Theme Of Sacrifice In The Odyssey

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Book X
Kirke violates and then fulfills her duty of xenia in her initial and subsequent treatment of Odysseus and his men in many ways. When Odysseus’ men find their way up to Kirkes’ house they were quite puzzled as to why her wolves and mountain lions continue to lay there with only a flickering of the tail. But the men proceeded to walk up to the house anyway, where they stood at the door and listened to her sing, not knowing if she was a goddess or a lady they went on the greet her. When she lets the men into her house she prepared the men a meal of cheese, barley and wine which she had poisoned hoping they would lose all thought of their home land. But when her posion …show more content…

Odysseus would have no chance she would have turned him into a pig as well. Hermes then states “To come unchanged from Kirke’s power and disenthrall you’re fighting crew: take with you to her bower as amulet, this plant I know it will defeat her horrid show so pure and potent is the flower; no mortal herb was ever so.” (Page 1938). Once Odysseus arrives at Kirkes' house she offers him a cup of wine adding in her “unholy drug”. He goes on to drink it but it does not poison him, so she tries to cast her spell upon him to turn him into a pig but this also does not work . He had fooled the goddess and drew a sword on her throat. This scared Kirke so she invited him to sleep with her, but Odysseus wasn’t going to fall for her so called “charm” until she promised to change his men back and give him a bath, but she still continues to violate her duty of Xenia. “Why sit at table mute, Odysseus? Are you mistrustful of my bread and drink? Can it be treachery that you fear again, after the god’s great oath I swore for you?” (Page 1985). Odysseus just still did not believe that she was going to true to her word, until she proved to him by changing his men back and letting them park their ship on land and come and stay with her and she would feed them and bathe them, showing

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