The Odessey

The Land of the Dead

Odyseuss's POV

" Just spread your sail" Circe told me. " and the north wind will carry you directly to the black shore" Beach your ship and go inland looking for a lake where the river of fire and the river of tears meet." Dig a trench there on the shore, a forearm's length on each side, and sacrifice a black lamb and a young goat." The spirits of the dead will soon appear, drawn by the smell of blood. Have your men quickly burn the carcasses in sacrifice to the twelve gods, while you draw your sword and stand over the trench. You may see spirits you know, but let none touch the blood until Tiresias appears. Question him about your journey, and he will tell you everything" Circe explained to him.

I soon saw one of my crewmates ." El-Elpenor? How did you get here? Your were with us just yesterday! " Captain, it was my ill luck that brought me here more swiftly than your black shup." Elpenor explained. " I had drunk too much and gone to sleep on Circe's roof, in the fresh night air. I was roused by the sounds of the men marching out to the ship, but in confusion I missed the ladder and fell headlong, snapping my neck." I promised him his wish. His spirit faded back into the darkness. But then came another shade I knew too well: Anticleia, my own beloved mother, who had still lived when I sailed for Troy. I thought with a worried face as to why his mother would be dead. Did someone attack Ithaca? No! Is Penelope here? OMG! I started panicking in my brain. The sight broke my heart, but kept my sword out, she held back from it till i saw the man I sought.

The man came forward and drank the blood from the pit and he came forward to me with blood dripping down his beard. " So great Odyesseus." You come to me for prophecy and advice. You want to know how you can return home to your beloved island Ithaca"

" Yes, great sage. Tell me what you see. How can I complete my journey?" I asked the seer.

Tireseaus begins; You can only reach your home by disciplining yourself and your men. Heed my words. You must not touch the cattle of Helios, the sun god, who sees all! If you leave those scared beasts unharmed, your ship and all your crew will reach home safely.

But If you allow your men to kill any of Helios's cattle, then your ship and crew will be destroyed, and you will suffer more long years at sea. You'll return at last, but under a strange sail, unrecognized at home. Your palace is overrun by enemies– suitors who seek to eat up your flocks and claim your wife.

Once you have killed these men, whether in combat or by stealth, and put your house in order, you must take your oar with you and travel inland until you reach a country where men know nothing of ships or the sea. You will know you've reached the place when a stranger asks you what is on your shoulder and thinks it a flail or some tool for a threshing grain.

There you must plant your oar and make a rich sacrifice to Lord poseidon–a ram, a bull, and a breeding boar– asking his forgiveness for putting out the eye of his son Plyphemus. Then return home and make rich sacrifices to all the gods in turn. If you do this, then death will come upon you peacefully in old age, with your loved ones around you.

" Your words mix the bitter and the sweet. But tell me this too: I think I see my mother there, shawy and insubstantial. Is she among the dead, or do my eyes play tricks in this place?" Odysseus says. " Yes, she is dead. It is simple enough to speak to any spirit here; just allow them to taste the blood, and they will converse with you." Tireasus explained. He walked towards his mother.

" Oh Mother," he said quietly. " My son, my son. Are you still at sea? Have you not made it back home to comfort your wife?" " No. Is she well, mother? Is my son well? And what of my father, your husband. Laertes?" " Your son is well, stout and strong of limb and mind. Your wife pines for you, soaking the floors. So does your father; he has exiled himself to the hills where he sleeps with the shepherds." She explained how she couldn't bear to stay alive any longer for her son to come. She took her life by drowning herself in the shore off their homeland.

Athena's POV

There were many sons of gods that he met among the dead. Thousands of people." To name them would take the whole rest of the night my little rascals." She said tickling the kids in their tummies. " tee hee hee" " stop it! Stop it! Mom! Come on, tell us the rest." " But come now, children, aren't you sleepy?" Their father stepped in the doorframe and shook his head then chuckled, a few seconds later left to go back to their bedroom. " Aww, come on! Sleep can wait!"

" Ok sure" she smiled at their hopeful faces then continued.

Posted 1/17/22