Friday, July 13, 2012

In what ways are Circe's warnings similar to Teiresias's prophecies?

Circe's warnings are similar to Teiresias's prophecies in that they both warn of the terrible dangers that await Odysseus and his men on their journey home, and they both attempt to offer strategies for handling these dangers.  Teiresias mainly warns Odysseus of the dangers of eating the Thrinacian cattle, owned by the sun god, Helios.  Once Odysseus leaves the Underworld, Circe tells him how to avoid succumbing to the song of the Sirens, and she advises him to risk the loss of six men to Scylla versus all his men to Charybdis.  Her advice, however, overlaps with Teiresias's when she describes the incredible importance of leaving the Thrinacian cattle alone.  Like Teiresias, she emphasizes the fact that harming these cows will result in the total loss of his crew.  That both of these prophetic beings discuss the absolute necessity of leaving the cattle unharmed seems to foreshadow the fact that it won't happen. 

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