ODYSSEUS AND HIS GHOSTS

GHOSTS OF ANCIENT GREECE

• 8th Century BC
• Odysseus travels to the Underworld and makes the offerings according to Circe’s instructions.
• The shades of the dead (ghosts) gather to drink the blood talk to Odysseus.
• The first shade is Elpenor, freshly fallen from Circe’s roof. This was a crew member of Pybysseus, so —he weeps when listens to the man’s story.
• Elpenor begs for Odysseus to honor his death by building a burial mound (essentially a pile of rocks) for his dead body. Odysseus agrees.
• Odysseus then glimpses his mother’s shade among the rest of the dead. This is news to him, since last he heard she was still alive.
• Odysseus meets up with Teiresias (the blind prophet) who tells him that all of Odysseus’ crew members will die. He says that Odysseus will make it home – but he’ll find trouble there.
• Odysseus meets shade after shade in the underworld – some personal to him and some famous in Greek mythology – before he high tails it back to his ship and gets on with his journey.