Circe

Odysseus’s ship then came to the island of Aeaea, home of the enchantress Circe. Circe used her magic to turn some of Odysseus’s men into pigs, but the god Hermes came to their rescue. He gave Odysseus a magic herb, moly, that would help him resist Circe’s magic. When Circe met

Odysseus and realized she could not control him, she fell in love with him. She returned his men to their human forms and invited them all to stay.

Odysseus and his men stayed with Circe for a year. Before they left, Circe gave them directions to Hades, the land of the dead, where they could find the soul of Tiresias, a seer who would tell Odysseus his future. Odysseus reached Hades by sailing down the River of Ocean (Oceanus).Tiresias told him not to harm the cattle on Helios’s island of Thrinacia, which he would soon visit. He also warned Odysseus that in Ithaca, his wife Penelope was being harassed by suitors who believed Odysseus was dead and wanted to marry her and take over the throne. Finally, Tiresias told Odysseus he would live to be old, and that death would come to him out of the sea. In Hades, Odysseus also met his mother, Anticleia, who had died while he was away, and Greek leader Agamemnon, who had been murdered by his wife on his return from Troy.

The Tomb of Odysseus

Some people believe that an ancient Greek tomb at Poros, on the island of Cephalonia, could be the grave of Odysseus. The tomb is a tholos, a dome-shaped underground chamber containing many graves. It dates from the Mycenaean period (1400-1100 BCE), when the events leading up to the Trojan War are thought to have occurred.

Cephalonia is the closest island to Ithaca, and since Homer does not mention it as a separate kingdom, some experts think Cephalonia might originally have

Been part of the kingdom of Ithaca. If this is true, it would make sense that Odysseus is buried there. Tholos tombs were often used to bury royalty, and the graves in the Poros tomb contained gold and jewelry, suggesting that the person who was buried there was very wealthy.

However, with such an old tomb, it is very hard to prove who was buried there. Even if it was Odysseus, his life was probably very different than that of the famous mythical hero.

Below: In this vase painting, Odysseus is tied tightly to the mast of his ship. Safely bound, he cannot succumb to the winged Sirens’ enchanting songs as they circle him and his men.