AN ILLEGAL FEAST AND THE CONSEQUENCES
Once Odysseus and his companions landed they were held there for a month with adverse winds.
Eventually Odysseus leaves the others to ponder the situation, but falls asleep. When he returns,
they have already slaughtered some of the cattle.
They do set sail, but only just get out of sight of land when the Immortal Zeus responds to a
complaint from Helios:
"A screaming west wind came upon us, stormily blowing
and the blast of the stormwind snapped both the forestays that were holding
the mast, and the mast went over backwards, and all the running gear
collapsed in the wash; and at the stern of the ship the mast pole
crashed down on the steersman's head and pounded to pieces
all the bones of his head, so that he like a diver
dropped from the high deck and the proud life left his bones there.
Zeus with thunder and lightning together crashed on our vessel,
and, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus, she spun in a circle,
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
They do set sail, but only just get out of sight of land when the Immortal Zeus responds to a
complaint from Helios:
"A screaming west wind came upon us, stormily blowing
and the blast of the stormwind snapped both the forestays that were holding
the mast, and the mast went over backwards, and all the running gear
collapsed in the wash; and at the stern of the ship the mast pole
crashed down on the steersman's head and pounded to pieces
all the bones of his head, so that he like a diver
dropped from the high deck and the proud life left his bones there.
Zeus with thunder and lightning together crashed on our vessel,
and, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus, she spun in a circle,
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
and the blast of the stormwind snapped both the forestays that were holding
the mast, and the mast went over backwards, and all the running gear
collapsed in the wash; and at the stern of the ship the mast pole
crashed down on the steersman's head and pounded to pieces
all the bones of his head, so that he like a diver
dropped from the high deck and the proud life left his bones there.
Zeus with thunder and lightning together crashed on our vessel,
and, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus, she spun in a circle,
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
collapsed in the wash; and at the stern of the ship the mast pole
crashed down on the steersman's head and pounded to pieces
all the bones of his head, so that he like a diver
dropped from the high deck and the proud life left his bones there.
Zeus with thunder and lightning together crashed on our vessel,
and, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus, she spun in a circle,
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
all the bones of his head, so that he like a diver
dropped from the high deck and the proud life left his bones there.
Zeus with thunder and lightning together crashed on our vessel,
and, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus, she spun in a circle,
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
Zeus with thunder and lightning together crashed on our vessel,
and, struck by the thunderbolt of Zeus, she spun in a circle,
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
... My men were thrown in the water,
and bobbing like sea crows they were washed away on the running
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
waves all around the black ship, and the god took away their
homecoming."
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
All are lost except Odysseus, who ties the keel and mast together and floats on them for nine
days.
What happened during those nine days? The south wind came swiftly on, and first Odysseus
passes back again between Scylla and Charybdis:
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
"From there I was carried along nine days, and on the tenth night
the gods brought me to the island Ogygia, home of Kalypso
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
with the lovely hair, a dread goddess who talks with mortals.
She befriended me and took care of me."
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX
This south wind is important, because it fits very well with the geography of the place where we
have Odysseus. I used the 13 tidal current maps of the area giving mean current speeds (in knots)
at springs, or spring tides, i.e. the higher amplitude tides. Here's a sample of how they look:
Starting with our geography for where Odysseus says he was, with a south wind blowing and
Odysseus approaching Corryvrechan from the south, I plotted the various tidal changes. For
example, while the tide is flowing northwards there, further north and west it is flowing south at
the same time, but four hours later it is flowing north through "the Little Minch" between the
Inner and Outer Hebrides (the islands off the west coast of Scotland) and then north of that
through the Minch itself. There are three factors to take into account:
- the wind itself, which would be pushing Odysseus and his mast and keel in one direction or
another;
- the surface current or drift (it would result from the prevailing wind, in this case the south
westerlies);
- the tidal stream.
The distance would be about 300 miles. Nine days and nights is 216 hours, requiring an average
speed of about 1.22 knots. This does not seem unreasonable.
I plotted nine days and nights and found that according to my calculations he would have drifted
through the Minch, around Cape Wrath and east to the Pentland Firth.
It would appear that landing could have occurred on the Island of Stroma, south of the main Orkney Islands, east
of Dunnet Head and west of Duncansby Head off the north coast of Scotland.
TO INDEX