Odysseus' men have been hungry for a month. They argue
that they are going to die from starvation if they do not eat the cattle of Lord Helios.
That death by starvation would be a painful and slow death. Thus, if they ate the
cattle, not only would their tummies be full and satisfied, but their death by Lord
Helios would probably come about more quickly. Their rationalization had everything to
do with dying in the most comfortable way possible with the least opportunity for
suffering.
This occurs while Odysseus is praying away from
the men. Therefore, he has no way to stop them although he had warned them not to eat
the cattle prior to going off to pray.
No comments:
Post a Comment