FROM SIRENS TO WHIRLPOOL
Now Odysseus has his directions. He and his companions leave Circe for the last time. Circe has
warned Odysseus
"You will come first of all to the Sirens, who are enchanters
of all mankind ---by the melody of their singing ---
They sit in their meadow, but the beach before it is piled with boneheaps
of men ---You must drive straight on past ---"
What Odysseus does is to have the ears of his men plugged with wax. He himself is bound to the
mast, and in this way they avoid being tempted by the Sirens.
Edo Nyland, who has investigated the Hebridean area, says that a local historian showed him a
creek where the water comes from an acidic bog and is ideal for shrinking the locally made tweed
cloth, especially when mixed with urine. The women who used to do this work sang rhythmic
songs called "waulking songs" as they passed the long woven cloth from person to person. Many
of the waulking songs are said to be still remembered by older Scottish people. Perhaps Odysseus
and his companions, having just left the Immortal Circe and her maidens, did not want to get
involved with these girls who might be enticing them to go ashore.
Next Odysseus encounters the Roving Rocks, which could be the Torran Rocks. These are small
and treacherous enough for a ship under sail or oars, but worse is to come. Odysseus reaches the
famous cavern of Skylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis. He's told in advance by Circe
"the other cliff is lower, you will see it, Odysseus,
for they lie close together, you could even cast with an arrow
across".
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
"You will come first of all to the Sirens, who are enchanters
of all mankind ---by the melody of their singing ---
They sit in their meadow, but the beach before it is piled with boneheaps
of men ---You must drive straight on past ---"
What Odysseus does is to have the ears of his men plugged with wax. He himself is bound to the
mast, and in this way they avoid being tempted by the Sirens.
Edo Nyland, who has investigated the Hebridean area, says that a local historian showed him a
creek where the water comes from an acidic bog and is ideal for shrinking the locally made tweed
cloth, especially when mixed with urine. The women who used to do this work sang rhythmic
songs called "waulking songs" as they passed the long woven cloth from person to person. Many
of the waulking songs are said to be still remembered by older Scottish people. Perhaps Odysseus
and his companions, having just left the Immortal Circe and her maidens, did not want to get
involved with these girls who might be enticing them to go ashore.
Next Odysseus encounters the Roving Rocks, which could be the Torran Rocks. These are small
and treacherous enough for a ship under sail or oars, but worse is to come. Odysseus reaches the
famous cavern of Skylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis. He's told in advance by Circe
"the other cliff is lower, you will see it, Odysseus,
for they lie close together, you could even cast with an arrow
across".
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
They sit in their meadow, but the beach before it is piled with boneheaps
of men ---You must drive straight on past ---"
What Odysseus does is to have the ears of his men plugged with wax. He himself is bound to the
mast, and in this way they avoid being tempted by the Sirens.
Edo Nyland, who has investigated the Hebridean area, says that a local historian showed him a
creek where the water comes from an acidic bog and is ideal for shrinking the locally made tweed
cloth, especially when mixed with urine. The women who used to do this work sang rhythmic
songs called "waulking songs" as they passed the long woven cloth from person to person. Many
of the waulking songs are said to be still remembered by older Scottish people. Perhaps Odysseus
and his companions, having just left the Immortal Circe and her maidens, did not want to get
involved with these girls who might be enticing them to go ashore.
Next Odysseus encounters the Roving Rocks, which could be the Torran Rocks. These are small
and treacherous enough for a ship under sail or oars, but worse is to come. Odysseus reaches the
famous cavern of Skylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis. He's told in advance by Circe
"the other cliff is lower, you will see it, Odysseus,
for they lie close together, you could even cast with an arrow
across".
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
What Odysseus does is to have the ears of his men plugged with wax. He himself is bound to the
mast, and in this way they avoid being tempted by the Sirens.
Edo Nyland, who has investigated the Hebridean area, says that a local historian showed him a
creek where the water comes from an acidic bog and is ideal for shrinking the locally made tweed
cloth, especially when mixed with urine. The women who used to do this work sang rhythmic
songs called "waulking songs" as they passed the long woven cloth from person to person. Many
of the waulking songs are said to be still remembered by older Scottish people. Perhaps Odysseus
and his companions, having just left the Immortal Circe and her maidens, did not want to get
involved with these girls who might be enticing them to go ashore.
Next Odysseus encounters the Roving Rocks, which could be the Torran Rocks. These are small
and treacherous enough for a ship under sail or oars, but worse is to come. Odysseus reaches the
famous cavern of Skylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis. He's told in advance by Circe
"the other cliff is lower, you will see it, Odysseus,
for they lie close together, you could even cast with an arrow
across".
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
Next Odysseus encounters the Roving Rocks, which could be the Torran Rocks. These are small
and treacherous enough for a ship under sail or oars, but worse is to come. Odysseus reaches the
famous cavern of Skylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis. He's told in advance by Circe
"the other cliff is lower, you will see it, Odysseus,
for they lie close together, you could even cast with an arrow
across".
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
for they lie close together, you could even cast with an arrow
across".
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
You may remember that in the Mediterranean the Straits of Messina were about two miles wide
at the narrows. But here we have something quite different. Between the Islands of Scorba and
Jura lies the whirlpool of Corryvrechan. It's supposed to be the most powerful and most to be
avoided whirlpool in the whole of Western Europe. One commentator who has sailed in the area,
writes in his guide that its roar can be heard four miles away, and the tide race can run as fast as
nine knots. Local legend says an old witch lives in a cavern that exists, facing west, opposite
Scorba, on Jura. Here's a more technical report on the power of Corryvrechan:
"The Admiralty chart shows that the flood tide drives north up the Sound of Jura, then west
through the Corryvreckan strait at 9 knots (over 10 mph or over 16 km. per hour). ...The great
overfall and whirlpool form at the west end, near the Scarba shore....At spring tides which come
each fortnight at the change of moon the current gains tremendous power, ...causing breaking
seas and the vast sucking whirlpool in which no small boat can hope to live. When a strong
westerly blows against a spring flood ...the breakers at the overfall can be twenty feet high and
spout higher still. In a storm the roar can be heard along a twenty-mile stretch of the mainland
coast..."
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
You can see why a penteconter would have trouble trying to pass through a location like that.
They finally survive this dreadful ordeal, with the loss of six men to the monstrous Scylla. After
that, there is plain sailing to :
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
"the excellent island
of the god, where ranged the handsome, wide-browed oxen, and many
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
fat flocks of sheep, belonging to the Sun God, Hyperion."
Remembering the warning of the prophet that they were under no circumstances to touch the
property of the Sun God, generally known as Helios, Odysseus told his companions to sail on by,
but they were tired and hungry and persuaded him to stop there.
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
The prophet had already told them the island was called Thrinakia. That means "Three Pronged".
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
It so happens that Jura has the "Three Paps" which are a conspicuous landmark. There is no
such formation that I am aware of in the Mediterranean area.
To this day Jura is a cattle exporting island. The Imperial Gazeteer of Scotland says that the two
Lairds who own the island are in the habit of exporting about a thousand head of cattle annually.
That seems to tie in well with the story of Helios' cattle.
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan.
I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada),
but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about
an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock
in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres
and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see
all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast
on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up
showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales),
but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there
would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems
not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several
large caves there right opposite the whirlpool.
Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains
from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura
you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into
the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the
nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered
in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey
at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed
through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.
TO INDEX
NOTE 1
On November 21, 2005 I received the following email:
Dear Edward
Since my previous email I have hired a boatman and been out to inspect Charybdis/Corryvreckan. I don't know whether you have been there (it's a long way from Canada), but thought you might be interested to know that the strait is indeed about an arrowshot across and over 160 metres deep. There is a narrow column of rock in the middle which rises from the seabed to an underwater height of 130 metres and around this the waters churn. They churn so much that it is quite common to see all sorts of sea creatures either sucked in or drawn in to feast on the stirred up marine life. I saw two curving backs rise up showing dark vertical fins and that was slack water (probably Minke whales), but several of any such creatures appearing together in a storm there would fit the Skylla description pretty well. Scorba seems not so very different sounding from Scylla and you can certainly see several large caves there right opposite the whirlpool. Directly inland from there are an enormous number of remains from as early as 3500 BC. In fact as you sail the inland side of Jura you can see the ancient stones lining up from the shore and leading up into the hills. Odysseus would have had a whole month to ponder these. In the nearby Museum is a Bronze Age Greek sword discovered in a nearby lake by an 11 year old boy.
Best regards,
Piers Killeen
Peak Research UK
In his previous email Piers told me that he had read the Odysssey at Oxford in Greek and as a sailor had sailed through the Minch and rounded Cape Wrath.