The Odyssey Group

Question:

vondutch911
vondutch911
Student

In Book 10 of "The Odyssey," who are the people that give Odysseus the bag of winds to get home?  How does Poseidon punish these people?

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Posted by vondutch911 on Monday October 6, 2008 at 6:04 AM and tagged with book 10, characters, odysseus, plot, poseidon, the odyssey, winds.

Answers:


  1. cybil Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Aeolus, king of the winds, gives Odysseus the bag of winds to help him return to Ithaca. Because, however, Odysseus neglects to tell his men what is contained in the bag, they believe there is treasure inside. When Odysseus falls asleep, they open the bag---when they are within sight of their homeland---and are blown back to Aeolia. Odysseus pleads with Aeolus for another bag of winds, but the king refuses, because he believes Odysseus and his men must be cursed by the gods.  Aeolus is not punished; Odysseus and his men are punished for their imprudence. They are forced to spend even longer trying to get home, and eventually, of course, only Odysseus himself will survive to succeed in this quest.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey/book-10-summary-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey/overview

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    Posted by cybil on Monday October 6, 2008 at 6:44 AM

  2. hdawn1234
    hdawn1234 Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    Aeolus

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    Posted by hdawn1234 on Sunday September 27, 2009 at 5:05 PM