Odysseus has great foresight in knowing he and his manpower can non physically over go down the temptation of listening to the Sirens. He orders his men to plug their ears with beeswax and tie him up to the ships mast. He alone needed to listen to “ravishing voices out crossways the air” (XII.208). Listening to the Sirens causes Odysseus to beg his men to free him and allow him go to the Island. But as ordered, his men held him bound to the mast. If Odysseus had not thought to overhear his men tie him up, he would wealthy person likely been able to overpower his men physically to energise himself to the Island where he would have been held captive. After steering away from the Island of Sirens, Odysseus and his men must navigate by the strait between Scylla, a six-headed monster, and Charybdis, an enormous whirlpool that threatens to swallow the entire ship. He thinks to himself “ injurious Charybdis - can’t I possibly cut and pass along from her and still fight Scylla off when Scylla strikes my men?” (XII.123-124) Odysseus chooses to steer nettled against the cliffs of Scylla’s lair.
This costs the lives of six sailors as the six heads of Scylla come swooping down to gobble up the sailors. As tragic as it is, Odysseus knows he must risk sacrificing the lives of a few of his men rather than risk going near or through the whirlpool and potentially killing everyone aboard the ship. Although Odysseus may have had the strength to swim by the whirlpool, it is almost certain that his men would not have survived. It is Odysseus’ smart strategy and willingness to sacrifice that allows the bulk of the crew to survive. Even though Odysseus does not wish to close up at Thrinacia, his men urge him to stop to allow them to rest. Odysseus, organism as intelligent as he is, commands his men not to...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com
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