Book Twelve: The Cattle of the Sun

Odysseus and his crew return to Aeaea and hold a funeral for Elpenor. Circe warns Odysseus about the journey ahead, and they leave. Odysseus' crew puts beeswax in their ears when passing by the Sirens and their enchanting song, however, Odysseus chooses to listen while lashed to the mast. Afterwards, Odysseus chooses not to tell his men about Scylla and just tells them to row away from Charybdis. Six men are taken by Scylla, and the men reach the island where Helios kept his cattle. Eurylochus points out that they should stay there, and Odysseus agrees but on the condition that the men swear to not slaughter any of the cattle. After a month of waiting because the south wind blew nonstop, the men run out of supplies and eventually kill some of the cattle. Helios was told, and Zeus ended up killing the crew by hitting the ship with a lightning bolt. Odysseus drifts on a raft, and ends up on Calypso's island. It seemed odd how Odysseus would agree to staying on the island where Helios's herds were after hearing about the possible doom of his crew, even with the crew taking an oath. Also, the way that Odysseus withheld information to his crew about Scylla seemed self centered, even if it was in their best interest.