The second half of the unit primarily focuses on Odysseus’s
journey to the House of Hades. This is where he was instructed go in the first
half of the unit by Circe. He was told to seek out the guidance of Teiresias
who was a Theban seer. Teiresias was
only one of many departed souls that Odysseus actually came across. He first
saw his comrade Elpenor who had recently died the day they left Cicre’s home.
His friend begged him to not forget him and Odysseus gave his word that he wouldn’t.
Next he saw Teiresias who prophesized what would come of Odysseus and his men.
Ultimately they would make it back home and he would live out his days prosperously
until he would finally pass due to old age.
The next person he saw and definitely the saddest was his
own mother. He asked what life was like back home and how everyone else in the
family was. She detailed their lives and how much everyone missed him. She even
goes on to say that missing him is what lead to her death. Odysseus longed to
reach out and touch or hold his mother but he simply could not. This made
seeing her that much worse. After his mother he visited with a slew of famous
men, women, and Greek heroes. Once he felt he had received all the information
he needed he and his crew were off again.
The final segment of the unit detailed the crews encounter
with the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. Honestly, I felt this section was far
more interesting but it seemed like it kind of got snuffed so the interactions
with the dead could be detailed. I might go read the original just to have a
better image in my mind of the daunting obstacles Odysseus and his men had to
overcome.
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