The Odyssey: Book 12 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABACDEFGHIJKLMNOPQKR STUDVWXYZXA2B2AC2GD2 RTAAE2JAF2ARTG2JH2F2 F2F2GPJI2J2C2K2F2L2T JM2N2O2L2N2L2P2KXQ2D R2F2F2S2T2JJL2L2U2V2 R2UJUAC2W2TR2F2X2Y2Z 2A3ARB3Q2GC3L2JDD3F2 E3GZ2UC2ADF3JF2G3F2H 3PN2L2I3J2AJ3JL2UL2L 2JJJK3L3M3EADN3TDC2O 3AN2TJUP3L2L3Q3GL2R3 QJN3S3T3Q2JL3L3A3L3U 3JL2UHFXABEEF2C2X2JX DGV3JKW3DGL3MU3HL3EG GJL3GB3C2DEGJQJX3L2T UL2L2Y3CL3A3L3Q3C2Z3 A4O3UB4AL3DF2UBQ3U2O 3C4S3CBB4D4E4Q2QHL3T L3V3XGE3F2N3DXJ3C3L3 YF4CQZ2V2JG4H4L3V3L2 UJJS3Q3C2O3U3DXH2GI4 L3JI3EL3I2EUZ2NQ2N3C 2J4N2UF2JUU3L2K4TAL4 JAA3JL3JY3M4LJB4JF2D SS3DQ2JQN4Q2O3GJL2LC 2FGL3O4EJP4Q4K3C2DR4 N2R4JQ3K2JGEYF2C2| After we were clear of the river Oceanus and had got out into | A |
| the open sea we went on till we reached the Aeaean island where there | B |
| is dawn and sunrise as in other places We then drew our ship on to | A |
| the sands and got out of her on to the shore where we went to sleep | C |
| and waited till day should break | D |
| Then when the child of morning rosy fingered Dawn appeared I | E |
| sent some men to Circe's house to fetch the body of Elpenor We cut | F |
| firewood from a wood where the headland jutted out into the sea and | G |
| after we had wept over him and lamented him we performed his funeral | H |
| rites When his body and armour had been burned to ashes we raised | I |
| a cairn set a stone over it and at the top of the cairn we fixed the | J |
| oar that he had been used to row with | K |
| While we were doing all this Circe who knew that we had got | L |
| back from the house of Hades dressed herself and came to us as fast | M |
| as she could and her maid servants came with her bringing us bread | N |
| meat and wine Then she stood in the midst of us and said 'You | O |
| have done a bold thing in going down alive to the house of Hades | P |
| and you will have died twice to other people's once now then | Q |
| stay here for the rest of the day feast your fill and go on with | K |
| your voyage at daybreak tomorrow morning In the meantime I will | R |
| tell Ulysses about your course and will explain everything to him | S |
| so as to prevent your suffering from misadventure either by land or | T |
| sea ' | U |
| We agreed to do as she had said and feasted through the livelong | D |
| day to the going down of the sun but when the sun had set and it came | V |
| on dark the men laid themselves down to sleep by the stern cables | W |
| of the ship Then Circe took me by the hand and bade me be seated away | X |
| from the others while she reclined by my side and asked me all | Y |
| about our adventures | Z |
| 'So far so good ' said she when I had ended my story 'and now pay | X |
| attention to what I am about to tell you heaven itself indeed | A2 |
| will recall it to your recollection First you will come to the Sirens | B2 |
| who enchant all who come near them If any one unwarily draws in too | A |
| close and hears the singing of the Sirens his wife and children | C2 |
| will never welcome him home again for they sit in a green field and | G |
| warble him to death with the sweetness of their song There is a great | D2 |
| heap of dead men's bones lying all around with the flesh still | R |
| rotting off them Therefore pass these Sirens by and stop your | T |
| men's ears with wax that none of them may hear but if you like you | A |
| can listen yourself for you may get the men to bind you as you | A |
| stand upright on a cross piece half way up the mast and they must | E2 |
| lash the rope's ends to the mast itself that you may have the | J |
| pleasure of listening If you beg and pray the men to unloose you | A |
| then they must bind you faster | F2 |
| 'When your crew have taken you past these Sirens I cannot give you | A |
| coherent directions as to which of two courses you are to take I will | R |
| lay the two alternatives before you and you must consider them for | T |
| yourself On the one hand there are some overhanging rocks against | G2 |
| which the deep blue waves of Amphitrite beat with terrific fury the | J |
| blessed gods call these rocks the Wanderers Here not even a bird | H2 |
| may pass no not even the timid doves that bring ambrosia to Father | F2 |
| Jove but the sheer rock always carries off one of them and Father | F2 |
| Jove has to send another to make up their number no ship that ever | F2 |
| yet came to these rocks has got away again but the waves and | G |
| whirlwinds of fire are freighted with wreckage and with the bodies | P |
| of dead men The only vessel that ever sailed and got through was the | J |
| famous Argo on her way from the house of Aetes and she too would have | I2 |
| gone against these great rocks only that Juno piloted her past them | J2 |
| for the love she bore to Jason | C2 |
| 'Of these two rocks the one reaches heaven and its peak is lost | K2 |
| in a dark cloud This never leaves it so that the top is never | F2 |
| clear not even in summer and early autumn No man though he had twenty | L2 |
| hands and twenty feet could get a foothold on it and climb it for | T |
| it runs sheer up as smooth as though it had been polished In the | J |
| middle of it there is a large cavern looking West and turned | M2 |
| towards Erebus you must take your ship this way but the cave is so | N2 |
| high up that not even the stoutest archer could send an arrow into it | O2 |
| Inside it Scylla sits and yelps with a voice that you might take to be | L2 |
| that of a young hound but in truth she is a dreadful monster and no | N2 |
| one not even a god could face her without being terror struck She | L2 |
| has twelve mis shapen feet and six necks of the most prodigious | P2 |
| length and at the end of each neck she has a frightful head with | K |
| three rows of teeth in each all set very close together so that they | X |
| would crunch any one to death in a moment and she sits deep within | Q2 |
| her shady cell thrusting out her heads and peering all round the rock | D |
| fishing for dolphins or dogfish or any larger monster that she can | R2 |
| catch of the thousands with which Amphitrite teems No ship ever | F2 |
| yet got past her without losing some men for she shoots out all her | F2 |
| heads at once and carries off a man in each mouth | S2 |
| 'You will find the other rocks lie lower but they are so close | T2 |
| together that there is not more than a bowshot between them A | J |
| large fig tree in full leaf grows upon it and under it lies the | J |
| sucking whirlpool of Charybdis Three times in the day does she | L2 |
| vomit forth her waters and three times she sucks them down again see | L2 |
| that you be not there when she is sucking for if you are Neptune | U2 |
| himself could not save you you must hug the Scylla side and drive | V2 |
| ship by as fast as you can for you had better lose six men than | R2 |
| your whole crew ' | U |
| 'Is there no way ' said I 'of escaping Charybdis and at the | J |
| same time keeping Scylla off when she is trying to harm my men ' | U |
| 'You dare devil ' replied the goddess you are always wanting to | A |
| fight somebody or something you will not let yourself be beaten | C2 |
| even by the immortals For Scylla is not mortal moreover she is | W2 |
| savage extreme rude cruel and invincible There is no help for | T |
| it your best chance will be to get by her as fast as ever you can | R2 |
| for if you dawdle about her rock while you are putting on your armour | F2 |
| she may catch you with a second cast of her six heads and snap up | X2 |
| another half dozen of your men so drive your ship past her at full | Y2 |
| speed and roar out lustily to Crataiis who is Scylla's dam bad | Z2 |
| luck to her she will then stop her from making a second raid upon | A3 |
| you | A |
| 'You will now come to the Thrinacian island and here you will | R |
| see many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep belonging to the sun god | B3 |
| seven herds of cattle and seven flocks of sheep with fifty head in | Q2 |
| each flock They do not breed nor do they become fewer in number and | G |
| they are tended by the goddesses Phaethusa and Lampetie who are | C3 |
| children of the sun god Hyperion by Neaera Their mother when she | L2 |
| had borne them and had done suckling them sent them to the | J |
| Thrinacian island which was a long way off to live there and look | D |
| after their father's flocks and herds If you leave these flocks | D3 |
| unharmed and think of nothing but getting home you may yet after | F2 |
| much hardship reach Ithaca but if you harm them then I forewarn | E3 |
| you of the destruction both of your ship and of your comrades and | G |
| even though you may yourself escape you will return late in bad | Z2 |
| plight after losing all your men ' | U |
| Here she ended and dawn enthroned in gold began to show in heaven | C2 |
| whereon she returned inland I then went on board and told my men to | A |
| loose the ship from her moorings so they at once got into her took | D |
| their places and began to smite the grey sea with their oars | F3 |
| Presently the great and cunning goddess Circe befriended us with a | J |
| fair wind that blew dead aft and stayed steadily with us keeping our | F2 |
| sails well filled so we did whatever wanted doing to the ship's gear | G3 |
| and let her go as wind and helmsman headed her | F2 |
| Then being much troubled in mind I said to my men 'My friends | H3 |
| it is not right that one or two of us alone should know the prophecies | P |
| that Circe has made me I will therefore tell you about them so | N2 |
| that whether we live or die we may do so with our eyes open First she | L2 |
| said we were to keep clear of the Sirens who sit and sing most | I3 |
| beautifully in a field of flowers but she said I might hear them | J2 |
| myself so long as no one else did Therefore take me and bind me to | A |
| the crosspiece half way up the mast bind me as I stand upright | J3 |
| with a bond so fast that I cannot possibly break away and lash the | J |
| rope's ends to the mast itself If I beg and pray you to set me | L2 |
| free then bind me more tightly still ' | U |
| I had hardly finished telling everything to the men before we | L2 |
| reached the island of the two Sirens for the wind had been very | L2 |
| favourable Then all of a sudden it fell dead calm there was not a | J |
| breath of wind nor a ripple upon the water so the men furled the | J |
| sails and stowed them then taking to their oars they whitened the | J |
| water with the foam they raised in rowing Meanwhile I look a large | K3 |
| wheel of wax and cut it up small with my sword Then I kneaded the wax | L3 |
| in my strong hands till it became soft which it soon did between | M3 |
| the kneading and the rays of the sun god son of Hyperion Then I | E |
| stopped the ears of all my men and they bound me hands and feet to | A |
| the mast as I stood upright on the crosspiece but they went on rowing | D |
| themselves When we had got within earshot of the land and the ship | N3 |
| was going at a good rate the Sirens saw that we were getting in shore | T |
| and began with their singing | D |
| 'Come here ' they sang 'renowned Ulysses honour to the Achaean | C2 |
| name and listen to our two voices No one ever sailed past us without | O3 |
| staying to hear the enchanting sweetness of our song and he who | A |
| listens will go on his way not only charmed but wiser for we know | N2 |
| all the ills that the gods laid upon the Argives and Trojans before | T |
| Troy and can tell you everything that is going to happen over the | J |
| whole world ' | U |
| They sang these words most musically and as I longed to hear | P3 |
| them further I made by frowning to my men that they should set me | L2 |
| free but they quickened their stroke and Eurylochus and Perimedes | L3 |
| bound me with still stronger bonds till we had got out of hearing of | Q3 |
| the Sirens' voices Then my men took the wax from their ears and | G |
| unbound me | L2 |
| Immediately after we had got past the island I saw a great wave | R3 |
| from which spray was rising and I heard a loud roaring sound The men | Q |
| were so frightened that they loosed hold of their oars for the | J |
| whole sea resounded with the rushing of the waters but the ship | N3 |
| stayed where it was for the men had left off rowing I went round | S3 |
| therefore and exhorted them man by man not to lose heart | T3 |
| 'My friends ' said I 'this is not the first time that we have been | Q2 |
| in danger and we are in nothing like so bad a case as when the | J |
| Cyclops shut us up in his cave nevertheless my courage and wise | L3 |
| counsel saved us then and we shall live to look back on all this as | L3 |
| well Now therefore let us all do as I say trust in Jove and row on | A3 |
| with might and main As for you coxswain these are your orders | L3 |
| attend to them for the ship is in your hands turn her head away from | U3 |
| these steaming rapids and hug the rock or she will give you the | J |
| slip and be over yonder before you know where you are and you will be | L2 |
| the death of us ' | U |
| So they did as I told them but I said nothing about the awful | H |
| monster Scylla for I knew the men would not on rowing if I did but | F |
| would huddle together in the hold In one thing only did I disobey | X |
| Circe's strict instructions I put on my armour Then seizing two | A |
| strong spears I took my stand on the ship Is bows for it was there | B |
| that I expected first to see the monster of the rock who was to do my | E |
| men so much harm but I could not make her out anywhere though I | E |
| strained my eyes with looking the gloomy rock all over and over | F2 |
| Then we entered the Straits in great fear of mind for on the one | C2 |
| hand was Scylla and on the other dread Charybdis kept sucking up | X2 |
| the salt water As she vomited it up it was like the water in a | J |
| cauldron when it is boiling over upon a great fire and the spray | X |
| reached the top of the rocks on either side When she began to suck | D |
| again we could see the water all inside whirling round and round and | G |
| it made a deafening sound as it broke against the rocks We could | V3 |
| see the bottom of the whirlpool all black with sand and mud and the | J |
| men were at their wit's ends for fear While we were taken up with | K |
| this and were expecting each moment to be our last Scylla pounced | W3 |
| down suddenly upon us and snatched up my six best men I was looking | D |
| at once after both ship and men and in a moment I saw their hands and | G |
| feet ever so high above me struggling in the air as Scylla was | L3 |
| carrying them off and I heard them call out my name in one last | M |
| despairing cry As a fisherman seated spear in hand upon some | U3 |
| jutting rock throws bait into the water to deceive the poor little | H |
| fishes and spears them with the ox's horn with which his spear is | L3 |
| shod throwing them gasping on to the land as he catches them one by | E |
| one even so did Scylla land these panting creatures on her rock and | G |
| munch them up at the mouth of her den while they screamed and | G |
| stretched out their hands to me in their mortal agony This was the | J |
| most sickening sight that I saw throughout all my voyages | L3 |
| When we had passed the Wandering rocks with Scylla and | G |
| terrible Charybdis we reached the noble island of the sun god | B3 |
| where were the goodly cattle and sheep belonging to the sun | C2 |
| Hyperion While still at sea in my ship I could bear the cattle lowing | D |
| as they came home to the yards and the sheep bleating Then I | E |
| remembered what the blind Theban prophet Teiresias had told me and | G |
| how carefully Aeaean Circe had warned me to shun the island of the | J |
| blessed sun god So being much troubled I said to the men 'My men | Q |
| I know you are hard pressed but listen while I tell you the | J |
| prophecy that Teiresias made me and how carefully Aeaean Circe warned | X3 |
| me to shun the island of the blessed sun god for it was here she | L2 |
| said that our worst danger would lie Head the ship therefore | T |
| away from the island ' | U |
| The men were in despair at this and Eurylochus at once gave me | L2 |
| an insolent answer 'Ulysses ' said he 'you are cruel you are very | L2 |
| strong yourself and never get worn out you seem to be made of iron | Y3 |
| and now though your men are exhausted with toil and want of sleep | C |
| you will not let them land and cook themselves a good supper upon this | L3 |
| island but bid them put out to sea and go faring fruitlessly on | A3 |
| through the watches of the flying night It is by night that the winds | L3 |
| blow hardest and do so much damage how can we escape should one of | Q3 |
| those sudden squalls spring up from South West or West which so often | C2 |
| wreck a vessel when our lords the gods are unpropitious Now | Z3 |
| therefore let us obey the of night and prepare our supper here hard | A4 |
| by the ship to morrow morning we will go on board again and put out | O3 |
| to sea ' | U |
| Thus spoke Eurylochus and the men approved his words I saw that | B4 |
| heaven meant us a mischief and said 'You force me to yield for you | A |
| are many against one but at any rate each one of you must take his | L3 |
| solemn oath that if he meet with a herd of cattle or a large flock | D |
| of sheep he will not be so mad as to kill a single head of either | F2 |
| but will be satisfied with the food that Circe has given us ' | U |
| They all swore as I bade them and when they had completed their | B |
| oath we made the ship fast in a harbour that was near a stream of | Q3 |
| fresh water and the men went ashore and cooked their suppers As soon | U2 |
| as they had had enough to eat and drink they began talking about | O3 |
| their poor comrades whom Scylla had snatched up and eaten this set | C4 |
| them weeping and they went on crying till they fell off into a sound | S3 |
| sleep | C |
| In the third watch of the night when the stars had shifted their | B |
| places Jove raised a great gale of wind that flew a hurricane so that | B4 |
| land and sea were covered with thick clouds and night sprang forth | D4 |
| out of the heavens When the child of morning rosy fingered Dawn | E4 |
| appeared we brought the ship to land and drew her into a cave wherein | Q2 |
| the sea nymphs hold their courts and dances and I called the men | Q |
| together in council | H |
| 'My friends ' said I 'we have meat and drink in the ship let us | L3 |
| mind therefore and not touch the cattle or we shall suffer for | T |
| it for these cattle and sheep belong to the mighty sun who sees | L3 |
| and gives ear to everything And again they promised that they would | V3 |
| obey | X |
| For a whole month the wind blew steadily from the South and | G |
| there was no other wind but only South and East As long as corn | E3 |
| and wine held out the men did not touch the cattle when they were | F2 |
| hungry when however they had eaten all there was in the ship | N3 |
| they were forced to go further afield with hook and line catching | D |
| birds and taking whatever they could lay their hands on for they | X |
| were starving One day therefore I went up inland that I might | J3 |
| pray heaven to show me some means of getting away When I had gone far | C3 |
| enough to be clear of all my men and had found a place that was | L3 |
| well sheltered from the wind I washed my hands and prayed to all | Y |
| the gods in Olympus till by and by they sent me off into a sweet | F4 |
| sleep | C |
| Meanwhile Eurylochus had been giving evil counsel to the men | Q |
| 'Listen to me ' said he 'my poor comrades All deaths are bad | Z2 |
| enough but there is none so bad as famine Why should not we drive | V2 |
| in the best of these cows and offer them in sacrifice to the | J |
| immortal Rods If we ever get back to Ithaca we can build a fine | G4 |
| temple to the sun god and enrich it with every kind of ornament if | H4 |
| however he is determined to sink our ship out of revenge for these | L3 |
| homed cattle and the other gods are of the same mind I for one would | V3 |
| rather drink salt water once for all and have done with it than be | L2 |
| starved to death by inches in such a desert island as this is ' | U |
| Thus spoke Eurylochus and the men approved his words Now the | J |
| cattle so fair and goodly were feeding not far from the ship the | J |
| men therefore drove in the best of them and they all stood round | S3 |
| them saying their prayers and using young oak shoots instead of | Q3 |
| barley meal for there was no barley left When they had done | C2 |
| praying they killed the cows and dressed their carcasses they cut out | O3 |
| the thigh bones wrapped them round in two layers of fat and set some | U3 |
| pieces of raw meat on top of them They had no wine with which to make | D |
| drink offerings over the sacrifice while it was cooking so they | X |
| kept pouring on a little water from time to time while the inward | H2 |
| meats were being grilled then when the thigh bones were burned and | G |
| they had tasted the inward meats they cut the rest up small and put | I4 |
| the pieces upon the spits | L3 |
| By this time my deep sleep had left me and I turned back to the | J |
| ship and to the sea shore As I drew near I began to smell hot roast | I3 |
| meat so I groaned out a prayer to the immortal gods 'Father Jove ' I | E |
| exclaimed 'and all you other gods who live in everlasting bliss | L3 |
| you have done me a cruel mischief by the sleep into which you have | I2 |
| sent me see what fine work these men of mine have been making in my | E |
| absence ' | U |
| Meanwhile Lampetie went straight off to the sun and told him we had | Z2 |
| been killing his cows whereon he flew into a great rage and said | N |
| to the immortals 'Father Jove and all you other gods who live in | Q2 |
| everlasting bliss I must have vengeance on the crew of Ulysses' ship | N3 |
| they have had the insolence to kill my cows which were the one | C2 |
| thing I loved to look upon whether I was going up heaven or down | J4 |
| again If they do not square accounts with me about my cows I will go | N2 |
| down to Hades and shine there among the dead ' | U |
| 'Sun ' said Jove 'go on shining upon us gods and upon mankind over | F2 |
| the fruitful earth I will shiver their ship into little pieces with a | J |
| bolt of white lightning as soon as they get out to sea ' | U |
| I was told all this by Calypso who said she had heard it from | U3 |
| the mouth of Mercury | L2 |
| As soon as I got down to my ship and to the sea shore I rebuked | K4 |
| each one of the men separately but we could see no way out of it for | T |
| the cows were dead already And indeed the gods began at once to | A |
| show signs and wonders among us for the hides of the cattle crawled | L4 |
| about and the joints upon the spits began to low like cows and the | J |
| meat whether cooked or raw kept on making a noise just as cows do | A |
| For six days my men kept driving in the best cows and feasting upon | A3 |
| them but when Jove the son of Saturn had added a seventh day the | J |
| fury of the gale abated we therefore went on board raised our masts | L3 |
| spread sail and put out to sea As soon as we were well away from the | J |
| island and could see nothing but sky and sea the son of Saturn | Y3 |
| raised a black cloud over our ship and the sea grew dark beneath | M4 |
| it We not get on much further for in another moment we were caught | L |
| by a terrific squall from the West that snapped the forestays of the | J |
| mast so that it fell aft while all the ship's gear tumbled about at | B4 |
| the bottom of the vessel The mast fell upon the head of the | J |
| helmsman in the ship's stern so that the bones of his head were | F2 |
| crushed to pieces and he fell overboard as though he were diving | D |
| with no more life left in him | S |
| Then Jove let fly with his thunderbolts and the ship went round | S3 |
| and round and was filled with fire and brimstone as the lightning | D |
| struck it The men all fell into the sea they were carried about in | Q2 |
| the water round the ship looking like so many sea gulls but the | J |
| god presently deprived them of all chance of getting home again | Q |
| I stuck to the ship till the sea knocked her sides from her keel | N4 |
| which drifted about by itself and struck the mast out of her in | Q2 |
| the direction of the keel but there was a backstay of stout | O3 |
| ox thong still hanging about it and with this I lashed the mast and | G |
| keel together and getting astride of them was carried wherever the | J |
| winds chose to take me | L2 |
| The gale from the West had now spent its force and the wind got | L |
| into the South again which frightened me lest I should be taken | C2 |
| back to the terrible whirlpool of Charybdis This indeed was what | F |
| actually happened for I was borne along by the waves all night and | G |
| by sunrise had reacfied the rock of Scylla and the whirlpool She was | L3 |
| then sucking down the salt sea water but I was carried aloft toward | O4 |
| the fig tree which I caught hold of and clung on to like a bat I | E |
| could not plant my feet anywhere so as to stand securely for the | J |
| roots were a long way off and the boughs that overshadowed the whole | P4 |
| pool were too high too vast and too far apart for me to reach | Q4 |
| them so I hung patiently on waiting till the pool should discharge | K3 |
| my mast and raft again and a very long while it seemed A juryman | C2 |
| is not more glad to get home to supper after having been long | D |
| detained in court by troublesome cases than I was to see my raft | R4 |
| beginning to work its way out of the whirlpool again At last I let go | N2 |
| with my hands and feet and fell heavily into the sea bard by my raft | R4 |
| on to which I then got and began to row with my hands As for Scylla | J |
| the father of gods and men would not let her get further sight of | Q3 |
| me otherwise I should have certainly been lost | K2 |
| Hence I was carried along for nine days till on the tenth night the | J |
| gods stranded me on the Ogygian island where dwells the great and | G |
| powerful goddess Calypso She took me in and was kind to me but I | E |
| need say no more about this for I told you and your noble wife all | Y |
| about it yesterday and I hate saying the same thing over and over | F2 |
| again | C2 |
Homer
(1)
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