The Odyssey Group

Question:


torso2
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Why do you think Odysseus chooses to sail toward Scylla rather than Charybdis?

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Posted by torso2 on Tuesday March 24, 2009 at 5:43 AM and tagged with analyze, the odyssey.

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  1. cybil Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Odysseus is acting wisely in making this choice. If he were to sail toward Charybdis, he could lose his entire ship and the lives of all the men if the whirlpool happened to suck the ship down. He did not know when the whirlpool would act, when it would spew forth or suck downward. There was no defense against Charydbis. Scylla, on the other hand, would take at most six men, one for each of her six heads.

    Odysseus takes Circe's advice and sails toward Scylla, but he doesn't inform his men of the impending danger. Even though he attempts to defend his ship by brandishing his sword, Odysseus is unable to prevent Scylla from snatching six men from the ship. The loss of six men, however, is a sacrifice he had to make to avoid losing the entire ship.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/odyssey/book-12-summary-analysis

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    Posted by cybil on Tuesday March 24, 2009 at 8:07 AM