysseus, and the other Eurylochus, whom of which finds Circe's palace. The men who are following Eurylochus go into the house and get turned into swine. Odysseus hears this from Eurylochus who escapes. Odysseus saves his men and takes down Circe. She tells Odysseus to travel to the Underworld before heading home. She also tells Odysseus to make sacrifices. ====

**Themes:** Links for other information:
 * __Sacrifice__- Odysseus is told by Circes to sacrfice to the gods when he returns home to Ithaca.
 * __Importance of Prophecy__- Just before Circe's defeat, she is reminded that she will be taken down by the man of many wiles, Odysseus.
 * __Helpfullness of gods/goddeses__- Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag of winds which helps him get home faster. When the crew opens it they end up back at Aeolia, home of Aeolus. He rejects their requests for more help and orders them off his island. Circe tells Odysseus the directions to the Underworld and gives him food, and animals for sacrifice.
 * __Hospitality__- After her defeat, Circe offers her home to Odysseus and his crew for living. They stay there for a year living peacefully but are soon reminded they need to get home.


 * [|Odyssey plus Trogan War]
 * [|Book X background] <span style="background-color: #000080; color: #feaa2a; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 120%;">[|Time line of Odyssey]


 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Detective works **

==<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">1<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">.) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Do hurricanes originate in the Mediterranean Sea?  == ===<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">In chapter 10 of T__he Odyssey__, Aeolus gives Odysseus the bag of winds so that Odysseus could get home faster. Odysseus's men get jealous and decide to look in the bag to see what Odysseus got, and the winds flew out causing a hurricane. Is this true? Could this just be a myth? Or could these hurricanes really be able to occur? There have been hurricanes that have formed in the Mediterranean Sea, recently, however they do not occur often. The most recent hurricane was in 1995 through the 13th and 17th of January. There has also been hurricanes in September of 1947, September 1969, January of 1982, and September 1983. ===

==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">2.) Who was Aeolus's family? ==

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Aeolus
===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">, the god of winds, was married to Enarete, and had many children. He is believed to have six sons and six daughters. However, they are not exactly sure how many children he had. All of his sons took Aeolus's daughters as wives. He spent all of his days feasting with his wife and children. Aeolus was able to do this because he was a favorite of the gods. === =<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">3.) What were the Phonetician ships like? = ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Phonetician ships were the ships that Odysseus and the other Greeks used to travel. The ships were war ships and had many capabilities. These ships were able to travel 400 miles in 4 days, and could move at a speed of 5 knots. The Phonetician ships' capacity is not known. The ships had a big mast in the middle and holes on the sides, that were above the water level, so that oars could fit through. The oars were very long and would move the ship faster when all the men stroked together. The ships were very long. They were great war ships that were used by several peoples. ==