With the aid of a protective herb (moly) given to him by Hermes, Odysseus overcomes Circe and has her swear on the Styx not to harm him.
On the island Aeaea, Odysseus sends a scouting party to Circe’s house, and she turns the men into pigs, using drugged wine and her magic wand. 
11 of Odysseus’ 12 ships are destroyed only his ship escapes.
In the land of the Laestrygonians, a race of cannibalistic giants, Odysseus’ men are attacked by the locals, and most are killed. He gifts to Odysseus a bag filled with additional winds, but just before they would have reached Ithaca, the men, wanting to see the riches inside, open the bag, and the released winds send them back to Aiolos, who refuses to provide further aid.Ĭirce offers a cup of wine to Odysseus. 
Odysseus and his companions arrive at the island of Aiolos, the god of winds, who gives them a fair wind to send them straight home. As they sail away, a boasting Odysseus taunts the Cyclops and reveals his name, but as a result Polyphemus is able to have his father, the sea god Poseidon, curse Odysseus and make his homeward journey long and miserable. Odysseus uses his skill and cunning to escape, calling himself “No One” ( Outis in Greek) so that the Cyclops will say to his friends that “no one” is attacking him. On the next island, Odysseus and a scouting party enter the cave of Polyphemus, a man-eating Cyclops. Odysseus drags them by force back to the ships. In the land of the lotus-eaters, the locals offer Odysseus’ men lotus-flowers to eat, which cause them to forget that they need to go home. 
Then, they are blown off-course into strange, unknown seas.
Odysseus and his men, seeking plunder, raid the land of the Cicones, but are attacked by reinforcements. Then, he begins his story, starting from when he and his men set sail for home after the fall of Troy: Time for a quick recap of what happens in Books 9-12:īook 9: Odysseus reveals his identity to the Phaeacians: he is Odysseus, son of Laertes, famous for all manner of cunning, who comes from Ithaca. These fantastic adventures are what people think of whenever the Odyssey is mentioned, and they are a significant part of why so many people-including myself-are fascinated by Homer. Now we move onto Books 9-12, which contain the most well-known episodes of the poem, such as the incident of the Cyclops’ cave, the alluring song of the Sirens, or the sorceress Circe’s transformation of men into pigs-all narrated by Odysseus himself. In my previous post about the Odyssey, I shared my thoughts on Books 5-8.
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