Home > The Odyssey Text > Book X - Page 6
The Odyssey | Book X - Page 6
“When I had got the men together I said to them, ‘You think you are about to start home again, but Circe has explained to me that instead of this, we have got to go to the house of Hades and Persephone to consult the ghost of the Theban prophet Teiresias.’
“The men were broken-hearted as they heard me, and threw themselves on the ground groaning and tearing their hair, but they did not mend matters by crying. When we reached the sea shore, weeping and lamenting our fate, Circe brought the ram and the ewe, and we made them fast hard by the ship. She passed through the midst of us without our knowing it, for who can see the comings and goings of a god, if the god does not wish to be seen?
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“The men were…groaning and tearing their hair…” – Groaning, tearing one's hair, and even tearing one's clothes were common customs of mourning during ancient times.
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- - For teachers, the The Odyssey Lesson Plan.
- - The Odyssey summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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