Μ- Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis

...beautiful man-eating mermaids and advised him that he should avoid them at all costs lest he be seduced by their charming song. and above all he should not be seduced by their magic song. If he managed to escape the Sirens he would meet the strait with two monsters, Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a monster with twelve legs and six heads with which she devoured unfortunate sailors. Charybdis an insatiable Whirlwind that three times a day sucked in huge volumes of sea water, along with the passing boats and their crews. Circe ended with one more piece of advice to Odysseus, not to touch any of the sacred cows of the Sun god when he found his island.

With these provisions and the witch's warnings, Odysseus set sail for the return journey. Indeed, they soon arrived near the Sirens, where Odysseus asked his companions to fasten him to the mast while they themselves should plug their ears with wax so that they would not hear the sweet song of the mermaids. When the ship passed by the island, the Sirens began to sing so sweetly that Odysseus felt an irresistible desire to go to them. In vain he shouted as loud as he could to his companions to untie him to meet them. But they followed the orders he had given them earlier and rowed with all their might, away from the Sirens and the mortal danger.

Having escaped the beautiful but deadly Sirens, the Ithacian sailors arrived near Scylla and Charybdis. Circe had advised Odysseus to steer his ship closer to Scylla, which he did. There her six monstrous heads seized six of Odysseus's companions and devoured them, but the rest were saved, pulling their oars with all their might and in horror as they watched their companions perish.

Thus they avoided the certain death that Charybdis had in store for them, and soon Odysseus' ship reached the beautiful island of the Sun god. There the god's sacred oxen lived carelessly in the meadows, but Odysseus asked his companions to promise not to disturb them, otherwise they would regret it bitterly.

Unfortunately during their stay on the island the wind was not favorable for them to sail far, so they soon began to run out of food. One day as soon as Odysseus returned from hunting to find something to eat, the bad was already done. He saw his companions slaughtering two of the sacred cows of the Sun god and roasting them. When they had finished eating, the sky darkened and strong winds poured out against them. Zeus struck the ship of Odysseus and his companions with lightning, sending it to the bottom of the sea. The only one who managed to save himself on a piece of wood was Odysseus.

The strong wind sent him again into the straits of Scylla and Charybdis, which began to swallow the sea along with the unfortunate Odysseus. Fortunately for him he was able to hold fast to an olive branch rooted to a rock, where he waited until the Beast had once again dried his wooden raft and could move away.

Much later Odysseus' raft reached the island of Ogygia. There lived the fairy Calypso, who fell in love with him and kept him close to her for years, until, with the intervention of the gods, she allowed him to travel again to Ithaca. Odysseus finished the description of his journey to the assembly of the Phaeacians, recounting his entire journey until he was shipwrecked and arrived before them. Once again Odysseus begged the king and the lords of the Phaeacians to help him return to Ithaca.