This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Eurylochus (mythology) is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
In Greek mythology, Eurylochus, or Eurýlokhos appears in Homer's Odyssey as second-in-command of Odysseus' ship during the return to Ithaca after the Trojan War. He was also a relative of Odysseus through marriage. He is an unpleasant cowardly individual who undermines Odysseus and stirs up trouble.
When the ship stopped on Aeaea, home of Circe the sorcress, Eurylochus was chosen by lot to lead a group of men to explore the island. After the crew spotted a column of smoke, Eurylochus led his group towards the smoke. They soon neared a palace surrounded with wild but benign animals. Inside the palace was Circe singing, and all of Eurylochus' party except for himself rushed inside to greet her. Eurylochus suspected her treachery from the beginning, and when she turned the rest of the men into pigs, Eurylochus escaped and warned Odysseus and the rest of the crew that had stayed on the ship, thus enabling Odysseus to save his crew. When Odysseus goes to rescue his men Eurylochus refuses to go and urges Odysseus to escape and leave the men to their fate.
When Odysseus returns from Circe having rescued the men, Eurylochus insults Odysseus. Odysseus considers killing him but the men drag them apart.
Although Circe, after making a truce with Odysseus, later instructed Odysseus not to touch the cattle on the island of the sun god Helios, Eurylochus convinced the hungry and mutinous crew to kill some of them. As a punishment Odysseus' ship was destroyed and all of his crew, including Eurylochus, were killed in a storm sent by Zeus. Only Odysseus survived.
|
|||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 30 July 2008, at 07:08.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Eurylochus (mythology)".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.