The Odyssey Group

Question:

stormy94
stormy94
Student
High School - 9th Grade

How does Odysseus help his men overcome their fear as the ship approaches Scylla and Charybdis?

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Posted by stormy94 on Tuesday March 31, 2009 at 5:33 PM and tagged with charybdis, odysseus, scylla, ship, the odyssey.

Answers:

  1. mbomengen
    mrsmonica Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Odysseus talks to his men about how to avoid Charybdis, but he does not tell them about Scylla. He gives them a "pep talk" and reminds them how they were able to escape from the Cyclops.

    He knows that if they get too close to the whirlpool he could lose the whole ship, so he wants the men to put all their effort into staying out of Charybdis. Unfortunately, in order to stay out of the whirlpool, they will have to sail close to the monster Scylla, which means that a few of them will be eaten by Scylla. Odysseus knows if he tells his men about Scylla, they will be overcome with fear and will not be able to navigate past Charybdis, so he only tells them about the whirlpool.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey/book-12-summary-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey/q-and-a/scylla-charybdis-wh...

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    Posted by mrsmonica on Wednesday April 1, 2009 at 11:57 AM